If you attended a college in Illinois, you are likely partial to your alma mater.

There are a handful of excellent universities scattered throughout the state, but one stands out above the rest. This school is revered for its spectacular reputation, employment outcomes, and numerous programs among other desirable qualities that make it a top educational institution to attend.

According to a list compiled by QS Top Universities, the best university in Illinois is the University of Chicago. Northwestern University was named runner up!

"In 11th place in the world rankings, is the University of Chicago – the top-ranked university in Illinois. The University of Chicago scores well in all indicators, particularly for academic reputation, where it earns a near perfect score. If you’re interested in studying economics and econometrics, you’ll be pleased to learn that the University of Chicago ranks fourth in the world for the subject while also being ranked in the top 10 in the world for several subjects such as social science, accounting and finance, anthropology, law and sociology."

Here's what QS Top Universities had to say about sourcing the data to discover the highest-rated university in each state:

"The rankings are compiled by our data analysts in partnership with tens of thousands of higher education institutions. They incorporate datapoints from 16.4 million academic papers as well as the views of more than 151,000 academics and 100,000 employers. Each of the QS rankings are compiled using a core methodology that employs a range of vital factors including student experience, university partnerships, research activity and faculty qualifications."

Check out QS Top Universities for a continued list of the best universities across the country.

Joe Soto