2026 Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Illinois
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 27 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students pursuing a degree.
What’s on this page:
Best Schools for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies in Illinois
If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
Top Schools in Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies
Our analysis ranked Illinois State University the best school in the country for a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Illinois State University is a very large public school located in the suburb of Normal. About 64% of students finish within six years. There were roughly 14 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State University in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from Illinois State University generally make around $49,660. Illinois State University graduates carry a median of $21,896 in student loans.
Read more about the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program at Illinois State University
Students looking for a strong area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program will find one at University Of Chicago, which ranked #2. This very large private not-for-profit university is located in the city of Chicago. The six-year graduation rate is 96%. There were roughly 46 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students who graduated with this degree at University Of Chicago in the most recent data year. Students who receive their area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree from University Of Chicago earn around $38,008 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $15,854 to complete this degree.
Get the full area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies details for University Of Chicago
A rank of #3 makes University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign one of the top schools for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. Located in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public university. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign graduates 85% of students within six years. About 37 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees were awarded at University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign in the most recent year. Graduates of the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program make about $24,742 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $22,179 to complete this degree.
More information about a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
A rank of #4 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. About 62% of students finish within six years. About 73 area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degrees were awarded at University Of Illinois At Chicago in the most recent year. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Chicago generally make around $33,366. 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
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 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 · 27 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.
