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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Fine Arts in Illinois

15 Ranked Colleges
826 Degrees Awarded
$22,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Fine Arts 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 Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 12,032 people earned their degree in fine arts, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 1,068 fine arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 826 fine arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 15 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in fine arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent fine arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the fine arts program at the school. 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 Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students.

Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Fine Arts in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 6 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students list, Illinois State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts 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%.

Read more about Fine Arts at Illinois State University

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s fine arts students in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUE is $14,423 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students.

Read more about Fine Arts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s fine arts students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Fine Arts Report

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 48 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students.

Read more about Fine Arts at NIU

#5

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s fine arts students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $16,210 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students.

Full WIU Fine Arts Report

#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read more about Fine Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s fine arts degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,312 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts 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%.

Full UIC Fine Arts Report

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Bradley University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 7 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students list, Bradley has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $25,634 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students per year to attend Bradley University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Bradley University Fine Arts Report

#8

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#13 in overall quality

Columbia College Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students list, Columbia has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $31,099 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students per year to attend Columbia College Chicago.

Read more about Fine Arts at Columbia

#10

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois
#14 in overall quality

Dominican University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Dominican U is a private not-for-profit institution located in River Forest, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Dominican U also took the #14 spot in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,268 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students per year to attend Dominican University.

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.

Read full report on Fine Arts at Dominican U

#11

Millikin University

Decatur, Illinois
#11 in overall quality

Millikin University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Decatur, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s fine arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students list, Millikin has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,331 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students per year to attend Millikin University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Fine Arts at Millikin

#12

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois
#12 in overall quality

Augustana College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Augustana College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Rock Island, Illinois. It awarded 5 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Augustana did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana College is $23,874 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Fine Arts at Augustana College

#13

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Loyola University Chicago came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s fine arts students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $35,407 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Fine Arts at Loyola University Chicago

#14

Knox College

Galesburg, Illinois
#15 in overall quality

Knox College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. Knox College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Galesburg, Illinois. It awarded 9 bachelors’s fine arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students list, Knox has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Knox is $22,292 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Fine Arts students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Knox Fine Arts Report

#3 in overall quality

School of the Art Institute of Chicago landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Fine Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 617 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago also took the #3 spot in our “Best Fine Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago is $44,815 for illinois bachelor’s degree fine arts students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Fine Arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jorge Royan.

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