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Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

22 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 Kentucky with 6,395 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's healthcare students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in Kentucky to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky

Check out the nursing bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Galen College of Nursing - Louisville to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Kentucky. Located in the city of Louisville, Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville take out $43,752 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $123, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#2

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bellarmine University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the large city of Louisville, Bellarmine U is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Bellarmine U accumulate an average of around $31,437 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $285.

Full Nursing at Bellarmine University Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kentucky Christian University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the distant town of Grayson, Kentucky Christian University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Kentucky Christian University accumulate an average of around $30,920 in student debt.

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#4

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

Out of the 22 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Kentucky landed the # 4 spot on the list. UK is a very large public school located in the city of Lexington.

On average, nursing graduates from UK take out $27,393 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $363.

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#5

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Louisville helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Kentucky. UofL is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Louisville.

On average, nursing graduates from UofL take out $24,742 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $178.

Full Nursing at University of Louisville Report

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#6

Berea College

Berea, KY

With a ranking of #6, Berea College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Berea is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Berea.

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#7

Spalding University

Louisville, KY

Spalding University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Spalding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Louisville.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Spalding accumulate an average of around $33,080 in student debt.

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#8

University of Pikeville

Pikeville, KY

University of Pikeville landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree nursing programs. UPIKE is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Pikeville.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at UPIKE accumulate an average of around $35,877 in student debt.

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#9

Union College Kentucky

Barbourville, KY

Union College Kentucky ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the town of Barbourville, Union College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Union College take out $26,971 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#10

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Northern Kentucky 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 #10 on the list. NKU is a large public school located in the suburb of Highland Heights.

On average, nursing graduates from NKU take out $32,669 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 $252.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Alabama 7,364
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Arkansas 2,882

Nursing is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

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

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 22 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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