Illinois
Best RN to BSN Programs in Illinois, Ranked (2026)
The Cheapest Program in Illinois Has the Lowest Graduation Rate, and the Dearest Has the Highest
Governors State University charges $8,232 a year and graduates 22% of its undergraduates. Lewis University charges $38,800 and graduates 67%. That is $30,568 and 45 percentage points, and the two ends of the price ladder are the two ends of the completion ladder in reverse order.
Because this ranking weights cost at 55% and graduation at 45%, that inversion decides the table: all 3 public programs take the top 3 places and all 3 private nonprofits take the bottom 3. So read the order as the price answer and read the graduation column against it, not with it. That column is an institutional signal rather than a measurement of the track you would join — IPEDS builds it from first-time, full-time undergraduates, which no RN-to-BSN student is — but a 45-point spread inside one state is still saying something about the 6 institutions behind them.
University of Illinois Chicago leads the state ranking with annual in-state tuition of $12,789 and a 62% institutional graduation rate. Eastern Illinois University follows at $9,848 and 47%. Both sit in the public price band, but their cost and graduation-rate inputs differ.
University of Illinois Chicago is also the volume answer. It confers 367 nursing bachelor's degrees a year, more than the other 5 ranked programs put together (262). Its annual in-state tuition is $12,789. Those awards cover bachelor's nursing degrees at the institution, not just RN-to-BSN graduates.
One frame to keep on all of it: none of these programs is about permission to keep working. Illinois licenses registered nurses on the NCLEX-RN, which you sat with an ADN or a diploma, and no Illinois law requires a BSN to stay in practice. New York is the only state that has legislated one, and even there it applies only to nurses licensed after the 2017 law and gives them ten years. What the BSN buys in Illinois is access — charge and management tracks, case management, public health roles, hospitals that prefer it, and the MSN door — which is why the $30,568 spread across this table deserves a hard look before you sign anything.
The 6 RN to BSN Programs in Illinois, Ranked
Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.
- 1st in Illinois
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL · Public Fully online $12,789 annual in-state tuition 62% institutional graduation rate 367 degrees a year 68.8 scoreUIC separates its 30-credit nursing core from 33 prior-learning credits and 57 general education credits.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Illinois Chicago's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)UIC's online RN-to-BSN awards 33 proficiency credits for prior nursing education at no additional charge. The 30-credit nursing core and 57 general education credits complete the 120-credit degree. General education can transfer in or be taken alongside nursing courses, so students do not have to finish every supporting course before starting the nursing sequence. A transcript evaluation supplies an individualized list of remaining requirements.
The core includes research and statistics for evidence-based practice, informatics, caring theory, population-focused nursing and healthcare quality and safety. UIC states that this online pathway has no clinicals. Students may begin before receiving their RN license, but must provide proof of passing the NCLEX by the end of the first semester. That progression deadline is separate from the flexibility to take general education as corequisites.
- 30-credit nursing core
- 33 proficiency credits for prior nursing education
- General education may be taken as corequisites
- No clinical requirement
- NCLEX proof due by the first semester's end
- 2nd in Illinois
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL · Public Fully online $9,848 annual in-state tuition 47% institutional graduation rate 57 degrees a year 64.7 scoreEIU admits students who are still working toward RN licensure, requiring only that they pass the NCLEX before registering for 4000-level courses, rather than an active license at the point of entry.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Eastern Illinois University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Eastern Illinois University's online RN to BSN is a post-licensure completion program delivered as 100% online coursework, which the page describes as accelerated. EIU lists the program at 32 credit hours and says it can be completed within three semesters, with five start dates per year. Coursework is built on the nursing experience students bring with them, expanding their knowledge of values, theory and research toward evidence-based, safe, holistic practice, and the school frames its approach as interdisciplinary and focused on the individual student.
Entry does not require a license already in hand. The program is open to people who have completed or are working toward RN licensure, with two conditions stated in the page's own footnote: students must pass the NCLEX before registering for 4000-level courses, and current RNs must hold a valid, unencumbered nursing license. The baccalaureate nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. EIU lists tuition for the program at $8,902, and notes that students may be required to complete additional courses outside the nursing program depending on an advisor's transcript review, which would increase that total.
