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Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

16 Colleges
$25,952 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,881 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, liberal arts general studies was ranked 2nd in Illinois. In fact, 18,292 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Illinois to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for liberal arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for liberal arts majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Western Illinois University the best value school in Illinois for liberal arts general studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year. Liberal Arts majors at WIU take out an average of $30,879 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $216.

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#2

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $12,297 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at EIU accumulate an average of around $26,418 in student debt.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Eastern Illinois University Report

#3

Governors State University

University Park, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Governors State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the rural area of University Park, GSU is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GSU are $10,108 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from GSU carry an average student debtload of $37,471.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Governors State University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIS is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIS are $12,053 a year. On average, liberal arts graduates from UIS take out $26,825 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at University of Illinois at Springfield

Out of the 16 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois State are $13,968 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from Illinois State carry an average student debtload of $25,086. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $327.

Illinois State also made our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #5.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Illinois State University

Northeastern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from Northeastern Illinois University carry an average student debtload of $22,045.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Northeastern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts general studies programs. NIU is a 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, liberal arts graduates from NIU take out $30,661 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Northern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts general studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year. On average, liberal arts graduates from SIUC take out $26,953 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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Chicago State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts general studies programs. Located in the city of Chicago, CSU is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSU are $11,204 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts graduates from CSU carry an average student debtload of $42,365.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Chicago State University Report

#10

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

DePaul University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts general studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

DePaul undergraduate students pay an average of $42,012 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, liberal arts majors at DePaul accumulate an average of around $38,833 in student debt.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at DePaul University Report

Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 9,711
Ohio 11,432
Indiana 3,815
Wisconsin 2,376

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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