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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

40 Colleges
$22,738 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$53,732 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Master'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 Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 40 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master'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.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in tuition and fees each year.

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

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 per year.

Illinois State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in tuition and fees each year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the remote 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.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Akron Main Campus is a great value for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 per year.

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#6

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Marquette are $21,960 a year.

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

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#7

Indiana State University

Terre Haute, IN

Indiana State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social sciences programs. Indiana State is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Terre Haute.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Indiana State are $15,562 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Indiana State University Report

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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 per year.

UW - Madison also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

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

UWM graduate students pay an average of $25,651 in tuition and fees each year.

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

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Loyola University Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 a year.

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Best Social Sciences Colleges by State

Explore the best social sciences colleges 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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