Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa

2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa

11 Schools Ranked

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in Iowa to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

Top Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Northwestern College

Orange City, Iowa
158 Total Awards
$6,600 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern College the best school in Iowa for students working on their graduate certificate. Northwestern College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Orange City, Iowa that handed out 158 graduate certificates in .

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since NWC does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 87% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.

Full Northwestern College Report

Request Information
#2

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
5 Total Awards
$19,405 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 11 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Ambrose University landed the # 2 spot on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Davenport, Iowa, and it awarded 5 graduate certificates in .

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at St. Ambrose University. In 2022-2023 about 22% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

Request Information
#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
1,357 Total Awards
$13,211 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 11 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 3 spot on the list. Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,357 graduate certificates in .

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Iowa. During the 2022-2023 year, about 34% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on University of Iowa

Request Information
#4

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa
181 Total Awards
$12,451 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 181 graduate certificates in .

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Iowa State. In 2022-2023 about 29% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full Iowa State University Report

Request Information
#5

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa
4 Total Awards

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simpson College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Indianola, Iowa, and it awarded 4 graduate certificates in .

Simpson College does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2022-2023 about 63% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on Simpson College

Request Information
21 Total Awards
$11,991 Average Tuition & Fees

Graceland University - Lamoni ranked #6 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Graceland Lamoni is located in Lamoni, Iowa and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 21 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Online graduate courses are available at Graceland Lamoni, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 92% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on Graceland University - Lamoni

Request Information
#7

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa
2 Total Awards

Morningside College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Morningside College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Sioux City, Iowa that handed out 2 graduate certificates in .

Morningside is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.

Read full report on Morningside College

Request Information
#8

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
4 Total Awards
$9,366 Average Tuition & Fees

Briar Cliff University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa and has a very small student population. In , this school awarded 4 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Briar Cliff does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2022-2023 year, about 60% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Briar Cliff University

Request Information
#9

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa
5 Total Awards

Upper Iowa University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Fayette, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 5 students in .

One thing to take note of is that UIU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.

Full Upper Iowa University Report

Request Information
#10

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
3 Total Awards
$9,278 Average Tuition & Fees

Grand View University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 3 graduate certificates in .

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Grand View University. In 2022-2023 about 93% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on Grand View University

Request Information
#11

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
$12,224 Average Tuition & Fees

Clarke University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.

Online graduate courses are available at Clarke, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 44% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.

Read More…

Request Information

Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

View Best Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.

References

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.