2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree 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 Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 380 schools in the United States to see which doctor'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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing
Our analysis found Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Madison, MTSA is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Located in the medium-sized city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Midwestern University - Glendale landed the # 3 spot on the list. Midwestern University - Glendale is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Glendale.
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Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Wake Forest University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. USAHS is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the suburb of San Marcos.
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Texas Christian University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Frontier Nursing University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.
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Bryan College of Health Sciences came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lincoln, Bryan College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Samuel Merritt University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UTHealth is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Houston.
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University of Pennsylvania came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Mount Marty University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Yankton.
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With a ranking of #13, Villanova University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
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Baylor College of Medicine came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Thomas Jefferson University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.
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Vanderbilt University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
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With a ranking of #18, Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
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Texas Wesleyan University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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The University of Texas Medical Branch ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UTMB Galveston is a small public school located in the town of Galveston.
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With a ranking of #23, University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. UNLV is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Las Vegas.
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Rush University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Duke University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 380 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Wagner College | Staten Island, NY |
| 52 | Gannon University | Erie, PA |
| 53 | University of St Francis | Joliet, IL |
| 54 | The Graduate Center, CUNY | New York, NY |
| 55 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Lubbock, TX |
| 56 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS |
| 57 | Otterbein University | Westerville, OH |
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 59 | George Washington University | Washington, DC |
| 60 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 61 | University of Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE |
| 62 | Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | Lancaster, PA |
| 63 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 64 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 65 | Fairfield University | Fairfield, CT |
| 66 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 67 | Monmouth University | West Long Branch, NJ |
| 68 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 69 | Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 70 | Upstate Medical University | Syracuse, NY |
| 71 | University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, MS |
| 72 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
| 73 | Loma Linda University | Loma Linda, CA |
| 74 | New York University | New York, NY |
| 74 | Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans | New Orleans, LA |
| 76 | Seattle University | Seattle, WA |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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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