2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Liberal Arts is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 365,980 degrees were awarded to students with this major.

Across Illinois, there were 23,860 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 16 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

$11,996 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Western Illinois University Liberal Arts Report

#2

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$15,822 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Central College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Naperville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, North Central has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at North Central are $15,822, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts at North Central

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $0-$30k)

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

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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.

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