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Best General Education Schools in Illinois

2023 Best General Education Schools in Illinois

15 Colleges
$46,021 Avg Salary
$20,500 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Education School for You

In 2020-2021, 453 degrees and certificates were awarded to general education students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #69 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best General Education Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Education Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for education majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for general education students. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

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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 #2 on this year’s Best General Education Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at UIUC take out is $20,500.

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#3

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Wesleyan University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best General Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#4

Dominican University

River Forest, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Dominican University is a great place for general education students. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

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#5

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Trinity Christian College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best General Education Schools in Illinois list. Trinity Christian is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Palos Heights.

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#6

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elmhurst.

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#7

Monmouth College

Monmouth, IL

Monmouth College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Monmouth is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Monmouth.

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Western Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Schools in Illinois ranking. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Macomb.

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#9

Knox College

Galesburg, IL

Knox College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general education programs. Knox is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Galesburg.

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Northern Illinois 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 Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.

Full General Education at Northern Illinois University Report

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Best General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 700
Ohio 706
Indiana 502
Wisconsin 515

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

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 15 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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