ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Humanities Schools in the Great Lakes Region

15 Colleges in the United States
346 Humanities Degrees Awarded
$38,759 Avg Early-Career Salary

Humanities is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.

For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 63 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for humanities students pursuing a degree.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/liberal-arts-sciences-humanities/liberal-arts-and-general-studies/humanities/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 2
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 24.01), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Studies (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "General Studies (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 2
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 2 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 2
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 2 offers with relevance >= 0.9

Best Schools for Humanities in the Great Lakes Region

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall humanities education in the Great Lakes Region.

Top Schools in Humanities

1

Leading the list is Ohio State University Main Campus, our #1 school for humanities. Set in the city of Columbus, Ohio State University Main Campus is a very large public institution. About 88% of students finish within six years. There were roughly 17 humanities students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State University Main Campus in the most recent data year. Graduates of the humanities program make about $37,632 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $17,625 to complete this degree. More information about a degree in humanities from Ohio State University Main Campus

2

University Of Chicago came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best humanities schools. Set in the city of Chicago, University Of Chicago is a very large private not-for-profit institution. About 96% of students finish within six years. University Of Chicago awarded about 104 humanities degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the humanities program make about $26,094 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $15,854 to complete this degree. Get the full humanities details for University Of Chicago

3
Purdue University Main Campus crest
Purdue University Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University Main Campus came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the best humanities schools. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue University Main Campus is a very large public university. About 83% of students finish within six years. Purdue University Main Campus awarded about 43 humanities degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the humanities program make about $79,921 in their early career. Typical student debt for the program is $17,917. More information about a degree in humanities from Purdue University Main Campus

4

University Of Cincinnati Main Campus came in at #4 on our 2026 list of the best humanities schools. Located in the city of Cincinnati, University Of Cincinnati Main Campus is a very large public university. Roughly 74% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 17 humanities students who graduated with this degree at University Of Cincinnati Main Campus in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, humanities degree recipients from University Of Cincinnati Main Campus generally make around $32,604. Typical student debt for the program is $20,784. See the full humanities program report for University Of Cincinnati Main Campus

5
Michigan State University crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Students looking for a strong humanities program will find one at Michigan State University, which ranked #5. Michigan State University is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing. About 81% of students finish within six years. Michigan State University awarded about 29 humanities degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, humanities degree recipients from Michigan State University generally make around $30,916. Typical student debt for the program is $27,312. More information about a degree in humanities from Michigan State University

6

University Of Wisconsin Parkside earned the #6 position for humanities this year. This mid-sized public university is located in the rural area of Kenosha. About 40% of students finish within six years. About 12 humanities degrees were awarded at University Of Wisconsin Parkside in the most recent year. Humanities graduates of University Of Wisconsin Parkside earn a median of $40,365 early in their careers. Students borrow a median of $24,485 to complete this degree. See the full humanities program report for University Of Wisconsin Parkside

7

Ohio University Main Campus landed the #7 spot for humanities this year. Located in the town of Athens, Ohio University Main Campus is a very large public university. Roughly 65% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 31 humanities students who graduated with this degree at Ohio University Main Campus in the most recent data year. Students who receive their humanities degree from Ohio University Main Campus earn around $35,825 in the first couple years of their career. Ohio University Main Campus graduates carry a median of $24,614 in student loans. Read more about the humanities program at Ohio University Main Campus

8

Glen Oaks Community College landed the #8 spot for humanities this year. Glen Oaks Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Centreville. About 56 humanities degrees were awarded at Glen Oaks Community College in the most recent year. Humanities graduates of Glen Oaks Community College earn a median of $27,987 early in their careers. Students borrow a median of $13,764 to complete this degree. More information about a degree in humanities from Glen Oaks Community College

9
Tiffin University crest
Tiffin University
Tiffin, OH

Tiffin University ranked #9 on our 2026 list of the best humanities schools. Set in the town of Tiffin, Tiffin University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. Tiffin University graduates 40% of students within six years. Tiffin University awarded about 37 humanities degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the humanities program make about $37,484 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $30,977 to complete this degree. See the full humanities program report for Tiffin University

Narrow Humanities Schools by State

ADBLOCK #173
View All Humanities Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 63 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options