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2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

78 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
9,041 Master's Degrees
$105,865 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 78 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 9,041 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 take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host 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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges 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 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

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

1

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

After graduation, nursing master's recipients usually earn around $91,784 at the beginning of their careers.

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

2

It is difficult to beat Case Western Reserve University if you want 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.

Master's recipients from the nursing major at Case Western Reserve University get $9,144 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

3

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in nursing needs to take a look at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $102,735.

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

4
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI

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

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career wages of $79,158.

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

5

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

Nursing master's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago receive an earnings boost of about $3,054 over the typical earnings of nursing majors.

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

6

Herzing University - Madison is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Madison.

After graduating, nursing master's recipients typically earn around $103,068 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Herzing University - Madison

7

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

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $100,925.

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

8

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

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $100,062 in their early career salary.

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

9

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

Nursing master's degree recipients from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis get an earnings boost of approximately $4,727 above the average income of nursing graduates.

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

10

Located in the large city of Detroit, Wayne State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Wayne State University receive $22,281 more than the average nursing grad.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Wayne State University

11
Purdue University Global crest
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University Global is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $107,024.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Purdue University Global

12

Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, nursing master's recipients generally earn around $95,690 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Kent State University at Kent

13
3,002 Annual Graduates
$104,394 Median Starting Salary

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

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $104,394 for their early career.

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

14

Located in the city of Detroit, Detroit Mercy is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Master's recipients from the nursing program at University of Detroit Mercy make $9,528 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Detroit Mercy

15

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

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $4,501 more than the average nursing graduate.

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

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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
16 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
17 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
18 Otterbein University Westerville, OH
19 Bradley University Peoria, IL
20 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
21 Concordia University, Wisconsin Mequon, WI
22 University of St Francis Joliet, IL
23 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
24 University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN
25 Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH
26 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, 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 3,521
Registered Nursing 3,354
Nursing Science 481
Nursing Administration 464
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 303
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 266
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 185
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 93
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 87
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 59

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Health 2,162
Allied Health Professions 2,026
Mental & Social Health Services 1,824
Health & Medical Administrative Services 1,663
Communication Sciences 1,574
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 1,244
Medical Illustration & Informatics 435
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 380
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 377
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 198

Notes and References

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