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Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

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

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Virginia. In total, 6,775 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Virginia.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

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 Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 29 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for healthcare students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Virginia the best school in Virginia for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Chamberlain - Virginia is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Arlington.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Chamberlain - Virginia take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $37,103. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $256.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Virginia

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Sentara College of Health Sciences is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Sentara College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Chesapeake.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Sentara College of Health Sciences take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $29,312. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $155.

Read full report on Nursing at Sentara College of Health Sciences

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Virginia - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Virginia. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from University of Virginia carry an average student debtload of $16,880.

Full Nursing at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

#4

Centra College of Nursing

Lynchburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Centra College of Nursing. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Centra College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Centra College of Nursing take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $17,510.

Full Nursing at Centra College of Nursing Report

#5

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Mary Washington. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. UMW is a small public school located in the suburb of Fredericksburg.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at UMW accumulate an average of around $19,793 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Mary Washington

#6

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

With a ranking of #6, James Madison University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at JMU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $21,715. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $329.

Full Nursing at James Madison University Report

With a ranking of #7, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Richmond.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at VCU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $27,321. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $238.

Read More…

#8

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

Old Dominion 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 #8 on the list. Old Dominion is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Old Dominion carry an average student debtload of $26,975.

Read More…

With a ranking of #9, Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Richmond, Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing take out $32,447 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#10

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

Shenandoah 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. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winchester.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Shenandoah carry an average student debtload of $33,684.

Full Nursing at Shenandoah University Report

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
Kentucky 6,395
West Virginia 1,771
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 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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