Is a research university right for me?–

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students. Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines. Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you. If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel. Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well. Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Is a liberal arts college right for me?–

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students. Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom). Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships, but also more pleasurable walks across campus. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers. Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Is an online college right for me?–

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available. Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degress you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no disctinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online. Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whehter you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college. Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands. Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain. Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands balancing work and life, or becuase the online colleges afford them the chance to attend a better school without moving. If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are aynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc. The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors. Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions. If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find, well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois 2024

By James Barham

Published: Mar 23, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 2023

Liberal arts colleges are a great option for students seeking a well-rounded education in an intimate campus setting. The best liberal arts colleges in Illinois offer a diverse selection of degree programs with opportunities for a highly individualized educational experience.

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois

Wheaton College
Rockford University
Knox College
Bradley University
Columbia College Chicago
Lake Forest College
Chicago State University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Augustana College
Western Illinois University

Columbia College Chicago 96%
Eureka College 87%
Wheaton College 86%
Saint Xavier University 85%
Dominican University 81%
University of Illinois Springfield 79%
McKendree University 78%
Bradley University 76%
Illinois College 75%
Millikin University 75%

Saint Xavier University 16 to 1
Lewis University 14 to 1
Eastern Illinois University 14 to 1
McKendree University 14 to 1
Bradley University 14 to 1
Columbia College Chicago 14 to 1
Olivet Nazarene University 14 to 1
North Central College 13 to 1
Illinois College 13 to 1
Western Illinois University 13 to 1

Illinois Wesleyan University $52,512
Knox College $51,576
Lake Forest College $51,002
Augustana College $46,189
North Central College $42,206
Monmouth College $41,390
Wheaton College $40,820
Millikin University $38,800
Olivet Nazarene University $37,440
Bradley University $36,360

Augustana College $33,000
Millikin University $20,000
Dominican University $19,943
Wheaton College $18,096
Bradley University $17,100
North Central College $15,822
Lake Forest College $15,252
Saint Xavier University $15,000
Lewis University $14,760
North Park University $14,004

Dominican University
Olivet Nazarene University
Lewis University
Saint Xavier University
Millikin University
Governors State University
North Park University
McKendree University
North Central College
Monmouth College

Illinois Wesleyan University 45%
Chicago State University 47%
Governors State University 52%
Olivet Nazarene University 61%
Northeastern Illinois University 62%
Lake Forest College 64%
Monmouth College 66%
Rockford University 67%
North Park University 67%
North Central College 68%

Monmouth College 9 to 1
Chicago State University 9 to 1
Millikin University 10 to 1
North Park University 10 to 1
Dominican University 10 to 1
Rockford University 10 to 1
Knox College 10 to 1
Wheaton College 10 to 1
Eureka College 11 to 1
Augustana College 11 to 1

Chicago State University $7,488
Governors State University $7,512
Eastern Illinois University $9,207
University of Illinois Springfield $9,645
Northeastern Illinois University $10,091
Western Illinois University $13,669
Columbia College Chicago $27,786
Eureka College $28,360
North Park University $33,050
McKendree University $33,050

Columbia College Chicago $1,174
Chicago State University $5,850
Governors State University $6,354
Eastern Illinois University $7,691
Northeastern Illinois University $7,947
Western Illinois University $8,319
University of Illinois Springfield $8,375
Illinois College $9,000
McKendree University $9,756
Olivet Nazarene University $12,190

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Illinois

Prospective students searching for colleges in Illinois have plenty of excellent schools to choose from. Illinois offers over 130 higher education institutes throughout the state. Thanks to an expansive public university system and several top private institutions, students can select from an extremely wide array of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Illinois.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois at Chicago, the state’s two largest public universities in Illinois. Students can access a full spectrum of undergraduate and graduate degrees for in-state tuition rates of $13,000 to $15,000 respectively. Both public universities also offer a full selection of online degree programs.

It’s also worth noting that Illinois residents who pursue online degrees at public colleges in Illinois will qualify for in-state tuition rates. Out of state students will generally pay more whether pursuing on-campus or online degrees.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

More than half of the colleges in Illinois are actually private schools. Among these private colleges and universities, the most notable are DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Loyola University Chicago. Tuition from these three private schools can be costly, ranging from $44,000 to $55,000. However, each of these private schools boasts a high graduation rate and excellent professors.

Illinois is also home to many small private schools, including Benedictine University and National Louis University.

Popular disciplines in Illinois include disciplines like criminal justice, social work, nursing, education, religious studies, communications, and medicine. Both traditional and online students have a wide range of options in each of these subject areas.

Degree completion programs are also widely available for lapsed students who have already accumulated some college credits. This is an especially popular online degree option among working professionals in Illinois.

Additionally, Illinois offers several loan forgiveness-based financial aid programs for qualifying students pursuing careers as teachers, public defenders or prosecutors, or nurses.

From the skyscrapers in Chicago to the vast prairie lands in the north, Illinois is a place where city meets country. Students can grab a Chicago-style hotdog on the way to a Cubs game, explore the ancient sandstone cliffs in the Shawnee National Forest, or admire an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, all while attending one of The Prairie State’s universities or colleges.

The higher education institutes in Illinois have also produced many prominent alumni, including Stephen Colbert, Phillip Glass, and Kurt Vonnegut. Students hoping to walk the same streets as these well-known individuals can check out some of the state’s top programs and universities.

What are Illinois’s Colleges & Universities?

Illinois’s Best Overall

How do we determine Illinois's best colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

A liberal arts college is a school that puts a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. We’ve identified 36 liberal arts colleges in Illinois. To be ranked among the 25 best liberal arts colleges in Illinois, schools must fully accredited institutions.

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois 2023

Illinois’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Your Area of Interest

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

In pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you will need to choose between three kinds of schools: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and online colleges.

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students.

Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines. Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you. If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.

Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well.
Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Learn more about research universities by reading about the best research universities in the US.

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree.

Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students. Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom).
Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships, but also more pleasurable walks across campus. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers. Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Learn more about liberal arts colleges by reading about the best liberal arts colleges in the US.

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available. Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degress you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no disctinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online. Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whehter you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college.

Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands. Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain.
Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands balancing work and life, or becuase the online colleges afford them the chance to attend a better school without moving. If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are aynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc.
The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors. Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions.

If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

Check out our directory of liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top liberal arts schools in every state.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois 2024

10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois

Colleges and Universities in Illinois

What are Illinois’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois 2023

Career Outlook for degree at Wheaton College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Bradley University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Columbia College Chicago

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Knox College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Lake Forest College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Western Illinois University

Most Influential Alumni

Western Illinois University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at University of Illinois Springfield

Most Influential Alumni

University of Illinois Springfield’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Eastern Illinois University

Most Influential Alumni

Eastern Illinois University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Chicago State University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at North Central College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at McKendree University

Most Influential Alumni

McKendree University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Governors State University

Most Influential Alumni

Governors State University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Saint Xavier University

Most Influential Alumni

Saint Xavier University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Augustana College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Illinois Wesleyan University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Northeastern Illinois University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Eureka College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Millikin University

Most Influential Alumni

Millikin University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Illinois College

Most Influential Alumni

Illinois College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Rockford University

Most Influential Alumni

Rockford University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Lewis University

Most Influential Alumni

Lewis University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for degree at Olivet Nazarene University

Most Influential Alumni

Olivet Nazarene University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Monmouth College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at North Park University

Most Influential Alumni

North Park University’s Online Degrees

Career Outlook for degree at Dominican University

Most Influential Alumni

Illinois’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Your Area of Interest