by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a grad degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in Illinois ranking is part of that endeavor.
Jump to Any of the Following Sections: * Our Methodology
We analyzed 27 grad schools across Illinois to determine which have the best doctorate degree programs. Instead of depending on subjective information to rank the best grad schools, we focus on objective factors in our analysis. More specifically, the following explains what we consider and why.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a doctorate degree from the school. A doctorate degree holder from a school in Illinois makes an average starting salary of $81,698, but the students who attended schools in the top 22 of our list make an average of $89,331.
Graduate students may also take on a lot of debt while working on their doctorate so we factor that into our rankings as well. The average amount taken out in student loans for graduates at a particular school may be crippling for those who earn less than average wages after graduation.
We also analyze a number of other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt when coming up with our yearly Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking. On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
We go into more detail on these factors on our graduate school ranking methodology page.
Not quite ready to work on your doctorate? Check out our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best grad school for doctorate degrees in Illinois in this year’s ranking. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,028 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Northwestern go into careers with an average salary of $93,954 during the early years of their career.
The excellent doctorate degree programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Illinois. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 755 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UChicago go into careers with an average salary of $96,200 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 27 doctorate degree schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the large public school handed out 991 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from UIUC make an average of $75,425 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The excellent doctorate degree programs at Concordia University, Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Illinois. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 137 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Concordia University, Chicago make an average of $111,823 a year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #5 in Illinois on this year’s best doctorate degree schools ranking. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,425 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from UIC make an average of $77,729 a year.
National Louis University landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 139 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from NLU make an average of $116,556 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Olivet Nazarene make an average of $72,457 a year.
Loyola University Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 521 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from Loyola Chicago is $75,193 during the early years of their career.
Wheaton College Illinois landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 19 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Wheaton College Illinois make an average of $62,633 a year.
With a ranking of #10, University of St Francis did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in Joliet, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 34 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from University of Saint Francis go into careers with an average salary of $107,873 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 53 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #12, Bradley University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 67 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Bradley make an average of $68,420 a year.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #13 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 314 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Illinois Tech go into careers with an average salary of $69,156 during the early years of their career.
Aurora University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Aurora is a private not-for-profit institution located in Aurora, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 39 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Aurora make an average of $111,772 a year.
With a ranking of #15, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 211 students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from SIUE is $119,823 during the early years of their career.
Trinity International University - Illinois landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Trinity International University - Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in Deerfield, Illinois that handed out 36 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from TIU Illinois is $41,851 during the early years of their career.
Learn More About Trinity International University - Illinois
Benedictine University landed the #17 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in Lisle, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 29 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $81,524 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #18, DePaul University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 275 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from DePaul go into careers with an average salary of $93,105 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #19, Millikin University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Decatur, Illinois, and it awarded 14 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $197,084 during the early years of their career.
Lewis University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Romeoville, Illinois, and it awarded 11 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Governors State University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois list. University Park, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 15 students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from GSU make an average of $72,424 a year.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 235 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,226 during the early years of their career.
Judson University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #23. Elgin, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
Northern Illinois University landed the #24 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, the fairly large public school awarded 207 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from NIU make an average of $78,035 per year during the early years of their career.
Roosevelt University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Roosevelt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 95 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Roosevelt make an average of $89,026 a year.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.