- 100% online
- 32 credit hours
- Three semesters to complete
- 5 start dates per year
- CCNE accredited
- 3rd in Illinois
Governors State University
University Park, IL · Public Fully online $8,232 annual in-state tuition 22% institutional graduation rate 21 degrees a year 54.4 scoreGovernors State pairs its fully online R.N. to B.S.N. with the Greer Nursing Scholars Program, a renewable award of up to $5,000 a year that is open only to RN-BSN transfer students and comes with monthly advising.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Governors State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Governors State University runs the R.N. to B.S.N. entirely online, with coursework centered on evidence-based care and healthcare across the lifespan. Full-time students can finish in as little as three semesters, and the university builds its cost estimate around 35 credit hours to complete the bachelor's degree. Classes are instructor-led and online, framed around the scheduling reality of nurses who are already working. Students who want to keep going are told to talk with an advisor about direct acceptance into the university's MSN programs after they finish the BSN.
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Governors State lists B.S.N. course tuition at $13,724 and estimated fees at $6,184, an estimated $19,908 total at 2025-2026 rates. Two awards cut into that: the Will County HEROES Grant at -$7,500 across three semesters and the AIM HIGH Scholarship at up to -$7,500 for full-time students, bringing the stated out-of-pocket figure to $4,908. The Greer Nursing Scholars Program is separate and is restricted to RN-BSN transfer students, offering a renewable scholarship of up to $5,000 per year, or $2,500 per semester, based on financial need. Greer Scholars meet with a dedicated nursing advisor once a month and take part in professional development, a nursing town hall, and interprofessional community health events alongside occupational therapy and physical therapy students.
- 100% online
- 3 semesters full-time
- 35 credit hours to complete
- ACEN accredited
- Greer scholarship up to $5,000/year
- 4th in Illinois
Benedictine University
Lisle, IL · Private nonprofit Online $31,126 annual in-state tuition 50% institutional graduation rate 33 degrees a year 43 scoreBenedictine’s 34-credit online completion program uses eight-week courses.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Benedictine University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Benedictine's RN-to-BSN has a 34-credit completion curriculum taught through eight-week online courses, with a published 14-month plan. Clinical activities accompany the coursework. Applicants may transfer up to 90 designated credits after transcript review; that cap does not establish which requirements an individual student's courses will satisfy.
The program requires a 2.5 GPA and either completed prerequisites or an approved academic plan. Admission does not require a test or an application fee, but entry to the nursing cohort does require a copy of the student's RN license. Reviewing prerequisites and clinical activities together with the transfer evaluation gives a clearer picture of the work remaining than the completion timeline alone.
- 34-credit completion curriculum
- Eight-week online courses
- Published 14-month plan
- Clinical activities complement coursework
- Up to 90 designated transfer credits
- 5th in Illinois
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL · Private nonprofit Online option $38,800 annual in-state tuition 67% institutional graduation rate 81 degrees a year 42.9 scoreLewis grants up to 12 hours of nursing credit for prior nursing experience once a student has successfully completed fifteen hours of nursing courses at the university.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Lewis University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Lewis University's RN to BSN program is a degree completion track for nurses who already hold an Illinois RN license and are currently practicing. It is built for adult learners, and classes run as small online synchronous or blended sections intended for interactive discussion and active participation. The program credits prior nursing experience directly: students who successfully complete fifteen hours of nursing courses are granted up to 12 hours of nursing credit. Coursework is framed around clinical judgment and leadership skills that a working nurse can apply in current practice, taught by faculty the page describes as having real-world experience.
Eligibility requires a current Illinois Registered Nurse license with a copy of that license provided, graduation from a state-approved diploma program, an associate degree nursing program, or a foreign nursing program, and official transcripts from all colleges attended with a 2.5 GPA. One caveat sits on the program page itself: a notice reading "We are currently not accepting applications." Anyone considering the program should confirm its status before planning around a start date. The page directs questions to the Office of Admission at admission@lewisu.edu or (815) 836-5250.
