by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 35,816 people earned their degree in sociology, making the major the 25th most popular in the United States. In , sociology graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $31,418 and had an average of $22,369 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 3,052 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,085 and $23,717 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 176 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,182 and $43,142 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 34 colleges that offered a degree in sociology. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their sociology program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree sociology students.
Out of the 34 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #1 spot on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 6 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s sociology degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Indianapolis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Indianapolis is a medium-sized school located in Indianapolis, Indiana that handed out 10 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 34 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 7 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Out of the 34 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Notre Dame landed the #5 spot on the list. Notre Dame, Indiana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s sociology degrees to 7 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 2 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Ohio, and it awarded 2 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Illinois State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s sociology degrees to 7 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Loyola University Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 3 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. U-M is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 6 masters’s sociology degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #11, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 8 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 5 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #13. UC is a large school located in Cincinnati, Ohio that handed out 4 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Ball State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #14. Ball State University is a fairly large public school situated in Muncie, Indiana. It awarded 10 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #15, Cleveland State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Cleveland State University is located in Cleveland, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 8 masters’s sociology degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. IUPUI is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 6 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #17. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s sociology degrees to 6 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Eastern Michigan University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ypsilanti, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s sociology degrees to 14 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #19, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Athens, Ohio, and it awarded 8 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 2 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Sociology at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Kent State University at Kent did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Kent, Ohio, and it awarded 1 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #22. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 10 degrees to qualified masters’s sociology students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Case Western Reserve University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #23. Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Cleveland, Ohio. It awarded 4 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Sociology at Case Western Reserve University
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #24 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 11 masters’s sociology degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Toledo landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Sociology Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Toledo is a public institution located in Toledo, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
