2027 Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Illinois
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
For its 2027 ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students pursuing a degree.
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Best Schools for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies education in Illinois.
Top Schools in Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies
Leading the list is Northwestern University, our #1 school for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Set in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. The six-year graduation rate is 95%. Northwestern University awarded about 35 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees in the most recent data year. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of Northwestern University earn a median of $39,012 early in their careers. Northwestern University graduates carry a median of $16,616 in student loans.
More information about a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies from Northwestern University
A rank of #2 makes Illinois State University one of the top schools for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. This very large public university is located in the suburb of Normal. About 64% of students finish within six years. Illinois State University awarded about 18 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree from Illinois State University earn around $49,660 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $21,896.
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University Of Chicago came in at #3 on our 2027 list of the best area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools. Located in the city of Chicago, University Of Chicago is a very large private not-for-profit university. About 96% of students finish within six years. University Of Chicago awarded about 47 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from University Of Chicago generally make around $38,008. Typical student debt for the program is $15,854.
Read more about the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program at University Of Chicago
University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies, ranking #4. This very large public university is located in the city of Champaign. The six-year graduation rate is 85%. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign awarded about 32 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program make about $24,904 in their early career. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign graduates carry a median of $22,179 in student loans.
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A rank of #5 makes University Of Illinois At Chicago one of the top schools for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Set in the city of Chicago, University Of Illinois At Chicago is a very large public institution. The six-year graduation rate is 62%. There were roughly 63 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students who graduated with this degree at University Of Illinois At Chicago in the most recent data year. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of University Of Illinois At Chicago earn a median of $33,366 early in their careers. University Of Illinois At Chicago graduates carry a median of $19,448 in student loans.
More information about a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies from University Of Illinois At Chicago
Depaul University ranked #6 on our 2027 list of the best area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools. This very large private not-for-profit university is located in the city of Chicago. The six-year graduation rate is 68%. There were roughly 36 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students who graduated with this degree at Depaul University in the most recent data year. Graduates of the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program make about $34,269 in their early career. Depaul University graduates carry a median of $24,738 in student loans.
See the full area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program report for Depaul University
Northeastern Illinois University came in at #7 for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies this year. Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Chicago. About 22% of students finish within six years. About 22 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees were awarded at Northeastern Illinois University in the most recent year. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of Northeastern Illinois University earn a median of $49,254 early in their careers. Northeastern Illinois University graduates carry a median of $30,614 in student loans.
See the full area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program report for Northeastern Illinois University
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 7 schools evaluated.
- 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.
