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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

25 Colleges
$16,493 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Illinois with 21,938 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare 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. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school 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, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 25 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing are $8,740 per year.

Read More…

Out of the 25 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Illinois State are $9,773 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Illinois State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SIUE are $9,316 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Chamberlain University - Illinois. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Chamberlain - Illinois are $14,090 per year.

Read More…

#5

Governors State University

University Park, IL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Governors State University is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at GSU are $8,320 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Governors State University

#6

McKendree University

Lebanon, IL

McKendree University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

McKendree graduate students pay an average of $9,756 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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University of St Francis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

University of Saint Francis graduate students pay an average of $13,839 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

University of Saint Francis not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St Francis

Northern Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.

NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Northern Illinois University Report

#9

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

With a ranking of #9, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Olivet Nazarene are $12,190 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Olivet Nazarene University

#10

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Lewis are $14,960 a year.

Lewis excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Nursing at Lewis University

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Ohio 13,973
Michigan 7,345
Indiana 7,922
Wisconsin 5,410

One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Concentrations

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

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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