by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 57 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for history students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,881 bachelor's degrees in history during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
The history bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality history program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for history students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for history students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in history needs to take a look at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in history. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Northwestern University
University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Notre Dame is a great decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Notre Dame
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Ohio State University - Main Campus
IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Loyola University Chicago
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Illinois State University
Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Michigan State University
Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in history from Marquette University
Here are some additional great schools for History students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 13 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati, OH |
| 14 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 15 | Northern Illinois University | Dekalb, IL |
| 16 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH |
| 17 | Wabash College | Crawfordsville, IN |
| 18 | Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN |
| 19 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
Explore the best history colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| History | 2,881 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 16,644 |
| Communication & Journalism | 11,839 |
| English Language & Literature | 4,365 |
| Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 3,835 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 3,279 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 2,008 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 1,404 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 1,334 |
| Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies | 993 |