2026 Best Value Plant Sciences Schools in Illinois
[Plant Sciences](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/plant-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.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools to find the best return on investment for plant sciences students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Plant Sciences Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the plant sciences degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Plant Sciences Schools
Illinois Valley Community College earned the #1 spot for value among plant sciences schools in Illinois. Illinois Valley Community College is a mid-sized public school located in the town of Oglesby. In-state tuition and fees average $4,200, compared with $16,385 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $8,099 to complete the plant sciences program here. Early-career plant sciences graduates make about $33,224. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
Students looking for strong value in plant sciences will find it at University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, which ranked #2. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $18,267, with out-of-state students paying around $40,096. Plant Sciences graduates carry a median of $15,750 in student loans. Soon after graduation, plant sciences degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign generally make around $45,411. Set against $15,750 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign admits about 42% of applicants.
More Plant Sciences Rankings
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Notes and References
This list is compiled 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 · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 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.
