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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

64 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary
$76,952 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 55,295 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 64 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for nursing 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 Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Chamberlain University - Illinois to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Chamberlain - Illinois take out while working on their Doctor's Degree is $48,867.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

#2

Rush University

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rush University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Rush University take out $71,010 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Rush University Report

#3

Saint Mary's College

Notre Dame, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saint Mary’s College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. St. Mary's College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Read full report on Nursing at Saint Mary’s College

Out of the 64 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science landed the # 4 spot on the list. RFUMS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of North Chicago.

Nursing majors at RFUMS take out an average of $164,628 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Report

#5

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Bradley University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

While working on their Doctor's Degree, nursing majors at Bradley accumulate an average of around $75,138 in student debt.

Read More…

#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

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University of St Francis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#8

Otterbein University

Westerville, OH

Otterbein University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Otterbein is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Westerville.

Read full report on Nursing at Otterbein University

#9

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

With a ranking of #9, Marquette University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Marquette take out while working on their Doctor's Degree is $72,161.

Full Nursing at Marquette University Report

#10

Edgewood College

Madison, WI

Edgewood College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Edgewood is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.

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Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
12 Lewis University Romeoville, IL

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 7,345
Ohio 13,973
Illinois 21,938
Indiana 7,922
Wisconsin 5,410

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 262,974
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,647
Nursing Practice 8,862
Nursing Administration 8,663
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,717
Nursing Science 4,701
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,895
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,075
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 2,011
Nurse Anesthetist 1,768
Critical Care Nursing 747
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 622
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 567
School Nursing 539
Clinical Nurse Leader 502
Clinical Nurse Specialist 340
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 269
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 262
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 192
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 87
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 26
Forensic Nursing 23
Palliative Care Nursing 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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 Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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