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2025 Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

12 Colleges in Illinois
772 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,844 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #20 in popularity, history is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 772 bachelor's degrees in history to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great History School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of history for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for history students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank History Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More History Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study History in Illinois

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in history.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in History

1

Northwestern University is a good option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the history program at Northwestern University get $15,317 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Northwestern University

2
94 Annual Graduates
$26,436 Median Starting Salary
$32,145 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in history has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program report average early career income of $26,436.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
50 Annual Graduates
$31,079 Median Starting Salary
$61,218 Median Student Debt

Loyola University Chicago is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in history. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Soon after graduating, history bachelor's recipients generally make about $31,079 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Loyola University Chicago

4
111 Annual Graduates
$40,465 Median Starting Salary
$36,878 Median Student Debt

Illinois State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in history. Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Bachelor's recipients from the history major at Illinois State University make $5,621 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Illinois State University

5

Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program state that they receive average early career wages of $26,474.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Illinois at Chicago

6

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program report average early career earnings of $33,288.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Northern Illinois University

7
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

History bachelor's degree recipients from DePaul University receive an earnings boost of about $2,045 above the typical earnings of history graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from DePaul University

8

SIUE is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program state that they receive average early career income of $26,916.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

9

Located in the distant town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,101.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

10

Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program state that they receive average early career earnings of $32,149.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Eastern Illinois University

Best History Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best History Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 544
Ohio 252 808
Indiana 235 452
Wisconsin 213 496

View All Rankings >

History is one of 0 different types of History programs to choose from.

History Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General History 769
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology 3

Notes and References

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