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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois

19 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Illinois. In total, 21,938 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Illinois.

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in Illinois to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing 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 Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Illinois the best school in Illinois for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

#2

Rush University

Chicago, IL

Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Rush University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Read full report on Nursing at Rush University

Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of North Chicago, RFUMS is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#4

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Bradley University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Bradley University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of St Francis is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

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#6

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Romeoville.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

Saint Anthony College of Nursing came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Rockford, SACN is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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#8

McKendree University

Lebanon, IL

McKendree University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. McKendree is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lebanon.

Read full report on Nursing at McKendree University

Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing

#10

North Park University

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #10, North Park University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, North Park is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

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

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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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