Graduate school may be a critical step in your higher education, whether you are interested in expanding your knowledge, learning a specialization, or earning advanced credentials required by your profession. The best graduate schools in Illinois offer advanced degrees, such as master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as opportunities for independent research, mentorships, and professional networking.
Prospective students searching for colleges in Illinois have plenty of excellent schools to choose from. Illinois offers over 130 higher education institutes throughout the state. Thanks to an expansive public university system and several top private institutions, students can select from an extremely wide array of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Illinois.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois at Chicago, the state’s two largest public universities in Illinois. Students can access a full spectrum of undergraduate and graduate degrees for in-state tuition rates of $13,000 to $15,000 respectively. Both public universities also offer a full selection of online degree programs.It’s also worth noting that Illinois residents who pursue online degrees at public colleges in Illinois will qualify for in-state tuition rates. Out of state students will generally pay more whether pursuing on-campus or online degrees.
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More than half of the colleges in Illinois are actually private schools. Among these private colleges and universities, the most notable are DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Loyola University Chicago. Tuition from these three private schools can be costly, ranging from $44,000 to $55,000. However, each of these private schools boasts a high graduation rate and excellent professors.
Illinois is also home to many small private schools, including Benedictine University and National Louis University.
Popular disciplines in Illinois include disciplines like criminal justice, social work, nursing, education, religious studies, communications, and medicine. Both traditional and online students have a wide range of options in each of these subject areas.
Degree completion programs are also widely available for lapsed students who have already accumulated some college credits. This is an especially popular online degree option among working professionals in Illinois.
Additionally, Illinois offers several loan forgiveness-based financial aid programs for qualifying students pursuing careers as teachers, public defenders or prosecutors, or nurses.From the skyscrapers in Chicago to the vast prairie lands in the north, Illinois is a place where city meets country. Students can grab a Chicago-style hotdog on the way to a Cubs game, explore the ancient sandstone cliffs in the Shawnee National Forest, or admire an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, all while attending one of The Prairie State’s universities or colleges.
The higher education institutes in Illinois have also produced many prominent alumni, including Stephen Colbert, Phillip Glass, and Kurt Vonnegut. Students hoping to walk the same streets as these well-known individuals can check out some of the state’s top programs and universities.
There are 28 doctorate-granting graduate schools in Illinois. Our ranking of the best graduate schools in the Illinois is composed of both private and public schools. To be included, schools must be fully accredited non-profit institutions, and must offer doctoral degrees and a broad array of graduate degrees.
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1535/34
University of Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
95%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1490/34
Northwestern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
85%
Student body
55K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/30
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
62%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/25
University of Illinois Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
71%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/29
Illinois Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
72%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/28
Loyola University Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
70%
Student body
19K
DePaul University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
51%
Student body
14K
Northern Illinois University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
88%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/29
Wheaton College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
67%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
Illinois State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
45%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/23
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
40%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1015/22
Roosevelt University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
52%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
51%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
985/21
Western Illinois University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
53%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/23
University of Illinois Springfield’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
47%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/22
Benedictine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
47%
Graduation
21%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
856/17
Chicago State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
56%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1074/23
McKendree University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
55%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/21
Aurora University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
52%
Graduation
16%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
940/19
Governors State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
45%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/23
Trinity International University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
34%
Student body
6K
National Louis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
60%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Lewis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
64%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/22
Olivet Nazarene University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
52%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/21
Dominican University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
67%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1000/20
Judson University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
43%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/22
Concordia University Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
65%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/23
University of St. Francis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.