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Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$14,054 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$99,011 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Illinois. In total, 21,938 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Illinois.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in Illinois to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Illinois. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $9,773 per year.

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Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 2 spot on the list. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 per year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing are $8,740 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of St Francis. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at University of Saint Francis are $13,839 a year.

University of Saint Francis also took the #3 spot in our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois rankings.

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Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the # 5 spot on the list. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Addison.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Chamberlain - Illinois are $14,090 a year.

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#6

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Romeoville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Lewis are $14,960 a year.

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#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Bradley are $17,400 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Bradley also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.

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#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Olivet Nazarene are $12,190 per year.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois rankings.

Full Nursing at Olivet Nazarene University Report

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#9

North Park University

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #9, North Park University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Chicago, North Park is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at North Park are $14,184 per year.

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Loyola University Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 per year.

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Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 7,345
Ohio 13,973
Indiana 7,922
Wisconsin 5,410

Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.

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 12 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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