2023 Best Master's Degree Schools in Iowa
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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Master's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in Iowa to see which master's degree 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.
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Top Master's Degree Schools in Iowa
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Drake University to be the best school for students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Iowa. Drake University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 426 master’s degrees in .
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Drake does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 36% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northwestern College is a great place for students working on their master’s degree. NWC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Orange City, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 152 master’s degrees in .
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at NWC. 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.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simpson College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Indianola, Iowa, and it awarded 16 master’s degrees in .
Simpson College does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 63% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Iowa. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, the large public school awarded 1,743 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in .
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Iowa. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 34% took at least some of their classes online.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized public school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 330 master’s degrees in .
UNI does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2022-2023 about 51% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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With a ranking of #6, Iowa State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their master’s degree. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and has a large student population. In , this school awarded 872 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Iowa State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 29% took at least some of their classes online.
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Loras College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 36 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in .
One thing to take note of is that Loras does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 64% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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Buena Vista University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in Storm Lake, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 224 master’s degree awards in .
BVU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 94% took at least some of their classes online.
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Saint Ambrose University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 215 master’s degrees in .
Some students 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, 22% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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Dordt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Sioux Center, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 93 students in .
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Dordt. In 2022-2023 about 94% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lamoni, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 144 master’s degrees in .
Graceland Lamoni does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 92% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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Morningside College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Morningside is located in Sioux City, Iowa and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 296 master’s degrees to qualified students.
If you are interested in distance education, Morningside is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
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Grand View University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Grand View University is located in Des Moines, Iowa and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 84 master’s degrees to qualified students.
One thing to take note of is that Grand View University does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 93% took at least some of their classes online.
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Mount Mercy University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 130 master’s degrees in .
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Mount Mercy does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2022-2023 year, about 64% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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With a ranking of #15, Maharishi International University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Fairfield, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 549 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in .
MIU 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 68% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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Upper Iowa University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree programs. Located in Fayette, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 227 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in .
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UIU. In fact, around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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University of Dubuque landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree programs. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 134 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in .
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UD does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 16% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2022-2023.
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Briar Cliff University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Sioux City, Iowa, and it awarded 34 master’s degrees in .
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Briar Cliff. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 60% of graduates took at least one course online in 2022-2023.
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With a ranking of #19, William Penn University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their master’s degree. William Penn University is located in Oskaloosa, Iowa and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 27 master’s degrees to qualified students.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at William Penn University. In 2022-2023 about 16% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Clarke University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree programs. Clarke is located in Dubuque, Iowa and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 41 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Clarke 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2022-2023 academic year, around 44% took at least some of their classes online.
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Waldorf University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree programs. Forest City, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 201 students in .
Waldorf 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. In 2022-2023 about 98% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 21 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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