2027 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Illinois

[Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies education at a price that pays off.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools to find the best return on investment for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students.
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2027 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools
University Of Illinois At Chicago tops our 2027 list of the best value area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools in Illinois. Set in the city of Chicago, University Of Illinois At Chicago is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $15,949, compared with $32,009 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $19,448. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of University Of Illinois At Chicago earn a median of $33,366 early in their careers. Set against $19,448 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 77% of applicants are accepted.
A rank of #2 makes University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign one of the best values for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $18,267, while out-of-state students pay about $40,096. Students borrow a median of $22,179 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earn a median of $24,904 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $22,179 median debt. Roughly 42% of applicants are accepted.
University Of Chicago is a great value for students pursuing a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies, landing the #3 spot this year. University Of Chicago is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $69,324. Students borrow a median of $15,854 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of University Of Chicago earn a median of $38,008 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $15,854 median debt. The acceptance rate is 4%.
Illinois State University came in at #4 on our 2027 list of the best value area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools. Set in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State University is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $14,410, compared with $26,058 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $21,896. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from Illinois State University generally make around $49,660. Set against $21,896 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 88% of applicants are accepted.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Northeastern Illinois University earned it the #5 place for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Set in the city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $12,383, with out-of-state students paying around $22,726. Students borrow a median of $30,614 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Early-career area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates make about $49,254. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Northeastern Illinois University admits about 75% of applicants.
Northwestern University landed the #6 spot for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies value this year. Set in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $68,322. Students borrow a median of $16,616 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from Northwestern University generally make around $39,012. Set against $16,616 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 8% of applicants are accepted.
Depaul University ranked #7 on our 2027 list of the best value area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools. Depaul University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. Students from in state pay about $45,405 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies graduates is $24,738. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from Depaul University generally make around $34,269. Set against $24,738 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 76% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 7 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.