2023 Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
There are so many business programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Business Degree Central has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 189 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for business students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the most popular school in the Great Lakes Region for business students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,787 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 35% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Northwestern. In fact, around 2% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for business students working on their master’s degree. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,794 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UIUC. In fact, around 90% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
The excellent master’s degree programs at DeVry University - Illinois helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular business schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in Chicago, Illinois, the large private for-profit school handed out 1,429 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
DeVry University - Illinois does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 97% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Out of the 189 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the # 4 spot on the list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,194 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 33% were women.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 1,087 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 40% were women.
U-M does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 74% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #6, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 1,058 students in 2020-2021.
Around 30% of those degree recipients were women.
IU Bloomington does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 74% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #7, DePaul University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,046 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at DePaul, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Michigan State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. This large public school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 791 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Michigan State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 65% took at least some of their classes online.
Purdue University Global landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Purdue University Global is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 717 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 55% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Purdue University Global. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Central Michigan University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan is located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 679 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Central Michigan. During the 2019-2020 year, about 61% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #11, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 551 students in 2020-2021.
Around 42% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UW - Madison does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 75% took at least some of their classes online.
Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Marion, Indiana, and it awarded 547 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
IWU does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 90% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Notre Dame landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit institution located in Notre Dame, Indiana. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 530 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 34% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Notre Dame. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 45% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, the large public school handed out 519 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 41% of those degree recipients were women.
UC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Southern Indiana ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. USI is a medium-sized public school situated in Evansville, Indiana. It awarded 515 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
USI does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2019-2020 year, about 96% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Wayne State University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Detroit, Michigan, the large public school handed out 506 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 50% were women.
Wayne State does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2019-2020 year, about 75% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Case Western Reserve University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Cleveland, Ohio. It awarded 470 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
Case Western does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 17% took at least some of their classes online.
Franklin University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 408 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Franklin University. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Ohio University - Athens Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Athens, Ohio, the large public school awarded 386 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 48% were women.
One thing to take note of is that OHIO Athens does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 70% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large public school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 383 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 46% were women.
UIC does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 95% took at least some of their classes online.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, the large public school handed out 361 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 42% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Ohio State. During the 2019-2020 year, about 76% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Walsh College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Troy, Michigan, and it awarded 356 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 51% were women.
Walsh is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, the large public school awarded 335 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 39% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Purdue does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 60% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Benedictine University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Located in Lisle, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 332 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
Benedictine U does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 100% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Toledo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. University of Toledo is a fairly large public school situated in Toledo, Ohio. It awarded 328 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 42% were women.
One thing to take note of is that University of Toledo does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 29% took at least some of their classes online.
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 29 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
View Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools Nationwide >
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular business schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Ashland University | Ashland, OH |
| 31 | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee, WI |
| 32 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
| 33 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, OH |
| 34 | Concordia University, Wisconsin | Mequon, WI |
| 35 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI |
| 36 | Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN |
| 37 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL |
| 38 | Wright State University - Main Campus | Dayton, OH |
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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