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2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Illinois

[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-engineering/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong materials engineering education at a price that pays off.

College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value materials engineering schools.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Illinois

2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Illinois

If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the materials engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

Best Value Materials Engineering Schools

1

University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Champaign, IL

$18,267 In-State Tuition & Fees

$17,916 Avg Student Debt

$81,054 Median Earnings (10yr)

Leading the list is University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, our #1 best value for materials engineering in Illinois. Located in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $18,267, compared with $40,096 for out-of-state students. Materials Engineering graduates carry a median of $17,916 in student loans. Materials Engineering graduates of University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earn a median of $75,080 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $17,916 median debt. Roughly 42% of applicants are accepted.

2

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

$68,322 In-State Tuition & Fees

$16,616 Avg Student Debt

$89,363 Median Earnings (10yr)

Students looking for strong value in materials engineering will find it at Northwestern University, which ranked #2. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $68,322. Materials Engineering graduates carry a median of $16,616 in student loans. Early-career materials engineering graduates make about $78,551. That is a strong return on a $16,616 median debt. Roughly 8% of applicants are accepted.

View All Materials Engineering Rankings >

Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, 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.