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2024 Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

14 Colleges in Illinois
696 Master's Degrees
$59,696 Avg Early-Career Salary
Accounting is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #10 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 14 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of accounting. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 696 master's degrees in accounting during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Accounting School for Your Master's Degree

Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of accounting for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality accounting program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for accounting students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Accounting Schools

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More Accounting Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The accounting school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois.


 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Accounting in Illinois

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in accounting.

10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Accounting

1
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

DePaul University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in accounting. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Accounting master's degree recipients from DePaul University get an earnings boost of around $4,178 over the typical earnings of accounting graduates.

More information about a master’s in accounting from DePaul University

2

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in accounting needs to look into Loyola University Chicago. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Master's recipients from the accounting program at Loyola University Chicago get $8,353 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Loyola University Chicago

3
27 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in accounting has to check out Bradley University. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria.More information about a master’s in accounting from Bradley University

4

Illinois State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in accounting. Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Those accounting students who get their master's degree from Illinois State University make $2,304 more than the average accounting graduate.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Illinois State University

5

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the accounting program report average early career income of $60,153.

More information about a master’s in accounting from University of Illinois at Chicago

6

Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Accounting master's degree recipients from Roosevelt University earn a boost of around $4,884 over the typical earnings of accounting graduates.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Roosevelt University

7

Located in the large city of Chicago, SXU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the accounting program make around $55,812 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Saint Xavier University

8

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population.

Those accounting students who get their master's degree from Northern Illinois University earn $3,595 more than the standard accounting student.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Northern Illinois University

8
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL

Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Aurora.

Students who graduate with their master's from the accounting program report average early career wages of $59,853.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Aurora University

9

Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Lisle.

After graduation, accounting master's recipients usually earn an average of $49,768 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in accounting from Benedictine University

Best Accounting Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Accounting Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 211 396
Ohio 207 469
Indiana 191 341
Wisconsin 173 146

View All Rankings >

One of 21 majors within the Business, Management & Marketing area of study, Accounting has other similar majors worth exploring.

Accounting Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Accounting 562
Accounting and Finance 133
Other Accounting and Related Services 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 6,404
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 3,782
Human Resource Management 622
Marketing 404
Management Information Systems 153
General Business/Commerce 125
Finance & Financial Management 111
Taxation 65
Other Business, Management & Marketing 28
Real Estate 22

Notes and References

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