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Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

4 Colleges
$34,053 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,250 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Area Studies School for You

In 2020-2021, 148 degrees and certificates were awarded to area studies students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #137 most popular major in the state.

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.

The Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 4 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value programs for area studies students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality in Area Studies

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the best value school in Illinois for area studies students. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIUC are $17,634 a year. The average amount in student loans that area studies majors at UIUC take out is $19,500.

UIUC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois list.

Full Area Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year.

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#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL
$42,012 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means DePaul University is a great value for area studies students. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

DePaul undergraduate students pay an average of $42,012 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Area Studies at DePaul University Report

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#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
$60,963 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UChicago are $60,963 per year.

UChicago also made our Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #2.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Chicago

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Best Value Area Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Area Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 124
Ohio 182
Indiana 101
Wisconsin 66

Area Studies is one of 2 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Ethnic Studies 9,231
Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (Other) 46

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 4 schools only.

  • 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 Karl Udo Gerth.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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