2025 Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
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 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 510 master's degrees in accounting to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Accounting School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of accounting for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality accounting program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
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
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on accounting students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other accounting students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for accounting to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized accounting related body.
Our full 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.
More Ways to Rank Accounting Schools
The accounting 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 Accounting Master's Degree Schools in Illinois.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Accounting in Illinois
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in accounting.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Accounting
DePaul University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in accounting. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.
Master's recipients from the accounting program at DePaul University make $4,595 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in accounting from DePaul University
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in accounting needs to look into Loyola University Chicago. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.
Those accounting students who get their master's degree from Loyola University Chicago receive $4,931 more than the average accounting student.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Loyola University Chicago
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in accounting has to take a look at Bradley University. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.More information about a master’s in accounting from Bradley University
Illinois State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in accounting. Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.
Master's students who receive their degree from the accounting program make around $69,295 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in accounting from Illinois State University
Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Accounting master's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Chicago earn a boost of approximately $4,031 over the average income of accounting graduates.
More information about a master’s in accounting from University of Illinois at Chicago
