With over 89 accredited nursing schools in Illinois, it’s no wonder the state’s health sector is vibrant and developed. If you are seeking to get started in the field of nursing, Illinois is a fine option for launching your career.
You can be trained in one of the accredited schools in Illinois and become a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse; advanced practice registered nurse or a certified nursing assistant. All these levels of the nursing are highly critical in the health sector that is highly rewarding.
Illinois is the fifth most populous state in the US. It is a major transport hub and being the most populous state in the Midwest region; the states need for licensed nurses is always high.
According to estimates from the United States Census Bureau, the population of Illinois was 12,719,141 on July 1, 2025 – the third consecutive year of growth, after the state added 16,108 residents over the preceding twelve months. The land of Lincoln is full of many options for prospective nursing students comprising of agricultural fairs, pro athletic teams, and hosting the tallest building in the United States. The state seeks to improve services by putting in place an effective nursing plan and a center for nursing to regulate nursing manpower.
Nurse educators have access to scholarships and a student loan repayment plan for nursing students and provide more grants to nursing programs. You can get your degree in nursing with the many courses offered like Administration, Anatomy, Clinical Nurse, Informatics, Nurse Practitioner (NP), Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Physiology, RN-BSN, Registered Nurse (RN), and Women’s Health. These courses are offered in various accredited nursing schools within Illinois, including Aurora University, Bradley University, Black Hawk College, the Capital Area Career Center School of Practical Nursing, the University of Illinois Chicago and College of DuPage.
Featured Programs
Northern Illinois University College of Nursing
As a Higher Learning Commission accredited college, this honors-earning school received special recognition for their education of male nurses and offers excellent undergraduate programs like the Bachelors of Science in Nursing and an accelerated Nursing RN to BSN Program, as well as an array of graduate degrees such as a Masters in Nursing, a Post-Masters Nursing Education certificate and a Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
The campus, located in DeKalb, Illinois, has state of the art Nursing Laboratories that prepare students for hands-on work in a hospital setting, even before starting clinicals. This includes the incredible human-patient simulation lab, which creates realistic situations that range from trauma to pediatric, providing a well-rounded and extensive education in both the science and the tactical areas of Nursing.
This college provides access to dozens of state scholarship opportunities like the Illinois Department of Public Health scholarship, awarding over 130,000 dollars to nursing students each year, funding education and research opportunities for everyone.
1425 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115 Phone: (815) 753-1000 NIU.edu
University of Illinois at Chicago
According to the University’s website, this school is consistently in the top ten nursing colleges most funded by the National Institutes of Health and is the largest in the area. Located in the heart of Chicago, this Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredited University partners with inner-city hospitals, offering an excellent trauma and emergency medicine training.
It also provides a teaching staff that is active in research programs, allowing for students to immerse themselves in the science behind health and medicine while working directly with nationally and internationally acclaimed instructors. Several members of the UIC College of Nursing faculty have been designated American Academy of Nursing Living Legends, bringing personal experience and real-life perspective into the classrooms.
UIC College of Nursing also offers the elite Doctoral Scholar program which finances students to study medicine while traveling to the campuses of the “Big Ten” Universities, an unprecedented educational experience. Beginning Fall of 2017, UIC has added a degree in rural nursing to its catalog, a rare and unique learning opportunity specific to Midwest schools.
1200 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60607 Phone: 312-996-7000 UIC.edu
Ambria College of Nursing at Judson University
This private school focuses specifically on educating future nurses, offering accelerated LPN, RN, and LPN-to-RN certificate programs rather than a general course catalog. It now operates as Ambria College of Nursing at Judson University, so a student who wants to continue on to a four-year BSN can do so within the same institution — Judson runs the baccalaureate degree while Ambria runs the accelerated entry-level certificates.
That single-subject focus lets students learn alongside peers pursuing the same goal. Flexible scheduling accommodates working students, with classes offered during the day, in the evening, and on weekends, and the school offers both institutional and donor-funded scholarship support.
1151 N. State St., Elgin, IL 60123 Phone: 847-397-0300 ambria.judsonu.edu
Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing
Awarded a spot as a Top 100 Public University, ISU’s nursing program is a popular choice for students around the Normal, Illinois area. Offering everything from traditional and accelerated RN programs to nursing PhDs for students who want to push their education to its highest potential, CCNE-accredited ISU has the potential to educate some of the best nurses in the area.
Attendees are among the most successful in the state with graduates achieving a 94% pass rate on the national nursing licensure exam. (Nursing.illinoisstate.edu) This campus offers financial aid and a plethora of private and public scholarship opportunities, such as the Johnson & Johnson Nursing Scholarship.
