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Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

18 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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 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 healthcare 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 graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Illinois.

Our 2023 rankings named Illinois State University the most popular school in Illinois for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at Illinois State University Report

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Out of the 18 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

About 94% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 6% are male.

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#3

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bradley University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of St Francis is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 27 students majoring in nursing at University of Saint Francis, 19% are male and 81% are female.

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#6

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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

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#6

Rush University

Chicago, IL

Rush University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 14 students majoring in nursing at Rush University, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Full Nursing at Rush University Report

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Loyola University Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#9

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.

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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
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 18 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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