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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

12 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of St Francis the best school in Illinois for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Joliet.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St Francis

Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the # 2 spot on the list. 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

#3

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bradley University is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Bradley University

#4

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lewis University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Lewis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Romeoville.

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#5

Rush University

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rush University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois 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

Illinois State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Read full report on Nursing at Illinois State University

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

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Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Nursing at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing Report

Loyola University Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at Loyola University Chicago Report

#10

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools 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 12 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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