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Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools

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2023 Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools

35 Colleges

Finding the Best Nursing Basic Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, 322,592 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. 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 Basic Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 35 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best basic certificate programs 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 Basic Certificate Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a basic certificate.

Top 10 Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools

Our analysis found Oregon Coast Community College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Oregon Coast Community College is a fairly small public school located in the rural area of Newport.

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The excellent basic certificate programs at Ohio State University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Columbus.

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#3

Lone Star College System

The Woodlands, TX

Out of the 35 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Lone Star College System landed the # 3 spot on the list. North Harris Montgomery is a very large public school located in the midsize city of The Woodlands.

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The excellent basic certificate programs at Ohio University - Athens Campus helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. OHIO Athens is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Athens.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Red Rocks Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their basic certificate. Red Rocks Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Lakewood.

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#6

Gaston College

Dallas, NC

Gaston College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Dallas, Gaston College is a public school with a small student population.

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#7

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. PPCC is a large public school located in the large suburb of Colorado Springs.

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Lewis - Clark State College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Lewiston, Lewis - Clark State College is a public college with a small student population.

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#9

Gavilan College

Gilroy, CA

Gavilan College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Gilroy, Gavilan College is a public college with a small student population.

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#10

Methodist College

Peoria, IL

Methodist College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Methodist College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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Nursing by Region

View the Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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

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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