2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 27,169 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,138 and $14,095 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 206 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies programs, but they also cost less that 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 general studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$36,848 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 147 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UChicago Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIS has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Springfield are $16,757.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Illinois at Springfield

#3

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

$11,996 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$34,045 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, WIU has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Western Illinois University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#4

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,822 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$40,697 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Central College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 30 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

North Central also took the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at North Central College are $15,822, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at North Central

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$63,005 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $48-$75k list, DePaul has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full DePaul University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $48-$75k)

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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