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2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
337 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 10,015 people earned their degree in philosophy, making the major the 81st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 417 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,300 and $23,445 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 337 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered 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.

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 Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Normal, Illinois, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois State Philosophy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Philosophy at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Wheaton College Illinois landed the #3 spot on the list. Wheaton College Illinois is located in Wheaton, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Wheaton College Illinois also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Wheaton College Illinois is $25,358 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

The 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 student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Philosophy at Wheaton College Illinois

#4

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Elmhurst University landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Elmhurst, Illinois, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst University is $21,485 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at Elmhurst

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students per year to attend DePaul University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at DePaul University

#6

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 18 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola University Chicago is $35,407 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Loyola Chicago Philosophy Report

#7

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Lake Forest College is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lake Forest, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest College is $26,426 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at Lake Forest

#8

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 21 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Northwestern University Philosophy Report

#8

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 70 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $27,315 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Philosophy at UChicago

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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