2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Finding the Best Nursing Master'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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 90 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best master'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.
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2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Case Western Reserve University the best school in the Great Lakes Region for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Case Western carry an average student debtload of $117,920.
Out of the 90 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Chamberlain - Illinois carry an average student debtload of $43,233.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Saint Anthony College of Nursing helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Great Lakes Region . SACN is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rockford.
Out of the 90 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the # 4 spot on the list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.
Nursing majors at U-M take out an average of $59,887 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Marquette University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Marquette take out $62,599 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Otterbein University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Otterbein is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Westerville.
While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at Otterbein accumulate an average of around $78,232 in student debt.
Bellin College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Bellin College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Green Bay.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Bellin College carry an average student debtload of $44,642.
University of St Francis landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Nursing majors at University of Saint Francis take out an average of $46,005 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.
Nursing majors at Purdue take out an average of $24,654 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Michigan State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Michigan State take out while working on their Master's Degree is $53,832.
Bradley University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Peoria.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Bradley carry an average student debtload of $64,093.
With a ranking of #12, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the city of Columbus.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Ohio State carry an average student debtload of $55,962.
Read full report on Nursing at Ohio State University - Main Campus
With a ranking of #13, Mount Carmel College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Mount Carmel College of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Columbus.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mount Carmel College of Nursing take out while working on their Master's Degree is $36,854.
Read full report on Nursing at Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Milwaukee, WI |
| 15 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 16 | Rush University | Chicago, IL |
| 17 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 18 | Herzing University - Madison | Madison, WI |
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 |
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| 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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