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2026 Best Value Animal Sciences, General Schools in Illinois

[Animal Sciences, General](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/animal-science/general-animal-sciences/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 4 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for animal sciences, general students.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value Animal Sciences, General Schools in Illinois

2026 Best Value Animal Sciences, General Schools in Illinois

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in animal sciences, general, balancing cost against outcomes.

Best Value Animal Sciences, General Schools

1

University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Champaign, IL

$18,267 In-State Tuition & Fees

$19,850 Avg Student Debt

$81,054 Median Earnings (10yr)

University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign tops our 2026 list of the best value animal sciences, general schools in Illinois. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. Students from in state pay about $18,267 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $40,096. Students borrow a median of $19,850 to complete the animal sciences, general program here. Early-career animal sciences, general graduates make about $42,723. That is a strong return on a $19,850 median debt. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign admits about 42% of applicants.

2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL

$13,334 In-State Tuition & Fees

$21,936 Avg Student Debt

$53,390 Median Earnings (10yr)

The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Southern Illinois University Carbondale earned it the #2 place for animal sciences, general. Set in the town of Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $13,334. Students borrow a median of $21,936 to complete the animal sciences, general program here. Early-career animal sciences, general graduates make about $30,706. Set against $21,936 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 87% of applicants are accepted.

View All Animal Sciences, General Rankings >

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.