College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

11 Ranked Colleges
1,386 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Philosophy is the 83rd most popular major in the country with 10,054 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,510 and had an average of $21,514 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,386 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,875 and $22,886 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in philosophy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent philosophy 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 philosophy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Philosophy Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 73 ’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.

UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wisconsin - Madison is $17,234 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UW - Madison Philosophy Report

2

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

UIUC also made our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $14,321 for Great Lakes Region Philosophy students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Philosophy at UIUC

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Ohio State is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 31 ’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.

Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $16,845 for Great Lakes Region Philosophy students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Ohio State

4

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is a public institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UWM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is $17,486 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid.

Full UWM Philosophy Report

5

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point is located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 ’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

UW - Stevens Point also took the #10 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW - Stevens Point is $13,346 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

6

Grand Valley State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. GVSU is a large school located in Allendale, Michigan that handed out 14 ’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.

GVSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,356 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid per year to attend GVSU.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at GVSU

7
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

University of Notre Dame did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. This fairly large school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 48 ’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.

Notre Dame also took the #2 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Notre Dame is $31,101 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of Notre Dame

8
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 71 students in 2020-2021.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $28,517 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid per year to attend UChicago.

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. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UChicago Philosophy Report

9

With a ranking of #9, Franciscan University of Steubenville did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Steubenville, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 42 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region philosophy students with aid list, Franciscan U has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $23,415 for Great Lakes Region Philosophy students with aid per year to attend Franciscan University of Steubenville.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Franciscan U

10
Wheaton College Illinois crest
Wheaton College Illinois
Wheaton, Illinois

Wheaton College Illinois came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a small school located in Wheaton, Illinois that handed out 16 ’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wheaton College Illinois, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $25,692 for great lakes region philosophy students with aid per year to attend Wheaton College Illinois.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Wheaton College Illinois Philosophy Report

11
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 23 students in 2020-2021.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $31,174 for Great Lakes Region Philosophy students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at DePaul University

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options