2024 Best Liberal Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

a master's degree in liberal arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #123 out of 1172 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of liberal arts. Combined, these schools handed out 7 master's degrees in liberal arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to liberal arts students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other liberal arts students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Liberal Arts Master's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.

 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Liberal Arts in Illinois

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Liberal Studies

1

North Central College
Naperville, IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

2 Annual Graduates

North Central College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in liberal arts. Located in the midsize city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in liberal arts from North Central College

1

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

1 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a good option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in liberal arts. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.More information about a master’s in liberal arts from Northwestern University

2

Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

2 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in liberal arts has to look into Western Illinois University. WIU is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Macomb.More information about a master’s in liberal arts from Western Illinois University

 

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Ohio	494	24
Michigan	476	3
Indiana	375	17
Wisconsin	317	3

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Liberal Arts Related Rankings by Major

Liberal Arts is one of 3 different types of Liberal Arts General Studies programs to choose from.

Most Popular Majors Related to Liberal Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Humanities	125
Individualized Studies	40
General Studies	12

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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.