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Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa

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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
$6,360 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Northwestern College to be the best school for students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Iowa.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at NWC. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 94% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Northwestern College Report

#2

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
$18,640 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.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at St. Ambrose University. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 15% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Saint Ambrose University

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
$12,065 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Iowa is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Iowa does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 33% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on University of Iowa

#4

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa
$11,404 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Iowa State does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 54% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Iowa State University

#5

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa
$6,606 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Simpson College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Iowa.

Simpson College does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 38% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Simpson College Report

$11,187 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.

Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Graceland Lamoni. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.

Full Graceland University - Lamoni Report

#7

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa

Morningside College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking.

Since the graduate programs at Morningside are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.

Full Morningside College Report

#8

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
$10,530 Average Tuition & Fees

Briar Cliff University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Briar Cliff does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 64% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

#9

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

With a ranking of #9, Upper Iowa University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UIU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 92% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Upper Iowa University

#10

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
$9,440 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Grand View University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.

Grand View University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 89% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Grand View University Report

#11

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
$14,147 Average Tuition & Fees

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

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Clarke. In 2019-2020 about 7% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

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.

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