2023 Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for social sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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.
Top 10 Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Valparaiso University the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Valpo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Valparaiso.
Valpo graduate students pay an average of $12,220 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
WIU graduate students pay an average of $12,182 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Social Sciences at Western Illinois University Report
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great value for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
UW - Madison graduate students pay an average of $25,501 in tuition and fees each year.
UW - Madison did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Purdue University - Main Campus is a great value for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.
Purdue graduate students pay an average of $28,794 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Purdue is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Social Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus Report
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Ball State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ball State are $26,600 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Ball State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Social Sciences at Ball State University Report
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Elmhurst University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Elmhurst, Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Elmhurst are $32,800 a year.
Elmhurst excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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Wright State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Wright State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in the suburb of Dayton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wright State University - Main Campus are $24,286 per year.
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Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington.
IU Bloomington graduate students pay an average of $33,352 in tuition and fees each year.
IU Bloomington also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Social Sciences at Indiana University - Bloomington
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With a ranking of #9, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UWM are $25,651 a year.
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Western Michigan University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Kalamazoo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WMU are $26,248 a year.
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Social Sciences Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Social Sciences Related Majors for Social Sciences
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Social Sciences
| 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 20 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.