2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamp 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 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 13 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for nursing students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Bradley University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in Illinois. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 77 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $63,614 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Bradley does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 83% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of St Francis helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit institution located in Joliet, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 36 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from University of Saint Francis accumulate an average of $59,550 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at University of Saint Francis. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 85% took at least some of their classes online.
Out of the 13 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lewis University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Lewis is located in Romeoville, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Lewis. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 79% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend McKendree University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in Lebanon, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since McKendree does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.
Out of the 13 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, North Park University landed the # 5 spot on the list.
One thing to take note of is that North Park does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 45% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Illinois State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is located in Normal, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 73 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Illinois State accumulate an average of $58,962 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that Illinois State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 42% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,469 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from UIC accumulate an average of $142,222 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UIC. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 85% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #8, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, the fairly large public school handed out 223 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $146,701 in loans while pursuing their degree.
SIUE does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 63% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Millikin University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Decatur, Illinois, and it awarded 15 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Millikin accumulate an average of $131,943 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Millikin. During the 2020-2021 year, about 41% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #10, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 539 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $117,405 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Loyola Chicago. In 2020-2021 about 77% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 267 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $71,655 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since NIU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Governors State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. This small public school is located in University Park, Illinois, and it awarded 81 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $76,994 in loans while pursuing their degree.
GSU does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 43% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #13, DePaul University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 292 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from DePaul accumulate an average of $107,930 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at DePaul. In 2020-2021 about 69% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 13 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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