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2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

8 Ranked Colleges
245 Degrees Awarded
$21,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 16,240 people earned their degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies, making the major the 30th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $30,827 and had an average of $22,562 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 363 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,050 and $25,673 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 245 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies in Illinois

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 47 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at UIUC

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 54 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students list, UIC has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northeastern Illinois University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern Illinois University is $15,843 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Northeastern Illinois University

#4

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Aurora University landed the #4 spot on the list. Aurora University is a medium-sized school located in Aurora, Illinois that handed out 3 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Aurora, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,215 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students per year to attend Aurora.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Aurora University Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

#5

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Columbia College Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia College Chicago is $31,099 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

Full Columbia Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

#6

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students per year to attend DePaul.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at DePaul University

#7

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Northwestern University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 26 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Northwestern

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 21 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students list, UChicago has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $27,315 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Full University of Chicago Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to G. Mützel.

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