by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 63 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,972 doctor's degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The nursing doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their doctor's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in nursing.
Rush University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in nursing. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.
Doctorate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $107,800 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Rush University
Every student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in nursing needs to look into Case Western Reserve University. Located in the large city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Case Western Reserve University
It is difficult to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in nursing. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Marquette University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in nursing. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Milwaukee.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Marquette University
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $89,398.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Purdue University - Main Campus
Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Illinois at Chicago
Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Bradley University
Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Michigan State University
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 12 | Chamberlain University - Illinois | Addison, IL |
| 13 | Wayne State University | Detroit, MI |
| 14 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 15 | Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science | North Chicago, IL |
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .
One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Medicine | 4,784 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 2,233 |
| Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | 1,827 |
| Dentistry | 976 |
| Optometry | 353 |
| Communication Sciences | 223 |
| Public Health | 112 |
| Chiropractic | 87 |
| Other Health Professions | 48 |
| Alternative Medicine & Systems | 46 |
