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Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

14 Colleges
$53,732 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree School for You

With 1,111 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social sciences is the #11 most popular major in Illinois.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 14 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for social sciences majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for social sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Social Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best social sciences schools in Illinois. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Full Social Sciences at University of Chicago Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Illinois State University is a great place for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

Full Social Sciences at Northern Illinois University Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree social sciences programs. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

Full Social Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

Western Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #10 on this year’s Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full Social Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Social Sciences Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 290
Ohio 575
Wisconsin 518
Michigan 441

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Political Science & Government 2,664
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446
Criminology 936
General Social Sciences 745
Other Social Sciences 532
Urban Studies 432
Archeology 66
Demography & Population Studies 66

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 14 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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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