2023 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Illinois
17
Ranked Colleges
92
Degrees Awarded
$31,118
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois” ranking.
Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,257 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $22,500 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 152 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,250 and $43,398 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 92 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,374 and $23,086 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. That schools that top this list have a program in area studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree area studies students.
Top 17 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies in Illinois
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lake Forest College. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois. Lake Forest is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lake Forest, Illinois. It awarded 3 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Full Lake Forest College Area Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Knox College. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois. Knox is a small school located in Galesburg, Illinois that handed out 6 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Knox College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Augustana College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois. Augustana is a small school located in Rock Island, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full Augustana Area Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 6 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Bradley University Area Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois list. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 19 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UChicago Area Studies Report
DePaul University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 10 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul Area Studies Report
North Park University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. North Park is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 0 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Area Studies at North Park University
Northwestern University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Area Studies at Northwestern University
North Central College landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Naperville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full North Central Area Studies Report
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UIUC Area Studies Report
University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 13 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at UIC
Loyola University Chicago ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois list. Loyola University Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Area Studies at Loyola Chicago
Principia College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #13. Elsah, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 1 students in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Area Studies at Principia College
Illinois College ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois list. This small school is located in Jacksonville, Illinois, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Illinois College Area Studies Report
Illinois State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 0 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Illinois State Area Studies Report
Dominican University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Area Studies at Dominican University
Elmhurst University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Area Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Area Studies at Elmhurst
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Notes and References
References
- 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
