2025 Best Nursing Practice Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Ranked #7 in popularity, nursing practice is one of the most sought-after doctor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 8 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of nursing practice. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,060 doctor's degrees in nursing practice during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing Practice School for Your Doctor's Degree

The nursing practice doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing practice program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to nursing practice students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of nursing practice students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing practice related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing practice students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Nursing Practice Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Practice Doctor's Degree Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Nursing Practice in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in nursing practice.

Top Illinois Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing Practice

1

Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

6 Annual Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is a good option for students interested in a doctor's degree in nursing practice. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Loyola University Chicago

2

Rush University
Chicago, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

231 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in nursing practice needs to take a look at Rush University. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Rush University

3

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

90 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in nursing practice needs to check out Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. SIUE is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

4

Bradley University
Peoria, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

43 Annual Graduates

Bradley University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in nursing practice. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Bradley University

5

Chamberlain University - Illinois
Addison, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

482 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Chamberlain University - Illinois

6

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

124 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from University of Illinois at Chicago

7

Saint Anthony College of Nursing
Rockford, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

16 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Rockford, SACN is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from Saint Anthony College of Nursing

8

DePaul University
Chicago, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

31 Annual Graduates

DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a doctorate in nursing practice from DePaul University

Best Nursing Practice Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	257	43
Ohio	253	79
Indiana	202	69
Wisconsin	163	160

View All Rankings >

Nursing Practice Related Rankings by Major

One of 23 majors within the Nursing area of study, Nursing Practice has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Nurse Anesthetist	48
Nursing Science	21
Nursing Administration	20
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	2

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.