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Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois

2023 Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois

15 Colleges
$49,951 Avg Salary
$25,324 Avg Student Debt

Out of the majors we analyze each year, education was ranked 4th in Illinois. In fact, 10,567 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 15 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular online programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Online Education Colleges.

Our analysis found National Louis University to be the most popular school for education students who want to pursue an online degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, education graduates from NLU take out $41,606 in student loans while working on their degree.

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The excellent online programs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best education schools in Illinois. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at SIUC take out is $19,901.

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#3

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Concordia University, Chicago. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

While working on their degree, education majors at Concordia University, Chicago accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt.

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#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois list. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at Olivet Nazarene take out is $27,000.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of St Francis is a great place for education students pursuing an online degree. Located in the suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that education majors at University of Saint Francis take out is $23,878.

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Rasmussen University - Illinois came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the city of Rockford, Rasmussen University - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, education graduates from Rasmussen University - Illinois carry an average student debtload of $23,144.

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Western Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois list. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

On average, education graduates from WIU take out $27,973 in student loans while working on their degree.

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Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best education programs. RFUMS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of North Chicago.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, education graduates from SIUE carry an average student debtload of $22,125. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $184, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#10

Erikson Institute

Chicago, IL

Erikson Institute landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best education programs. Located in the city of Chicago, The Erikson Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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Best Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 11,570
Michigan 5,939
Ohio 9,238
Wisconsin 5,792

More Education Rankings in Illinois

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832
Student Counseling 13,858
Instructional Media Design 8,695
Teaching English or French 5,791
Other Education 4,858
Teaching Assistants 2,751
Educational Assessment 2,552
Multilingual Education 1,910
Education Philosophy 737
International Education 293

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 205,984
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 15 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 Horadrim.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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