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2024 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

83 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
10,145 Master's Degrees
$91,804 Avg Early-Career Salary
Nursing is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 83 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 10,145 master's degrees in nursing to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree

Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of nursing for getting your master's degree school matters. 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 Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master'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.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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 schools for nursing students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Nursing Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The nursing 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 Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.


 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

It's difficult to beat Case Western Reserve University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Nursing master's degree recipients from Case Western Reserve University receive an earnings boost of about $20,212 above the average income of nursing majors.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Case Western Reserve University

2
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in nursing needs to take a look at Marquette University. Marquette is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Milwaukee.

Soon after graduating, nursing master's recipients generally earn an average of $77,371 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Marquette University

3

It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $88,396.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to look into University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, nursing master's recipients generally make around $91,527 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

5

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $87,456 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $93,218 in the first couple years of working.

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

7

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing master's recipients usually make an average of $92,168 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Purdue University - Main Campus

8
Rush University crest
Rush University
Chicago, IL

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

After graduating, nursing master's recipients generally earn around $68,029 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Rush University

9
94 Annual Graduates

Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Peoria.More information about a master’s in nursing from Bradley University

10
3,923 Annual Graduates
$93,445 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career wages of $93,445.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Chamberlain University - Illinois

11

Located in the town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $90,459 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Ohio University - Athens Campus

12

IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the city of Indianapolis.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis receive $5,678 more than the typical nursing student.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis


 

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Herzing University - Madison Madison, WI
14 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
15 Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH
16 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
17 University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI
18 Otterbein University Westerville, OH
19 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
20 Purdue University Global West Lafayette, IN

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 221 5,250
Michigan 211 902
Ohio 207 1,953
Indiana 191 1,452
Wisconsin 173 588

View All Rankings >

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 4,588
Registered Nursing 3,091
Nursing Administration 822
Nursing Science 540
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 208
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 202
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 123
Nurse Anesthetist 102
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 97
Clinical Nurse Leader 69

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Health 1,946
Health & Medical Administrative Services 1,908
Allied Health Professions 1,775
Mental & Social Health Services 1,641
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 1,539
Communication Sciences 1,387
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 479
Medical Illustration & Informatics 246
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 229
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 155

Notes and References

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