2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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
Request Information
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
Request Information
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
Request Information
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
Request Information
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.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at William Rainey Harper College
Request Information
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
Request Information
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.
Request Information
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.
Request Information
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
Request Information
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.
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 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.