2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois
Ranked #13 in popularity,
liberal arts general studies is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 14 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,059 bachelor's degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The liberal arts bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality liberal arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
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 ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
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 bachelor'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 much debt liberal arts general studies students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- 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 bachelor'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 General Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Liberal Arts General Studies in Illinois
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts general studies students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Liberal Arts
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies needs to look into University of Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the liberal arts general studies degree program at University of Chicago get $8,125 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from University of Chicago
It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University make $8,431 more than the typical liberal arts grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Northwestern University
It is difficult to beat DePaul University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Those liberal arts general studies students who get their bachelor's degree from DePaul University earn $24,453 more than the typical liberal arts grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from DePaul University
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in liberal arts general studies needs to check out Western Illinois University. WIU is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Macomb.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make an average of $36,956 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Western Illinois University
Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn around $32,380 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in liberal arts general studies from Illinois State University
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