Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$30,537 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$51,829 Avg Salary

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

#1

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso, IN

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.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Valpo are $12,220 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

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 college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WIU are $12,182 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Western Illinois University Report

Request Information

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UW - Madison is ranked #5 for overall quality for social sciences in the Great Lakes Region .

Full Social Sciences at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

Request Information
#4

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Purdue are $28,794 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Purdue also did well on our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Purdue University - Main Campus

Request Information
#5

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

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 small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ball State are $26,600 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ball State also is in the top 10% of our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Full Social Sciences at Ball State University Report

Request Information
#6

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Elmhurst, Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Elmhurst graduate students pay an average of $32,800 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Elmhurst also is in the top 20% of our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Elmhurst University

Request Information

Wright State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wright State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in the suburb of Dayton.

Wright State University - Main Campus graduate students pay an average of $24,286 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at Wright State University - Main Campus Report

Request Information

Indiana University - Bloomington 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 #8 on the list. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at IU Bloomington are $33,352 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, IU Bloomington also is in the top 15% of our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read More…

Request Information

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate social sciences programs. Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UWM are $25,651 a year.

Read More…

Request Information
#10

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, MI

Western Michigan University 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 #10 on the list. WMU is a large public school located in the city of Kalamazoo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WMU are $26,248 per year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Western Michigan University

Request Information

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 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.

Find Schools Near You

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