College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

ILLarge public institution · Overall rank #35 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public research university ranked #35 nationally by Azimuth.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public university in Champaign, Illinois, with a degree mix led by Engineering and Business. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to the factors it measures, which add to expected earnings, and to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts.

Return is well above average. The price case turns on income: the lowest band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays close to it.

Pell students finish below the overall rate, and access is among the highest we track. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

UIUC at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
42.4%
Six-year completion[2]
85.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$79,628

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$7,982
Median student debt[4]
$19,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$34,511

UIUC rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public university in Champaign, Illinois, enrolling 36,258 undergraduates. Its composite standing is near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with mobility the strongest and affordability the weakest.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign admits 42.4% of applicants, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. For the first-time full-time cohort, 94.8% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

85.1% complete within six years, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 14.7% of all entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year graduation rate describes that first-time full-time cohort and not the full student body.

The four pillars are spread across a wide range. Mobility is the strongest, access and return sit between them, and affordability is the weakest.

The shape is a selective public campus where the strongest and weakest pillars sit far apart, with the other two clustered closer to the top.

Azimuth ranks University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign #35 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest pillar is mobility, in the 98th percentile.

Access also stands out in the 91st percentile, coinciding with a Pell share of 23.4% and a Pell completion rate of 80.1%. The return pillar sits in the 90th percentile, supported by median earnings of $79,628 four years after completion.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 75th percentile, with an of $14,355 and median federal student debt of $19,500.

23.4% of undergraduates at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign #138 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 80.1%, 5.0 percentage points below the overall rate. Azimuth ranks the university #36 for mobility. Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

UIUC rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#35
Illinois#2
Midwest#3

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 98
Access & reach
National percentile: 91
Affordability
National percentile: 75
Return on investment
National percentile: 90

Top-ranked majors

  1. Engineering Physics#1
  2. Nuclear Engineering#1
  3. Agricultural Business and Management#2

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / UIUC briefing

UIUC cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publishes a cost of attendance of $33,642. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $12,992 and required fees of $5,054 for the 2025-26 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $15,184.

Out-of-state tuition is $33,344. 70.6% of full-time undergraduates pay more than the base charge.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $14,355, a reduction of $19,287 from the sticker price. Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

That average is $1,279 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #360 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publishes a cost of attendance of $33,642. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $2,038.

For the middle-income band ($48,001–$75,000), the average net price is $7,982, and for families earning over $110,000, it is $28,761. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $26,723.

Azimuth ranks the university #360 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $19,287.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $14,355, which is below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,279. The median federal student debt at completion is $19,500, with about 86.7% of federal aid recipients borrowing.

That median is below the peer median of $20,076 by $576. The median Parent PLUS borrowing is $34,511.

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $222.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$7,982

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UIUC

The median federal debt for completers at the university is $19,500, a level below the $20,076 median among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $576. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for the separate parent-borrower population is $34,511.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 38% of graduates in a cohort of 7,523 borrowed from any source, averaging $22,040 per borrower. Of those borrowers, 37% held federal loans averaging $18,157 and 4% carried private loans averaging $39,659.

Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign run from $56,542 in a downside case up to $131,532 in an upside case, anchored at $79,628 for the typical path. Four years after completion, the median for graduates working and not enrolled reaches $79,628, a level in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 73rd percentile. The median federal debt for completers who borrowed is $19,500, a figure that falls below the $20,076 median among comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $222.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $34,511. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $222.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$34,511

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$222/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$438/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / UIUC briefing

UIUC career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,628, in the 88th percentile nationally. That is $14,018 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the university at the 90th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 73rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $15,287. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,588.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,628. That figure places the university in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 7,283 completers.

Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a downside of $56,542 and an upside of $131,532.

An estimated 30.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The earnings scenarios describe paths for those who enter the workforce rather than continuing in school.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign earn a median of $79,628, placing the university in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $14,018.

Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 73rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,287.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,588. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,553.

Azimuth ranks the university #149 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $56,542 and an upside of $131,532.

The largest bachelor's program, Research and Experimental Psychology, awarded 557 degrees and shows median earnings of $60,168 four years after completion, ranking #23 nationally in its field. Computer Engineering is the highest-earning among the largest programs, with 318 degrees awarded and a median of $159,855, good for a national rank of #6.

Computer Science stands out with a median of $181,981, which is 1.70x the national median for the field and ranks #16 nationally. Accounting also performs well, with 353 degrees awarded, median earnings of $101,098, and a national rank of #21.

The earnings scenarios at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign range from a downside of $56,542 to an upside of $131,532, a spread that reflects the breadth of the university's program mix. The typical earnings scenario sits at $79,628, and graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students.

Three of the largest programs illustrate the variation four years after completion. Computer Engineering completers earn a median of $159,855, while Research and Experimental Psychology graduates earn $60,168 and Economics graduates earn $86,860.

