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Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

49 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 49 schools in Pennsylvania to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Thomas Jefferson University take out an average of $28,302 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $537, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#2

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UPenn carry an average student debtload of $24,423.

Full Nursing at University of Pennsylvania Report

#3

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Villanova University is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.

Nursing majors at Villanova take out an average of $30,032 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $433.

Full Nursing at Villanova University Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Millersville University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. Millersville is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Millersville.

On average, nursing graduates from Millersville take out $33,958 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Out of the 49 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania landed the # 5 spot on the list. SRU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Slippery Rock.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at SRU accumulate an average of around $27,955 in student debt.

Read More…

#6

University of Scranton

Scranton, PA

With a ranking of #6, University of Scranton did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at University of Scranton take out an average of $25,367 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $601, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at University of Scranton Report

#7

Immaculata University

Immaculata, PA

Immaculata University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Immaculata, Immaculata is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Immaculata accumulate an average of around $35,345 in student debt.

Read More…

#8

Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA

Cedar Crest College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Cedar Crest is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Allentown.

Read More…

California University of Pennsylvania landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of California.

Nursing majors at Cal U take out an average of $30,555 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at California University of Pennsylvania

York College of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. YCP is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of York.

Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $543.

Full Nursing at York College of Pennsylvania Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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