2025 Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region
52
Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,683
History Degrees Awarded
$33,218
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you're seeking a degree in
history, you will have fewer peers than average since the major degree program is the #23 one in the country in terms of popularity.While this may limit the number of schools that offer the degree program, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 52 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,683 degrees in history annually.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great History School
Your choice of history school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for history schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
History Rankings by Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for History in the Great Lakes Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the history degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in History
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in history. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were approximately 132 history students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, history degree recipients generally earn an average of $31,378 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in history from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
It is difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in history. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 86 history students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those history students who get their degree from Northwestern University make $16,943 more than the standard history graduate.
More information about a degree in history from Northwestern University
Bachelors
Degree Type
BA in History
Program Name
Gain a rich foundation of knowledge ranging from early history to modern times with this online bachelor's degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in BA in History from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
It's hard to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a degree in history. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 188 history students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of about $2,741 over the average income of history graduates.
More information about a degree in history from University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Notre Dame is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in history. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were roughly 66 history students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. History degree recipients from University of Notre Dame earn a boost of around $6,304 over the average income of history majors.
More information about a degree in history from University of Notre Dame
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 131 history students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program report average early career earnings of $26,663.
More information about a degree in history from Ohio State University - Main Campus
UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 118 history students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, history degree recipients generally earn about $26,436 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 65 history students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. After graduating, history degree recipients usually make about $31,880 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from Indiana University - Bloomington
Masters
Degree Type
MA in History
Program Name
The online Master of Arts in History degree program can deepen your understanding of how history is made.
More information about a degree in MA in History from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 77 history students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the history program earn around $31,079 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in history from Loyola University Chicago
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 65 history students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program report average early career income of $32,434.
More information about a degree in history from Michigan State University
Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Milwaukee. A Best Colleges rank of #114 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Marquette is a great university overall.
There were roughly 44 history students who graduated with this degree at Marquette in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from Marquette University make $3,689 more than the standard history graduate.
More information about a degree in history from Marquette University
