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2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois

13 Ranked Colleges
974 Degrees Awarded
$18,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value History Schools in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value History Schools in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 32,731 people earned their degree in history, making the major the 30th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, history graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,467 and had an average of $23,587 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 974 history graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,707 and $22,415 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value History Schools in Illinois” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in history. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent history programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the history program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value History Schools in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value History Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois history students.

Top 13 Best Value Colleges for History in Illinois

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 117 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $14,321 for Illinois History students per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Read more about History at UIUC

2
Illinois State crest
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value History Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 107 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

Illinois State also took the #4 spot in our “Best History Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,830 for illinois history students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on History at Illinois State University

3

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value History Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #3 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois history students list, SIUE has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best History Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,462 for Illinois History students.

Read more about History at SIUE

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 51 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois history students list, NIU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best History Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,956 for illinois history students per year to attend NIU.

Read full report on History at NIU

5

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value History Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #5 spot on the list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 47 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,214 for Illinois History students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about History at University of Illinois at Chicago

6

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 22 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,285 for Illinois History students per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about History at SIUC

7
EIU crest
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, Illinois

Eastern Illinois University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking. Charleston, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 32 students in 2020-2021.

EIU also took the #10 spot in our “Best History Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,098 for Illinois History students per year to attend EIU.

Full EIU History Report

8

Western Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 25 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

WIU also made our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $15,305 for illinois history students.

Read full report on History at WIU

9

With a ranking of #9, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.

Northeastern Illinois University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern Illinois University is $14,590 for illinois history students.

Read more about History at Northeastern Illinois University

10
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, Illinois

Aurora University landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Aurora, Illinois, and it awarded 16 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

Aurora not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,994 for Illinois History students per year to attend Aurora University.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%.

Read full report on History at Aurora

11
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 36 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $31,174 for Illinois History students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about History at DePaul University

12
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

With a ranking of #12, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value History Schools in Illinois list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 82 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $23,279 for Illinois History students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full Northwestern History Report

13
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in Illinois ranking. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 103 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best History Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $28,517 for illinois history students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 University of Chicago History Report

Notes and References

References

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