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2025 Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

10 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
718 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,483 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in international studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #69 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 718 bachelor's degrees in international studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great International Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of international studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality international studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for international studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank International Studies Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More International Studies Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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 Bachelor’s Students to Study International Studies in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in international studies.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in International Studies

1

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in international studies has to take a look at University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Those international studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Notre Dame earn $31,879 more than the typical international studies graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Notre Dame

2
154 Annual Graduates
$44,446 Median Starting Salary
$40,462 Median Student Debt

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in international studies. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.

Those international studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $6,963 more than the typical international studies student.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
67 Annual Graduates
$38,410 Median Starting Salary
$52,770 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Michigan State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in international studies. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international studies program report average early career wages of $38,410.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from Michigan State University

4

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in international studies. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Bachelor's recipients from the international studies degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $3,111 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Wisconsin - Madison

5
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from Case Western Reserve University

6
42 Annual Graduates
$30,438 Median Starting Salary
$32,800 Median Student Debt

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the international studies program earn an average of $30,438 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7

Located in the city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the international studies program make an average of $32,994 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Dayton

8

UWM is a very large public university located in the city of Milwaukee.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international studies program report average early career income of $31,433.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

9

WMU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

After graduation, international studies bachelor's recipients generally earn about $32,147 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from Western Michigan University

10

Located in the fringe town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international studies program state that they receive average early career earnings of $29,013.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

Best International Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best international studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 319
Ohio 252 130
Illinois 241 115
Indiana 235 51
Wisconsin 213 180

View All Rankings >

International Studies is one of 51 different types of Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies programs to choose from.

International Studies Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
International/Globalization Studies 718

Majors Similar to International Studies

Related Major Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 1,306
Data Science 631
Data Analytics 361
Sustainability Science 343
Interdisciplinary Studies 327
Mathematics & Computer Science 232
Cognitive Science 228
Nutrition Science 200
Biological & Physical Science 196
Human Biology 130

Notes and References

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