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Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region

69 Colleges
$42,937 Avg Salary
$23,962 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Education School for You

General Education is the #39 most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best General Education Colleges.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on General Education at Northwestern University

#2

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Out of the 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Marquette University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on General Education at Marquette University

#3

Saint Norbert College

De Pere, WI

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Saint Norbert College is a great place for general education students. SNC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of De Pere.

Read full report on General Education at Saint Norbert College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

On average, education graduates from UIUC take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full General Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#5

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, IL

Out of the 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Wesleyan University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full General Education at Illinois Wesleyan University Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general education programs. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Read More…

#7

Calvin University

Grand Rapids, MI

Calvin University ranked #7 on this year’s Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids, Calvin is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on General Education at Calvin University

#8

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #8, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Purdue is a very large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.

On average, education graduates from Purdue take out $21,757 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full General Education at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

#9

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

With a ranking of #9, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general education students. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, education majors at Michigan State accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $255, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full General Education at Michigan State University Report

#10

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso, IN

Valparaiso University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Carthage College Kenosha, WI
12 Alma College Alma, MI
13 Ball State University Muncie, IN

Best General Education Colleges by State

Explore the best general education colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 700
Ohio 706
Illinois 453
Indiana 502
Wisconsin 515

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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