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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

104 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 57,106 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

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 Most Popular Nursing Master'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 104 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones were the most popular master's degree 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 master's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Illinois the most popular school in the Great Lakes Region for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.

Of the 3,923 students majoring in nursing at Chamberlain - Illinois, 10% are male and 90% are female.

Full Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

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#3

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University Global. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Purdue University Global is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

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#4

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor, MI

Out of the 104 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Spring Arbor University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor.

About 87% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Spring Arbor University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Report

#6

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Of the 250 students majoring in nursing at Marquette, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Marquette University

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Columbus.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

DePaul University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

About 87% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at DePaul University

Herzing University - Madison landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Madison, Herzing University - Madison is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 86% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Herzing University - Madison Report

#10

Rush University

Chicago, IL

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

About 87% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

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Kent State University at Kent came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 172 students majoring in nursing at Kent State, 13% are male and 87% are female.

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With a ranking of #12, Benedictine University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Lisle, Benedictine U is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 138 students majoring in nursing at Benedictine U, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Full Nursing at Benedictine University Report

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. IUPUI is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Women make up 86% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Report

Case Western Reserve University ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

About 82% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 18% are male.

Read More…

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. U-M is a very large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

Of the 116 students majoring in nursing at U-M, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Full Nursing at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
16 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
17 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
18 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
19 Bradley University Peoria, IL
20 University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges 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 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

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

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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.

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