2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Ranked #2 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after master'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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 20 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 4,254 master's degrees in nursing to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree

The nursing master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing 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 make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in Illinois

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a master's degree.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL

45 Annual Graduates

$108,919 Median Starting Salary

Loyola University Chicago is a good option for students interested in a master's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Loyola University Chicago make $3,750 more than the typical nursing grad.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Loyola University Chicago

2

Chamberlain University - Illinois
Addison, IL

3,002 Annual Graduates

$104,394 Median Starting Salary

Chamberlain University - Illinois is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in nursing. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the suburb of Addison.

After graduating, nursing master's recipients usually make an average of $104,394 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Chamberlain University - Illinois

3

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

109 Annual Graduates

$79,653 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in nursing needs to check out University of Illinois at Chicago. UIC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $79,653.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Illinois at Chicago

4

Bradley University
Peoria, IL

123 Annual Graduates

$105,021 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Bradley University if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career income of $105,021.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Bradley University

5

University of St Francis
Joliet, IL

51 Annual Graduates

$112,521 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from University of St Francis earn $7,352 more than the standard nursing graduate.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of St Francis

6

Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL

59 Annual Graduates

$102,373 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $102,373.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Olivet Nazarene University

7

Rush University
Chicago, IL

153 Annual Graduates

$81,862 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients usually make an average of $81,862 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Rush University

8

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL

22 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in nursing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

9

Lewis University
Romeoville, IL

120 Annual Graduates

$103,365 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients generally make about $103,365 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Lewis University

10

Illinois State University
Normal, IL

28 Annual Graduates

$108,154 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Nursing master's degree recipients from Illinois State University receive an earnings boost of about $2,985 over the typical income of nursing graduates.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Illinois State University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	211	902
Ohio	207	1,953
Indiana	191	1,452
Wisconsin	173	588

View All Rankings >

Nursing Related Rankings by Major

Nursing is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	1,787
Registered Nursing	1,722
Nursing Science	438
Nursing Administration	172
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	120
Critical Care Nursing	13
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing	1
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	1

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Health	752
Communication Sciences	501
Allied Health Professions	438
Health & Medical Administrative Services	374
Mental & Social Health Services	341
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	332
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	133
Medical Illustration & Informatics	117
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	99
Medical Science	54

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.