2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 27,169 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,138 and $14,095 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 206 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies 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 liberal arts general studies 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.

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 Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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.

Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$36,848 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 147 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at UChicago

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Springfield is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 3 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Springfield are $16,757, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at UIS

#3

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

$11,996 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$34,045 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 1 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree liberal arts students whose families make $0-$30k list, WIU has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at WIU

#4

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,822 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$40,697 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Central College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 30 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

North Central also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at North Central are $15,822, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at North Central College

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$63,005 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.

Full DePaul Liberal Arts General Studies Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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