I am currently a high school senior who is searching for colleges and is planning on pursuing both illustration and art history in college. However I do not wish to attend an “art school” and am currently searching for universities and liberal arts schools. I am having trouble finding schools that are not art schools that offer illustration and art history majors in my preferred area so I was wondering if anyone knew of any?
Purchase College.
Sort of sounds like RIT.
I don’t believe RIT offers art history as a major.
Would the type of illustration you are interested in overlap with the studio art offerings available at liberal arts colleges? If so, this would signifcantly widen your options.
RIT has a minor. Syracuse seems to have both.
im not entirely sure what kind of illustration I am interested in, but do you think it would be possible to develop as an illustrator and actually get jobs with just a studio art degree?
You could look into schools with strong art programs and then inquire with their departments as to the success of their graduates in your fields of interest. These colleges would offer you a range of selectivity options:
Alfred University
Manhattanville
SUNY-Purchase
Wheaton (MA)
Skidmore
Sarah Lawrence
Bard
Mt. Holyoke (if female)
Smith (if female)
Hamilton
Vassar
My D was looking for the same type of school and looked at RIT, Alfred University, University of Hartford (Hartford School of Art), Temple (Tyler School of Art), Montclair and VCU.
She was accepted into all of them so then had to decide. It wasn’t easy, but she chose Temple after visiting on accepted student day. The program isn’t illustration, it’s graphic and interactive design. However, the students she spoke with all mentioned that illustration is a huge part of it. The major has illustration classes only available to the students in the program. She liked the idea that she’d also learn more about design while still using her illustration skills. They also have an art history major/minor. The foundation year, students are required to take 2 semesters of art history, so getting a minor is pretty common.
Good luck! If you have any questions or are interested in Temple/Tyler, feel free to DM me 
Syracuse
Of course. A lot of top illustrators are self-taught and don’t have degrees in illustration at all.
What’s important is not so much the major but the development, coursework, and guidance that you’ll get. When you look at studio art programs, see what classes they have and how they are related to illustration; see what professors and artists they have in residence and find out how hands-on they are with their students. Location may also play a role - aspiring art students in urban areas can take supplemental workshops and classes at nearby art schools and community organizations. (And by urban areas I don’t necessarily mean New York or LA - Rochester and other small cities may also offer opportunities as such.)
But here are some other universities that offer an illustration major: Arcadia University, St. John’s University, Wash U.
Also, depending on how talented you are, there are two other options. Parsons, the New School is a fine arts school that is also part of the New School, a liberal arts university. They have a 5-year BA/BFA program that allows you to major in the liberal arts at Eugene Lang College (the liberal arts arm of the New School) and an art program at Parsons. At Eugene Lang, you could major in Arts in Context; you’d choose an arts discipline (visual studies) and a liberal arts discipline (history). You could also major in visual studies (“through visual art, students gain deeper insights into social issues”).
Another option is a similar 5-year BA/BFA program between the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown. You could major in art history at Brown and illustration at RISD.
@hunkydory MICA has a relationship with John’s Hopkins so that’s another option to consider. Students from both schools can take classes at the other.
VCUARTS and VCU. Absolutely a consideration. Ranked #2 fine art program as per USNWR just behind Yale.