by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Liberal Arts is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 366,996 degrees were awarded to students with this major.
Across Illinois, there were 22,500 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 646 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois” ranking analyzed 38 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts. That schools that top this list have a program in liberal arts in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois”.
Out of the 38 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Governors State University landed the #1 spot on the list. GSU is a small public school situated in University Park, Illinois. It awarded 120 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois. EIU is located in Charleston, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 100 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 95 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at Northeastern Illinois University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chicago State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois list. CSU is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Out of the 38 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lincoln College landed the #5 spot on the list. Lincoln College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lincoln, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Lake Forest College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Lake Forest is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Eureka College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Eureka, Illinois, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Northern Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 88 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Saint Xavier University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. SXU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 17 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #10. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 58 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Liberal Arts Report
University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school awarded 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% 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%.
Western Illinois University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #12. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 19 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Monmouth College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Monmouth, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Knox College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Knox is a private not-for-profit institution located in Galesburg, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #15, Lincoln Christian University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois list. Lincoln Christian College and Seminary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lincoln, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Roosevelt University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2020-2021.
Lewis University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #17. This medium-sized school is located in Romeoville, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 10 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Trinity International University - Illinois did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #19. Trinity International University - Illinois is located in Deerfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
McKendree University landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Lebanon, Illinois, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Chicago came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
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%. 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 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Illinois State University landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Illinois State is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Bradley University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Bradley University is located in Peoria, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
North Central College landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. Naperville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of St Francis came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Liberal Studies Major in Illinois ranking. University of St Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts at University of Saint Francis
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
