2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, liberal arts / sciences and humanities students earned 18,292 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 3rd 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. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 / sciences and humanities 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. 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.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Western Illinois University the best value school in Illinois for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Macomb.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. EIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Charleston.
EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Governors State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in Illinois. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.
GSU undergraduate students pay an average of $10,108 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Springfield, UIS is a public college with a small student population.
UIS undergraduate students pay an average of $12,053 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.
Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Illinois State is ranked #5 for overall quality for liberal arts / sciences and humanities in Illinois.
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With a ranking of #6, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 per year.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #8, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SIUC are $15,240 a year.
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Chicago State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. CSU is a small public school located in the large city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSU are $11,204 a year.
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With a ranking of #10, DePaul University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. 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.
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Request InformationBest Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 3,815 |
| Michigan | 9,711 |
| Ohio | 11,432 |
| Wisconsin | 2,376 |
More Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Rankings in Illinois
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Related Majors for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 556,813 |
Majors Similar to Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149,215 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
More about our data sources and methodologies.