2026 Best Value Soil Sciences Schools in Illinois
[Soil Sciences](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/soil-sciences/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools to find the best return on investment for soil sciences students.
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2026 Best Value Soil Sciences Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in soil sciences, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Soil Sciences Schools
Southern Illinois University Carbondale earned the #1 spot for value among soil sciences schools in Illinois. Located in the town of Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $13,334. Soil Sciences graduates carry a median of $23,730 in student loans. Early-career soil sciences graduates make about $55,076. Set against $23,730 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 87%.
Notes and References
This ranking is produced 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 · 1 school 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.
ADBLOCK #116
by our College Data Analytics Team