When 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 Master's Degree Colleges in Nebraska ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 14 grad schools in Nebraska, we came up with our list of those that offered the best master's 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.
Better Early-Career Average Salaries
The average early-career salary of those graduating with a master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. While master's degree recipients from schools in Nebraska earn an average starting salary of $54,838, those from the top 14 school on this list made an average of $58,316.
Starting Salary ( 42851 to 65351 )
Student Loan Borrowing
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that graduate students take on while they are working on their master's degree.
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.
Additional Ranking Factors We Use
Our Best Master's Degree Schools considers other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt.
These factors include things like the educational resources, the demand associated with the school, whether or not the school offers online classes, and the student body caliber - just to name a few.
Are you more interested in the top master's degree schools in your area? Try narrowing this list by location. In addition, we've put together a number of other college rankings that may help you in your search.
Our analysis found Creighton University to be the best grad school for master’s degrees in Nebraska in this year’s ranking. Creighton University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Omaha, Nebraska that handed out 421 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Creighton is $65,909 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 14 master’s degree schools in Nebraska that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #2 spot on the list. UNL is a public institution located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The school has a large population, and it awarded 919 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,259 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend College of Saint Mary. The school came in at #3 in Nebraska on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Saint Mary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Omaha, Nebraska. The school has a small population, and it awarded 101 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Saint Mary is $51,871 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bellevue University. The school came in at #4 in Nebraska on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Bellevue University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Bellevue, Nebraska. It awarded 1,164 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $61,440 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Concordia University, Nebraska. The school came in at #5 in Nebraska on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Concordia University, Nebraska is located in Seward, Nebraska and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 964 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Concordia University, Nebraska make an average of $50,255 a year.
University of Nebraska at Omaha did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large public school is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and it awarded 833 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $52,261 during the early years of their career.
Union College Nebraska ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and it awarded 29 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Union College make an average of $91,464 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Nebraska at Kearney ranked #8 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska list. Located in Kearney, Nebraska, the medium-sized public school handed out 511 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from UNK make an average of $50,639 per year during the early years of their career.
Wayne State College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska list. Located in Wayne, Nebraska, the small public school handed out 238 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from WSC go into careers with an average salary of $58,634 during the early years of their career.
Nebraska Wesleyan University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska list. NWU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lincoln, Nebraska. It awarded 76 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from NWU is $67,132 during the early years of their career.
Peru State College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska ranking. Peru State is a public institution located in Peru, Nebraska. The school has a small population, and it awarded 110 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Peru State make an average of $49,283 per year during the early years of their career.
Midland University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska ranking. Midland University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Fremont, Nebraska that handed out 70 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Midland U make an average of $59,866 a year.
Chadron State College did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Chadron, Nebraska, the small public school awarded 151 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $54,945 during the early years of their career.
Doane University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Nebraska ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Crete, Nebraska, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 325 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Doane Crete make an average of $49,472 per year during the early years of their career.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.