Master's · Chicago, Illinois

Is Sustainability Studies at University of Illinois Chicago worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 11.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $69,049; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $40,250; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $43k (likely $43k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $6k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 11.2 years (likely 5.7–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$150k (likely −$225k – −$69k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$77k (likely −$244k – $90k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.