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2026 Best Value Operations Research Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in operations research, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Operations Research Schools
University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earned the #1 spot for value among operations research schools in the Great Lakes Region. 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, compared with $40,096 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for operations research graduates is $20,778. Early-career operations research graduates make about $57,461. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 42% of applicants are accepted.
Students looking for strong value in operations research will find it at Case Western Reserve University, which ranked #2. Case Western Reserve University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cleveland. Students from in state pay about $66,608 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $25,106 to complete the operations research program here. Operations Research graduates of Case Western Reserve University earn a median of $74,459 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $25,106 median debt. Case Western Reserve University admits about 36% of applicants.
Narrow Operations Research Schools by State
Notes and References
This list is compiled 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 · 8 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.
ADBLOCK #116
[Operations Research](/majors/engineering/operations-research/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
