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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

30 Colleges
$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 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 healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Illinois the most popular school in Illinois for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois Report

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

The in-demand master’s degree programs at DePaul University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Of the 200 students majoring in nursing at DePaul, 13% are male and 87% are female.

Full Nursing at DePaul University Report

#3

Rush University

Chicago, IL

Out of the 30 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Rush University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 175 students majoring in nursing at Rush University, 13% are male and 87% are female.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Benedictine University is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Lisle, Benedictine U is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Benedictine University Report

#5

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Lewis University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 104 students majoring in nursing at Lewis, 4% are male and 96% are female.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

University of Illinois at 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

Read More…

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

Of the 94 students majoring in nursing at Bradley, 18% are male and 82% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Bradley University

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

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 small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.

Of the 85 students majoring in nursing at Olivet Nazarene, 18% are male and 82% are female.

Full Nursing at Olivet Nazarene University Report

With a ranking of #9, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

About 89% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 11% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Loyola University Chicago

University of St Francis ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 56 students majoring in nursing at University of Saint Francis, 13% are male and 88% are female.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Schools 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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