2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

With 559,661 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts / sciences and humanities is the 3rd most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs and 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 / sciences and humanities program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 147 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Chicago

#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 / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIS, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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.

Full University of Illinois at Springfield Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report

#3

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 #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Western Illinois University are $11,996.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Western Illinois University

#4

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,822 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Central College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. North Central College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Naperville, Illinois. It awarded 30 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at North Central, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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 North Central College are $15,822.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at North Central

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities (Income $30-$48k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).

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