The published cost of attendance at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is $33,642. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $14,355, which is $1,279 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $19,500 in federal student loans. That figure is $576 below the $20,076 peer median and corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $34,511. Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students, which adds context to the debt picture.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,287
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,588
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,699

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / UIUC briefing

UIUC acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign admitted 42.4% of applicants, well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 83,045 applicants, 30,384 admitted, and 9,207 enrolled.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
42.4%
25th percentile
1390
Median
1442
75th percentile
1520

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UIUC briefing

What are the largest majors at UIUC?[12]

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publishes four-year earnings for 71 bachelor's programs, and Azimuth ranks 65 of them nationally. The highest-earning program, Computer Science, shows a median of $181,981 four years after completion and ranks #16 in its field.

Computer Engineering follows at $159,855 with 318 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #6. Research and Experimental Psychology awarded 557 degrees and reports a median of $60,168, ranking #23 nationally.

Accounting reaches $101,098 on 353 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national rank of #21. Statistics shows a median of $105,978 with 333 degrees awarded, ranking #8 in its field.

The university has 65 programs with an Azimuth national rank. The largest by degrees awarded is Research and Experimental Psychology, with 557 degrees awarded, median earnings of $60,168 four years after completion, and a national rank of #23.

Economics follows with 387 degrees awarded, earnings of $86,860, and a national rank of #68. Accounting awards 353 degrees and earns $101,098, ranking #21 in its field.

Statistics is the highest-earning among the largest programs at $105,978, with a national rank of #8. Computer Engineering rounds out the top five with 318 degrees awarded, earnings of $159,855, and a national rank of #6.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign awards degrees across a broad range of fields, with Engineering accounting for 19.5% of bachelor's degrees, followed by Business at 14.0% and Social Sciences at 8.5%. The university has 65 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 71 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Research and Experimental Psychology, at 557 degrees awarded, followed by Economics at 387 and Accounting at 353. The highest-ranked program is Engineering Physics, which Azimuth ranks #1 nationally within its field, with 79 degrees awarded and median earnings of $102,211 four years after completion.

Nuclear Engineering ranks #1 nationally and #1 in Illinois within its field, with 23 degrees awarded and median earnings of $116,047. Agricultural Business and Management holds a #2 national rank and #1 in Illinois within its field, with 262 degrees awarded and median earnings of $86,646.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, with median earnings of $181,981 and a benchmark ratio of 1.70x against the national median for its field, from 292 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in engineering and technology fields, where several programs hold top-five national ranks and earnings well above the national median for their fields.

The largest program, Research and Experimental Psychology, earns $60,168, while the highest-earning program earns more than twice that—a gap between a large social-science program and a smaller, highly-ranked computing program. Across all fields, 43.6% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Research and Experimental Psychology 557 degrees awarded
$60,168
Economics 387 degrees awarded
$86,860
Accounting and Related Services 353 degrees awarded
$101,098
Statistics 333 degrees awarded
$105,978
Computer Engineering 318 degrees awarded
$159,855
Communication and Media Studies 315 degrees awarded
$66,439

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / UIUC briefing

How does UIUC serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the 98th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 85.1%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 80.1% — below the overall rate by 5.0 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $5,699 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 73rd percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 42.4% of applicants and enrolls 36,258 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 23.4% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 14.7% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UIUC briefing

What colleges are similar to UIUC?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with UIUC.

Admissions peerStevens Institute of Technology47.6% admitted
Comparison with UIUC
MeasureUIUCStevens Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,628$112,538+$32,910 vs UIUC
Average annual net price$14,355$41,346+$26,991 vs UIUC · higher cost
Admission rate42.4%47.6%
Explore Stevens Institute of Technology →
Higher-admission alternativeBradley University76.8% admitted
Comparison with UIUC
MeasureUIUCBradley University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,628$74,150-$5,478 vs UIUC
Average annual net price$14,355$22,719+$8,364 vs UIUC · higher cost
Admission rate42.4%76.8%
Explore Bradley University →
Nearby alternativePurdue University-Main CampusNearby option · IN
Comparison with UIUC
MeasureUIUCPurdue University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,628$81,751+$2,123 vs UIUC
Average annual net price$14,355$14,600+$245 vs UIUC · higher cost
Admission rate42.4%49.9%
Explore Purdue University-Main Campus →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Florida$4,815 average net price
Comparison with UIUC
MeasureUIUCUniversity of Florida
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,628$77,321-$2,307 vs UIUC
Average annual net price$14,355$4,815-$9,540 vs UIUC · lower cost
Admission rate42.4%61.3%
Explore University of Florida →
Similar profileUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonMatched across several measures
Comparison with UIUC
MeasureUIUCUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,628$78,974-$654 vs UIUC
Average annual net price$14,355$17,354+$2,999 vs UIUC · higher cost
Admission rate42.4%45.2%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Madison →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings