2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Liberal Arts General Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #69 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of liberal arts general studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 272 master's degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of liberal arts general studies for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality liberal arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

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 master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on liberal arts general studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of liberal arts general studies students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• 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.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for liberal arts general studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts general studies related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in liberal arts general studies.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Liberal Arts

1

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

137 Annual Graduates

$32,813 Median Starting Salary

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the liberal arts program report average early career earnings of $32,813.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from University of Chicago

2

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

1 Annual Graduates

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

3

DePaul University
Chicago, IL

33 Annual Graduates

$53,765 Median Starting Salary

DePaul University is a great option for students pursuing a master's degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Liberal Arts General Studies master's degree recipients from DePaul University get an earnings boost of about $9,193 above the average income of liberal arts general studies majors.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from DePaul University

4

Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH

3 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Ohio State University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a master's degree in liberal arts general studies. Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus.More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from Ohio State University - Main Campus

5

Tiffin University
Tiffin, OH

31 Annual Graduates

$48,823 Median Starting Salary

Tiffin University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Tiffin.

Liberal Arts General Studies master's degree recipients from Tiffin University earn a boost of approximately $4,251 above the average earnings of liberal arts general studies graduates.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from Tiffin University

6

North Central College
Naperville, IL

7 Annual Graduates

$42,391 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $42,391 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from North Central College

7

Indiana University - South Bend
South Bend, IN

11 Annual Graduates

Indiana University - South Bend is a small public university located in the medium-sized city of South Bend.More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from Indiana University - South Bend

8

University of Toledo
Toledo, OH

9 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Toledo, University of Toledo is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from University of Toledo

9

Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI

2 Annual Graduates

Oakland is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Rochester Hills.More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from Oakland University

9

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI

1 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in liberal arts general studies from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Best Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best liberal arts general studies colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Illinois	221	184
Michigan	211	7
Ohio	207	61
Indiana	191	17
Wisconsin	173	3

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts General Studies is one of 0 different types of Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities programs to choose from.

Liberal Arts Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Humanities	162
Liberal Arts	54
Individualized Studies	44
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.