2025 Best Public Health Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Ranked #14 in popularity,
public health is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Health Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 752 master's degrees in public health during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Public Health School for Your Master's Degree
The public health master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality public health program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school'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.
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.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to public health students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other public health 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 public health 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 public health related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public health students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Public Health Schools
The public health 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 Public Health Master's Degree Schools in Illinois.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Health in Illinois
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for public health students seeking a a master's degree.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Public Health
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in public health needs to check out Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the public health major at Northwestern University get $3,866 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in public health from Northwestern University
It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Chicago if you want to pursue a master's degree in public health. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.
Master's recipients from the public health major at University of Illinois at Chicago earn $4,943 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Illinois at Chicago
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in public health needs to check out Benedictine University. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Lisle.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public health program report average early career income of $64,930.
More information about a master’s in public health from Benedictine University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in a master's degree in public health. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the public health program make around $57,236 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.
Public Health master's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago receive an earnings boost of around $3,988 over the typical income of public health majors.
More information about a master’s in public health from Loyola University Chicago
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