2025 Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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 looked at 45 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,646 master's degrees in accounting during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Accounting School for Your Master's Degree
The accounting master'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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
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
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to accounting students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of accounting students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt accounting students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized accounting related body.
Our complete 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Accounting Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Accounting in the Great Lakes Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in accounting.
10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Accounting
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in accounting needs to look into University of Notre Dame. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in accounting from University of Notre Dame
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in accounting has to take a look at University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.
Accounting master's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive an earnings boost of about $2,869 over the average earnings of accounting majors.
More information about a master’s in accounting from University of Wisconsin - Madison
DePaul University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in accounting. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Accounting master's degree recipients from DePaul University earn a boost of around $6,098 over the typical income of accounting graduates.
More information about a master’s in accounting from DePaul University
Indiana University - Bloomington is a good option for students pursuing a master's degree in accounting. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington.
Those accounting students who get their master's degree from Indiana University - Bloomington make $9,507 more than the average accounting graduate.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Indiana University - Bloomington
Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford.
Accounting master's degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford earn a boost of approximately $2,122 above the typical earnings of accounting graduates.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Miami University - Oxford
OHIO Athens is a very large public university located in the distant town of Athens.
Soon after graduation, accounting master's recipients usually earn an average of $64,204 in their early careers.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Ohio University - Athens Campus
Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduating, accounting master's recipients usually earn about $60,690 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global
Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in accounting from Marquette University
Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland.
After graduating, accounting master's recipients usually earn about $64,792 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Case Western Reserve University
Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the accounting program at Loyola University Chicago make $6,434 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Loyola University Chicago