2023 Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
A student has lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 291 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
Featured schools near , edit
Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the most popular school in the Great Lakes Region for students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5,216 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Northwestern does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 2% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Out of the 291 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the # 2 spot on the list. U-M is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4,916 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at U-M. In fact, around 74% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 4,812 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
UIUC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chamberlain University - Illinois. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Addison, Illinois, the large private for-profit school awarded 4,033 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Chamberlain - Illinois are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means American College of Education is a great place for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the medium-sized private for-profit school handed out 3,484 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 75% were women.
American College of Education is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
With a ranking of #6, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3,326 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 44% of those degree recipients were women.
Purdue University Global ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the large public school awarded 3,253 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Purdue University Global are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 3,108 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 62% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 2,828 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 59% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Ohio State. In 2019-2020 about 76% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #10, DePaul University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,751 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 56% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at DePaul. During the 2019-2020 year, about 96% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,641 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at IU Bloomington, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 2,565 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 52% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UW - Madison. In fact, around 75% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Ball State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ball State is a large public school situated in Muncie, Indiana. It awarded 2,364 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 80% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Ball State. In 2019-2020 about 91% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 2,255 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 45% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Purdue does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 60% took at least some of their classes online.
Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. This large public school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 2,227 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 60% of those degree recipients were women.
Michigan State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 65% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,193 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 60% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UIC does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #17, Wayne State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Wayne State is a public institution located in Detroit, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,076 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 64% were women.
Wayne State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 75% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Ohio University - Athens Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. OHIO Athens is located in Athens, Ohio and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,031 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at OHIO Athens. During the 2019-2020 year, about 70% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large public school is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it awarded 1,929 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 65% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that IUPUI does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 71% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #20, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Case Western is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,598 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Case Western. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 17% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
DeVry University - Illinois came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. DeVry University - Illinois is a large private for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1,520 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 62% of those degree recipients were women.
DeVry University - Illinois 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 2019-2020 about 97% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Central Michigan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Mount Pleasant, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 1,506 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Central Michigan does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 61% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Kent State University at Kent came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent State is a public institution located in Kent, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,468 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 69% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Kent State, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 57% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #24, Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. IWU is located in Marion, Indiana and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,500 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
IWU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Read full report on Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global
With a ranking of #25, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 1,377 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 67% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Concordia University, Chicago. In 2019-2020 about 98% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 44 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
View Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools Nationwide >
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | University of Michigan - Dearborn | Dearborn, MI |
| 45 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
| 47 | University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN |
| 48 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, OH |
| 49 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 50 | Spring Arbor University | Spring Arbor, MI |
| 51 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 52 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale, IL |
| 53 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville, IL |
| 54 | Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, IL |
| 55 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL |
| 56 | Franklin University | Columbus, OH |
| 57 | Concordia University, Wisconsin | Mequon, WI |
| 58 | Western Illinois University | Macomb, IL |
| 59 | Ashland University | Ashland, OH |
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.