College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region

57 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,756 History Degrees Awarded
$29,228 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.

College Factual looked at 57 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,756 degrees in history to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great History School

Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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

Bachelor's Degrees in History
Master's Degrees in History
Doctor's Degrees in History

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.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in History

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
103 History Degrees Awarded
4.9% Growth in Graduates

University of Chicago is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in history. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 103 history students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of approximately $11,118 above the typical earnings of history graduates.

More information about a degree in history from University of Chicago

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 History Degrees Awarded
$47,439 Median Starting Salary

University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in history. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were roughly 48 history students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Those history students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame earn $18,211 more than the typical history student.

More information about a degree in history from University of Notre Dame

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
82 History Degrees Awarded
30.5% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in history. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 82 history students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. History degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of about $9,763 over the typical income of history graduates.

More information about a degree in history from Northwestern University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
117 History Degrees Awarded
10.3% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in history. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 117 history students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. History degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of about $10,254 over the average earnings of history majors.

More information about a degree in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
154 History Degrees Awarded
2.6% Growth in Graduates

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were about 154 history students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. After graduating, history degree recipients usually earn around $28,843 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in history from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
160 History Degrees Awarded
13.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 160 history students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of about $2,642 above the average earnings of history graduates.

More information about a degree in history from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

7
Ashland crest
Ashland University
Ashland, OH
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 History Degrees Awarded
4.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 20th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 75 history students who graduated with this degree at Ashland in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from Ashland University earn a boost of around $24,381 over the typical income of history majors.

More information about a degree in history from Ashland University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
155 History Degrees Awarded
10.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 155 history students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus earn a boost of around $6,602 over the average earnings of history majors.

More information about a degree in history from Ohio State University - Main Campus

9
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 History Degrees Awarded
$28,886 Median Starting Salary

Marquette is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Milwaukee. A Best Colleges rank of #130 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Marquette is a great university overall.

There were roughly 39 history students who graduated with this degree at Marquette in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, history degree recipients typically earn about $28,886 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in history from Marquette University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 History Degrees Awarded
$36,922 Median Starting Salary

Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal. This university ranks 8th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 107 history students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from Illinois State University make $7,694 more than the typical history graduate.

More information about a degree in history from Illinois State University

Best History Colleges by State

Explore the best history colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 533
Michigan 38 613
Ohio 38 975
Illinois 38 974
Wisconsin 37 559

View All Rankings >

History Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
History 3,756

View All History Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options