Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

30 Colleges
$98,290 Avg Salary
$50,801 Avg Student Debt

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 analysis found Chamberlain University - Illinois to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Addison.

Women make up 91% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at Chamberlain - Illinois accumulate an average of around $43,233 in student debt.

Read More…

#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 city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Women make up 84% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at DePaul accumulate an average of around $95,989 in student debt.

Full Nursing at DePaul University Report

#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 large city of Chicago.

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

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at Rush University accumulate an average of around $86,271 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Rush University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Benedictine University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Lisle.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from Benedictine U take out $33,926 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

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 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Lewis carry an average student debt load of $47,165.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

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

Nursing majors at UIC take out an average of $93,738 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 91% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at Bradley take out an average of $64,093 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read More…

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Olivet Nazarene carry an average student debt load of $40,681.

Full Nursing at Olivet Nazarene University Report

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

About 95% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 5% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from Loyola Chicago take out $61,594 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read More…

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 suburb of Joliet.

About 95% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 5% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at University of Saint Francis take out while working on their Master's Degree is $46,005.

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 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

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited nursing schools across the U.S.