Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$20,723 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,881 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, liberal arts / sciences and humanities was ranked 3rd in Iowa. In fact, 5,966 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in Iowa 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. 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.

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality for a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts & Humanities

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Our analysis found University of Iowa to be the best value school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Iowa. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa are $9,942 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Iowa Report

Request Information

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Iowa State University is a great value for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa State are $9,634 a year.

Iowa State also made our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #4.

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

Request Information
#3

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

Out of the 5 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the # 3 spot on the list. UNI is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Cedar Falls.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNI are $9,053 per year.

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

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Northern Iowa Report

Request Information
#4

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand View University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Grand View University undergraduate students pay an average of $30,954 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information
#4

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simpson College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Simpson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Indianola.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Simpson College are $44,030 a year.

Read More…

Request Information

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 6,339
Minnesota 6,264
South Dakota 222
Missouri 8,280
Nebraska 1,612
North Dakota 953

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 5 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.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.