Find Nursing Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

18 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 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 18 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular graduate certificate programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Illinois. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Full Nursing at Illinois State University Report

Out of the 18 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 fairly large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.

Of the 33 students majoring in nursing at Chamberlain - Illinois, 6% are male and 94% are female.

Read More…

#3

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Bradley University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 30 students majoring in nursing at Bradley, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Bradley University

Out of the 18 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St Francis landed the # 4 spot on the list. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

Women make up 81% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St Francis

#6

Rush University

Chicago, IL

Rush University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Rush University

#6

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Lewis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Romeoville.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

Loyola University Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Loyola University Chicago

#9

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read More…

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Read full report on Nursing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 18 schools only.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.