2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 559,661 degrees were awarded to students with this major. 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” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The liberal arts / sciences & humanities school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in Illinois

#1

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,822 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, North Central College landed the #1 spot on the list. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 30 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

North Central also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at North Central College are $15,822, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full North Central Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at DePaul University

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. UIS is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Springfield are $16,757, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UIS

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 147 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 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 UChicago are $61,548.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UChicago

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities

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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