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Best Value History Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Value History Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$24,173 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,707 Avg Salary

Finding the Best History School for You

With 974 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, history is the #23 most popular major in Illinois.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for history students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best History Schools

$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Illinois State University the best value school in Illinois for history students. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year. History majors at Illinois State take out an average of $21,741 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $294, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Illinois State also claimed a spot on our Best History Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

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$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $17,634 per year. While working on their degree, history majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $20,991 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $434, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

Full History at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, history majors at SIUE accumulate an average of around $22,750 in student debt.

Full History at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

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#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL
$12,297 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, history graduates from EIU take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year. On average, history graduates from NIU take out $22,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year. While working on their degree, history majors at WIU accumulate an average of around $29,750 in student debt.

Full History at Western Illinois University Report

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$12,064 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for history students. Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 a year. While working on their degree, history majors at Northeastern Illinois University accumulate an average of around $16,991 in student debt.

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$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for history students. It came in at #8 on the list. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, history graduates from SIUC take out $22,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year. The average amount in student loans that history majors at UIC take out is $20,081.

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#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northwestern are $60,768 per year. On average, history graduates from Northwestern take out $17,200 in student loans while working on their degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #1 for overall quality for history in Illinois.

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Best Value History Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 533
Michigan 614
Ohio 986
Wisconsin 561

History Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
History 32,731

Majors Similar to History

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Social Sciences 205,984
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 12 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 Abraham Ortelius.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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