2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Also there are many trade schools and bpptcamp that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
The Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 27 schools in Illinois to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for students working on their graduate certificate.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $21,679 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Northwestern. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 2% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Chicago is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate.
Out of the 27 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St Francis landed the # 3 spot on the list.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since University of Saint Francis does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 89% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Olivet Nazarene University is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate.
Online graduate courses are available at Olivet Nazarene, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 97% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
UIC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 95% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #6, Bradley University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Bradley. 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.
Elmhurst University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.
Elmhurst 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 64% took at least some of their classes online.
Lewis University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.
One thing to take note of is that Lewis does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 85% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Loyola University Chicago landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
Loyola Chicago does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 92% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
National Louis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list.
NLU 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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 59% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #11, Illinois State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Illinois State 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. During the 2019-2020 year, about 81% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #12 on the list.
Concordia University, Chicago does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 98% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Dominican University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #13 on the list.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $34,913 in student loans.
Online graduate courses are available at Dominican U, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 89% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Graduate Certificate recipients from UIS accumulate an average of $22,872 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UIS. In fact, around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Western Illinois University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
WIU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 71% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #16, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UIUC. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Benedictine University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #17 on the list.
Benedictine U 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 100% took at least some of their classes online.
DeVry University - Illinois came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.
DeVry University - Illinois does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 97% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
McKendree University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since McKendree does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 68% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at NIU. In 2019-2020 about 43% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at SIUE. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 86% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #22, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
EIU 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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 75% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Governors State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at GSU. In fact, around 35% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #24, Roosevelt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $26,458 in student loans.
Online graduate courses are available at Roosevelt, 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 44% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #25 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
Online graduate courses are available at SIUC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 24% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
View Best Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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.
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