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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

380 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

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 large city of Madison, MTSA is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Report

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 suburb of Glendale.

Full Nursing at Midwestern University - Glendale Report

#4

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wake Forest University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.

Full Nursing at Wake Forest University Report

Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the # 5 spot on the list. USAHS is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

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#6

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

With a ranking of #6, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Nursing at Texas Christian University Report

With a ranking of #7, Frontier Nursing University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report

Bryan College of Health Sciences landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Lincoln, Bryan College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Bryan College of Health Sciences

Samuel Merritt University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the 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 ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UTHealth is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Houston.

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#11

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

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 city of Philadelphia.

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#12

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Mount Marty University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Yankton.

Read full report on Nursing at Mount Marty University

#13

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.

Read full report on Nursing at Villanova University

Baylor College of Medicine 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 #14 on the list. Located in the city of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#15

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

Thomas Jefferson 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 #15 on the list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University

Virginia Commonwealth University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University

#17

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. 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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#19

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX

With a ranking of #19, Texas Wesleyan University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. 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 landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. 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 very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Nursing at University of California - Los Angeles Report

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 fringe town of Galveston.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Medical Branch Report

University of Nevada - Las Vegas came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UNLV is a fairly large public school located in the city of Las Vegas.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Nevada - Las Vegas

#24

Rush University

Chicago, IL

Rush University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Rush University Report

#25

Duke University

Durham, NC

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.

Read full report on Nursing at Duke University

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

#28

Saint Mary's College

Notre Dame, IN
#29

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA
#31

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA
#32

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA
#33

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#34

University of Portland

Portland, OR
#38

Samford University

Birmingham, AL
#39

Webster University

Saint Louis, MO
#40

Touro University Nevada

Henderson, NV
#44

Aspen University

Denver, CO
#47

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA
#49

Bradley University

Peoria, IL
#50

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Additional Award Winners

This list shows the rest of the schools 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

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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