2025 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in Illinois
56Colleges in Illinois
24,928Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$31,562Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #1 in popularity, liberal arts general studies is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 56 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 24,928 degrees in liberal arts general studies annually.
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School
Your choice of liberal arts general studies 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 liberal arts general studies 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.
Liberal Arts General Studies Rankings by Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies in Illinois
The schools below may not offer all types of liberal arts degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
DePaul University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in liberal arts general studies. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 90 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at DePaul University get $50,241 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Every student who is interested in liberal arts general studies needs to check out Lincoln Land Community College. LLCC is a medium-sized public college located in the rural area of Springfield. A Best Colleges rank of #437 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means LLCC is a great college overall.
There were approximately 471 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at LLCC in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Lincoln Land Community College receive $2,602 more than the typical liberal arts graduate.
It is hard to beat Waubonsee Community College if you wish to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Waubonsee is a moderately-sized public college located in the rural area of Sugar Grove. A Best Colleges rank of #590 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Waubonsee is a great college overall.
There were roughly 510 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Waubonsee in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career income of $27,597.
Every student pursuing a degree in liberal arts general studies needs to look into William Rainey Harper College. Located in the suburb of Palatine, Harper College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #640 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Harper College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 1837 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Harper College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program report average early career wages of $27,619.
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 91 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn an average of $31,745 for their early career.
Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 37th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 133 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies major at Western Illinois University get $6,634 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #504 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means College of Lake County is a great college overall.
There were roughly 1893 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at College of Lake County in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program report average early career income of $33,413.
ECC is a medium-sized public college located in the midsize city of Elgin. A Best Colleges rank of #671 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ECC is a great college overall.
There were about 1019 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at ECC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, liberal arts degree recipients usually make an average of $25,377 in their early careers.
Located in the large suburb of South Holland, SSC is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #718 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SSC is a great college overall.
There were roughly 288 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SSC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $28,465.
Located in the large suburb of Glen Ellyn, COD is a public college with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #731 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means COD is a great college overall.
There were about 821 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at COD in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program report average early career earnings of $28,678.
Rock Valley College is a medium-sized public college located in the midsize city of Rockford. This college ranks 42nd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 640 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Rock Valley College in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn an average of $27,601 for their early career.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in Illinois award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
Your choice of liberal arts general studies 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 liberal arts general studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
