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Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

9 Colleges
$50,291 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education Master's Degree School for You

General Education is the #36 most popular major in Illinois with 363 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 9 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

Check out the education master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in General Education

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for general education students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Read full report on General Education at Northwestern University

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 2 spot on the list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

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#3

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at Elmhurst University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in Illinois. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Elmhurst.

Full General Education at Elmhurst University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

Full General Education at Western Illinois University Report

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on General Education at Northern Illinois University

#6

North Park University

Chicago, IL

North Park University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. North Park is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full General Education at North Park University Report

#7

McKendree University

Lebanon, IL

McKendree University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the large suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on General Education at McKendree University

#8

Rockford University

Rockford, IL

Rockford University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Rockford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rockford.

Full General Education at Rockford University Report

#9

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Concordia University, Chicago landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree general education programs. Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on General Education at Concordia University, Chicago

Best General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 335
Ohio 434
Indiana 247
Wisconsin 261

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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