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Best Value Information Science Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Information Science Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

16 Colleges
$31,032 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$75,213 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Information Science Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 18,325 information science students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #4 most popular in the country.

With all the computer science programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Information Science Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Computer Science Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 16 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for IS students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for IS majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Information Science Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for information science students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

UIUC graduate students pay an average of $30,862 in tuition and fees each year.

UIUC also took the #1 spot in our Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region rankings.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Akron Main Campus. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 per year.

Full Information Science at University of Akron Main Campus Report

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

DePaul graduate students pay an average of $18,341 in tuition and fees each year.

DePaul excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Information Science at DePaul University Report

#4

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Marquette University is a great value for information science students working on their master’s degree. Marquette is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marquette are $21,960 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Marquette also is in the top 15% of our Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Information Science at Marquette University Report

#5

Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cleveland State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cleveland State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Cleveland.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cleveland State University are $18,051 per year.

Read full report on Information Science at Cleveland State University

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Bradley graduate students pay an average of $17,400 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Information Science at Bradley University

University of Michigan - Dearborn ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the midsize city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

UM Dearborn graduate students pay an average of $25,552 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Information Science at University of Michigan - Dearborn Report

#8

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Northwestern are $56,567 a year.

Northwestern did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Information Science at Northwestern University

#9

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree information science programs. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ball State are $26,600 a year.

Read full report on Information Science at Ball State University

Kent State University at Kent landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree information science programs. Kent State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Kent.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Kent State are $21,952 per year.

Read full report on Information Science at Kent State University at Kent

Best Information Science Colleges by State

Explore the best information science schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 493
Ohio 275
Illinois 799
Indiana 280
Wisconsin 255

One of 10 majors within the computer science area of study, information science has other similar majors worth exploring.

IS Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Information Science 18,325

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Computer Science 59,565
Information Technology 40,555
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to The Opte Project.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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