Illinois Home To Several Best Online Degree Programs: U.S. News

ILLINOIS — After months of campus closures and restrictions, the coronavirus pandemic has given new importance to online education and the flexibility it offers college students.

While some colleges have temporarily moved online as an alternative to in-person learning, a new ranking by U.S. News & World Report gives a nod to select schools and degree programs across Illinois that were specifically designed to be earned online.

A total of 18 colleges and universities from Illinois earned a spot on the 2021 list of best online bachelor's programs, released Tuesday by U.S. News.

Intended for those looking to complete or further their education, the rankings evaluate more than 1,600 online bachelor's programs across the country. Additional rankings include master's degree programs in several areas.

The rankings did not take into account schools or programs that have temporarily moved online due to the pandemic, according to a release by U.S. News. The list also doesn’t include blended learning programs that combine courses in brick-and-mortar classrooms with online
education.

To determine which schools and programs made this year’s list, U.S. News looked at overall academic quality across a variety of disciplines. In addition to online bachelor's degrees, U.S. News ranked master's programs in business, education, nursing, engineering, computer information technology and criminal justice. Online MBA programs were split from other business degrees and ranked separately.

New this year, U.S. News added rankings of online bachelor's programs in business and psychology.

The methodologies to determine the best programs varied according to specialty. Learn more about the methodologies used at USNews.com.

Here’s a look at how Illinois schools fared on this year’s list of the best online bachelor's degrees:

• 2 — University of Illinois-Chicago
• 14 — Illinois State University
• 21 — Loyola University Chicago
• 31 — Concordia University Chicago
• 34 — University of Illinois-Springfield
• 53 — University of St. Francis
• 75 —McKendree University
• 107 — DePaul University
• 137 — Western Illinois University
• 144 — Dominican University
• 152 — Moody Bible Institute
• 197 — Illinois College
• 223 — Judson University
• 256-337 — Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences
• 256-337 — Eastern Illinois University
• 256-337 — Governors State University
• 256-337 — Lincoln Christian University
• 256-337 — Trinity International University

Best online master's business programs:

• 53 — University of Illinois-Springfield
• 72 — University of St. Francis
• 125-164 — Judson University

Best online master's criminal justice programs:

• Unranked — McKendree University

Best online master's education programs:

• 3 — University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
• 21 — Northern Illinois University
• 83 — University of St. Francis
• 91 — University of Illinois-Springfield
• 118 — Concordia University Chicago
• 167 — McKendree University
• 202— DePaul University
• 227-296— Eastern Illinois University
• 227-296— Roosevelt University
• 227-296— Trinity International University

Best online master's engineering programs:

• 9 — University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
• 74-97 — Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Best online master's information technology programs:

• 56 — Loyola University Chicago

Best online MBA programs:

• 126 — University of St. Francis
• 170— Concordia University Chicago
• 197— McKendree University
• 224-295— Eastern Illinois University
• 224-29— Governors State University
• 224-295— Judson University
• 224-295— Western Illinois University
• Unranked— Northern Illinois University

Best online master's in nursing programs:

• 1 — Rush University
• 5 — St. Xavier University
• 42 — Northern Illinois University
• 49— Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville
• 75 — McKendree University
• 75 — University of St. Francis
• 80 — Lewis University
• 99 — St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing
• 108 — Illinois State University
• 135-173 — Bradley University

Florida-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University moved back up to No. 1 this year among best online bachelor's programs. For MBAs, Carnegie Mellon University tied with the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill for the top spot.

Meanwhile, Columbia University had the top-ranked computer information technology master’s program. Tied for No. 1 among the best online master's in nursing programs were Rush University and the University of South Carolina.

Finally, the No. 1 master’s programs in education and engineering are at the University of Florida and Columbia University, respectively.

See the full 2021 list of Best Online Programs here.