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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

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

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.

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

Check out the liberal arts / sciences and humanities bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Western Illinois University to be the best value school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Macomb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Western Illinois University Report

#2

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

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 distant town of Charleston.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $12,297 per year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Eastern Illinois University

#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 & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GSU are $10,108 a year.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Springfield is a great value for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Springfield, UIS is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIS are $12,053 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Illinois at Springfield Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Illinois State University is a great value for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois State are $13,968 per year.

Illinois State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

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Northeastern 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 a year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #7, Northern 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 small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Northern Illinois University Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a large student population.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #9, Chicago State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSU is a small public school located in the city of Chicago.

CSU undergraduate students pay an average of $11,204 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Chicago State University Report

#10

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

DePaul University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DePaul are $42,012 per year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at DePaul University Report

Best 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

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.

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