- Illinois RN license required
- 2.5 GPA required
- Online synchronous or blended classes
- Up to 12 nursing credit hours for experience
- Not currently accepting applications
- 6th in Illinois
McKendree University
Lebanon, IL · Private nonprofit Online $33,310 annual in-state tuition 53% institutional graduation rate 70 degrees a year 42.1 scoreTwo local practica accompany McKendree’s eight-week online courses.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about McKendree University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)McKendree teaches the RN-to-BSN in eight-week online courses, with completion possible in as few as three semesters. Two practica focus on community health and leadership and may be completed in the student's local area. Those experiences add applied work to the online course sequence rather than replacing it.
An admission counselor can arrange an unofficial transcript evaluation before the student chooses a start date. That is a useful early step for comparing the short completion plan with actual transfer requirements. For scheduling, give the two practica their own attention: local placement can limit travel, but students still need to fit the community and leadership work around employment.
- Eight-week online courses
- As few as three semesters
- Two practicum experiences
- Local-area practicum placements
- Community health and leadership practice
Illinois Has No Middle Price
The 3 public programs run from $8,232 to $12,789. The 3 private nonprofits run from $31,126 to $38,800. Between those two bands is $18,337 of empty space with no Illinois program in it. End to end the ladder is a factor of 4.7, and the median of $21,957.50 falls between the two bands. The ranked group contains 3 public and 3 private nonprofit institutions.
Practically, that means Illinois does not offer a gentle trade-up. Nothing in the state lets you pay somewhat more for somewhat more; you are choosing a band, then choosing within it. That makes the question you put to the 3 private programs a blunt one: what does this buy that University of Illinois Chicago or Eastern Illinois University does not, at two to four times the annual price?
Two more things about these figures. They are annual published tuition from IPEDS, not the total cost of the completion track — most RN-to-BSN programs are around 30 upper-level credits, so what you actually pay turns on how much of your ADN transfers and how many terms you spread it over. Ask every school for a total-to-degree number and how it counts general education you have already finished, because per-credit pricing is how this field hides the total. And residency matters at exactly two of these: University of Illinois Chicago ($12,789 in-state, $28,849 out) and Eastern Illinois University ($9,848 to $12,330). The other 4 charge one rate to everyone.
Illinois RN Pay Lands Within $1,560 of the National Median
BLS reports a median of $95,990 for the state's 138,910 registered nurses — $46.15 an hour — with the distribution running from $69,170 at the 10th percentile to $118,190 at the 90th. The national median is $97,550, so Illinois is $1,560 below it, a gap of 1.6%. That puts the state 21st of 51: neither a high-pay state you can bank on nor a low-pay one you have to work around.
That average position is what makes the $30,568 spread in the table above the live question. In a state paying well above national, an expensive program pays itself back faster; in Illinois there is no state-level premium doing that work for you. The difference between $8,232 and $38,800 comes out of the same paycheque either way.
The caveat that applies to every wage figure on this site: BLS reports all registered nurses as one occupation and does not break pay out by degree. There is no federal number for what an Illinois BSN earns against what an Illinois ADN earns, and anyone quoting one has made it up. The BSN is associated with access to roles that pay above the RN median, not with a raise in the job you already hold.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.
3 More Illinois Programs, Outside the Scored Set
These 3 run a confirmed RN-to-BSN completion track and are worth a call. They sit outside the table because the ranking scores institutional graduation rate at 45% and the federal file carries no such figure for them — scoring them anyway would mean ranking them on cost alone against programs measured on two things. That is a rule about comparing like with like rather than a judgment on the school — and none of the 3 shares a city with a ranked program, which matters if you want somewhere close enough to drive to.
- Lakeview College of Nursing, Danville — IPEDS carries no graduation rate for this institution
- Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing, Peoria — IPEDS carries no graduation rate for this institution
- Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Rock Island — IPEDS carries no graduation rate for this institution