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Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

84 Colleges
$16,642 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,065 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 205,984 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social sciences is the #6 most popular major in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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 Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 84 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 15% Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of Wisconsin - River Falls the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

UW - River Falls undergraduate students pay an average of $15,661 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - River Falls also did well on our Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - River Falls

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUE are $11,496 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the town of Whitewater.

UW - Whitewater undergraduate students pay an average of $16,602 in tuition and fees each year.

UW - Whitewater also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at Western Illinois University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUC are $15,240 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UW Oshkosh is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

#6

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

Youngstown State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Youngstown State University are $9,732 a year.

Read More…

University of Akron Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the midsize city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year.

Full Social Sciences at University of Akron Main Campus Report

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school located in the small city of La Crosse.

UW - La Crosse undergraduate students pay an average of $18,014 in tuition and fees each year.

UW - La Crosse excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Report

Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#11

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

Eastern Illinois University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at EIU are $14,551 a year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #12, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW - Stevens Point is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Stevens Point.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 a year.

Full Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
14 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
15 University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Green Bay, WI
16 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI

Best Social Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best social sciences schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 2,941
Michigan 4,213
Ohio 4,915
Illinois 5,866
Wisconsin 3,504

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415
Criminology 11,039
Geography & Cartography 8,526
Other Social Sciences 2,414
Urban Studies 1,507
Sociology & Anthropology 541
Archeology 339
Demography & Population Studies 88

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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