2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree 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 Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 30 schools in Illinois 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 each school on the list.
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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Illinois the most popular school in Illinois for nursing students working on their master’s degree. This large private for-profit school is located in Addison, Illinois, and it awarded 3,923 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% 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.
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. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 200 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 87% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since DePaul does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rush University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 175 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
Rush University 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 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Benedictine University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Lisle, Illinois, and it awarded 138 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 93% of those degree recipients were women.
Benedictine U 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 100% took at least some of their classes online.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Lewis University is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in Romeoville, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 104 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Lewis, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 85% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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 large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 101 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UIC does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 95% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #7, Bradley University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in Peoria, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 94 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
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. During the 2019-2020 year, about 95% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #8, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 85 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Olivet Nazarene. In 2019-2020 about 97% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Loyola University Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 61 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Loyola Chicago, 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, 92% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of St Francis landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. University of Saint Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 56 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since University of Saint Francis does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 89% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 43 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 91% were women.
St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 98% took at least some of their classes online.
Read full report on Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing
With a ranking of #12, Elmhurst University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 32 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 88% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Elmhurst. During the 2019-2020 year, about 64% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
North Park University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 31 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 87% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since North Park does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 92% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Illinois State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
Around 80% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that Illinois State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In 2019-2020 about 81% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Northern Illinois University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, the fairly large public school awarded 27 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 89% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at NIU. In fact, around 43% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
McKendree University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in Lebanon, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 25 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
McKendree 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 68% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Governors State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This small public school is located in University Park, Illinois, and it awarded 24 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 75% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at GSU. In fact, around 35% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Oak Point University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Oak Point is a very small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 24 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 83% were women.
Oak Point 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, 71% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Saint Xavier University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 22 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 77% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that SXU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 63% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since SIUE does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 86% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #21, Methodist College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this very small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
Around 92% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Methodist College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Trinity College is located in Rock Island, Illinois and has a very small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 11 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 91% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Trinity College are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Quincy, Illinois, and it awarded 7 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, BRCN is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Saint Anthony College of Nursing ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. SACN is located in Rockford, Illinois and has a very small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
St. John’s College landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. St. John’s is a very small private not-for-profit school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 4 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 75% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at St. John’s. During the 2019-2020 year, about 9% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 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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