Alumni of the school play a large role in mentoring, as well as providing funding and research ventures for the program. This campus has some very unique curriculum opportunities available to nursing students, including the trans-cultural experience which allows studying medicine abroad in areas like Brazil, Russia and England.
Exceptional program attendees can join the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, which provides excellent career connections and recommendations. ISU’s rich educational opportunities aid in forming both intelligent and well equipped nurses, as well as culturally aware and compassionate medical professionals.
Campus Box 5810 Normal, IL 61790-5810 Phone: (309) 438-7400 Illinoisstate.edu
Board of Nursing Approved Schools in Illinois
Aurora University School of Nursing Location: Aurora, Illinois Programs: BSN School Founded In: 1893 Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.aurora.edu
Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing & Health Sciences Location: Quincy, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.brcn.edu
Bradley University School of Nursing Location: Peoria, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.bradley.edu
Chicago State University College of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.csu.edu
DePaul University School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.depaul.edu
Elmhurst University Deicke Center for Nursing Education Location: Elmhurst, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.elmhurst.edu
Governors State University School of Nursing Location: University Park, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.govst.edu
Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing Location: Normal, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.ilstu.edu
Illinois Wesleyan University School of Nursing Location: Bloomington, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.iwu.edu
Lakeview College of Nursing Location: Danville, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.lakeviewcol.edu
Lewis University School of Nursing Location: Romeoville, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.lewisu.edu
Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN, PhD Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.luc.edu
McKendree University School of Nursing Location: Lebanon, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.mckendree.edu
Millikin University School of Nursing Location: Decatur, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.millikin.edu
North Park University School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.northpark.edu
Northern Illinois University School of Nursing Location: DeKalb, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.niu.edu
Olivet Nazarene University School of Nursing Location: Bourbonnais, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.olivet.edu
Quincy University Department of Nursing Location: Quincy, Illinois Programs: BSN (offered in partnership with Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing & Health Sciences) Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: https://www.quincy.edu
Rockford University School of Nursing Location: Rockford, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.rockford.edu
Rush University Medical Center School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN, PhD Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.rush.edu
OSF Saint Anthony College of Nursing Location: Rockford, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.sacn.edu
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing Location: Peoria, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.sfmccon.edu
St. John’s College of Nursing Location: Springfield, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN, DNP Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: https://www.hshs.org/st-johns-college
Saint Xavier University School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.sxu.edu
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing Location: Edwardsville, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.siue.edu
Trinity Christian College School of Nursing Location: Palos Heights, Illinois Programs: BSN Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.trnty.edu
University of Illinois Chicago School of Nursing Location: Chicago, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN, PhD Accreditation: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) Website: http://www.uic.edu
University of Saint Francis Saint Joseph College of Nursing and Allied Health Location: Joliet, Illinois Programs: BSN, MSN Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) Website: http://www.stfrancis.edu
Several changes are worth knowing about, because older versions of lists like this one circulate widely and still carry the outdated entries:
- MacMurray College in Jacksonville closed in 2020. Its board announced the decision in March 2020, citing declining enrollment, rising costs and an insufficient endowment, and the college shut down at the end of that spring semester after 174 years. Its nursing program is no longer an option, and the campus real estate was auctioned off that November.
- West Suburban College of Nursing no longer exists under that name, and its successor has also closed. The Oak Park school became Resurrection University in 2010, then Oak Point University in 2021 after becoming independent. Oak Point announced its closure abruptly in April 2024 – roughly three weeks before the spring semester ended – following an enrollment collapse from 860 students in fall 2019 to 429 by fall 2022.
- Ambria College of Nursing is now Ambria College of Nursing at Judson University and has moved from Hoffman Estates to Elgin.
- Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing & Health Sciences and Quincy University are two separate institutions. Blessing-Rieman is a department of Blessing Hospital; Quincy University offers its BSN in partnership with it. Older directories sometimes merge the two into a single “Quincy University Blessing Rieman” entry, which does not describe either school accurately.
Three college-to-university renamings also recur in older Illinois directories: Elmhurst College became Elmhurst University in July 2020, McKendree College became McKendree University in the 2007–08 academic year, and Rockford College became Rockford University on July 1, 2013. Two Peoria- and Rockford-area nursing colleges now carry their health system’s name as a prefix: OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and OSF Saint Anthony College of Nursing.
Because accreditation status, program offerings, and even institution names change, treat this list as a starting point for building a shortlist rather than a licensure record. Verify any program against the Illinois Board of Nursing’s approved-program list and the accreditor’s own directory – the CCNE program directory or the ACEN program search – before you apply.
Related guide
For admissions requirements, program costs, and how to choose the right program, read our full guide to Nursing schools in Illinois: programs, costs, and how to choose.