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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

30 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master'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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 30 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Illinois.

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

About 90% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means DePaul University is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 87% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at DePaul University

#3

Rush University

Chicago, IL

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Rush University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Women make up 87% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Rush University Report

Out of the 30 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Benedictine University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lisle.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

Full Nursing at Benedictine University Report

#5

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Out of the 30 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lewis University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Romeoville.

Women make up 96% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

Of the 101 students majoring in nursing at UIC, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Read More…

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 82% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Bradley University

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 82% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Olivet Nazarene University Report

With a ranking of #9, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Of the 61 students majoring in nursing at Loyola Chicago, 11% are male and 89% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Loyola University Chicago

University of St Francis ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

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

Full Nursing at University of St Francis Report

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 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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