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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

31 Colleges
$9,225 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$23,818 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate 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.

The Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 31 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate programs for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Elgin Community College the best value school in Illinois for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. ECC is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Elgin.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECC are $7,140 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Elgin Community College Report

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#2

Black Hawk College

Moline, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Black Hawk College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. BHC is a small public school located in the small city of Moline.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at BHC are $7,500 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Black Hawk College Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Shawnee Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Shawnee Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Ullin.

Shawnee Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,090 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Shawnee Community College Report

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#4

Carl Sandburg College

Galesburg, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Carl Sandburg College is a great value for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the rural area of Galesburg, Carl Sandburg College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Carl Sandburg College are $7,860 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Carl Sandburg College Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend William Rainey Harper College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Harper College is a large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Harper College are $9,870 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Harper College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.

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#6

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

College of Lake County landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at College of Lake County are $9,632 a year.

College of Lake County also claimed a spot on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at College of Lake County Report

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#7

McHenry County College

Crystal Lake, IL

McHenry County College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the rural area of Crystal Lake, MCC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MCC are $11,608 per year.

MCC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.

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With a ranking of #8, Lewis and Clark Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. Lewis and Clark Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Godfrey.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lewis and Clark Community College are $9,552 per year.

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John Wood Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. John Wood Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Quincy.

John Wood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,190 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at John Wood Community College

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#10

Lake Land College

Mattoon, IL

Lake Land College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Lake Land College is a small public school located in the town of Mattoon.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Lake Land College are $8,104 a year.

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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 25 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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