2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in Illinois to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Illinois. Located in Normal, Illinois, the large public school handed out 246 graduate certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Around 73% of those degree recipients were women.
Illinois State 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 2020-2021 about 42% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Chamberlain University - Illinois helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. Chamberlain - Illinois is a large private for-profit school situated in Addison, Illinois. It awarded 117 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $33,704 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 94% were women.
Chamberlain - Illinois is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Out of the 18 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 30 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
Around 93% of those degree recipients were women.
Bradley does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2020-2021 year, about 83% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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 located in Joliet, Illinois and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 66 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Around 79% of those degree recipients were women.
University of Saint Francis 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 85% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend NorthShore University HealthSystem School of Nurse Anesthesia. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
Lewis University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in Romeoville, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 35 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.
Around 80% of those degree recipients were women.
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.
Rush University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 30 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Rush University. In fact, around 65% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Loyola University Chicago landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 390 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $45,173 in student loans. Around 64% of those degree recipients were women.
Loyola Chicago 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, 77% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 53 graduate certificates to qualified students.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $39,919 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 72% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at SIUE, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 63% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #9, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and it awarded 58 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $11,645 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 76% were women.
Olivet Nazarene 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 99% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
North Park University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
North Park 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. During the 2020-2021 year, about 45% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #11, DePaul University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 22 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $47,001 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at DePaul. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 69% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #13, Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this very small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 4 students in 2021-2022.
Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
With a ranking of #14, Governors State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Governors State University is a small public school located in University Park, Illinois that handed out 3 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
Around 67% of those degree recipients were women.
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. In 2020-2021 about 43% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Saint Xavier 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 #14 on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 7 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
Around 86% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at SXU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 64% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Methodist College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs.
Methodist College 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, 94% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Oak Point 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 #14 on the list.
Online graduate courses are available at Oak Point, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2020-2021 about 49% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, Saint Anthony College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at SACN. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 3% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 18 schools only.
References
- 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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