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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

11 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in North Carolina to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Wake Forest University the best school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.

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#2

Duke University

Durham, NC

Out of the 11 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

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Lenoir - Rhyne University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the small city of Hickory, Lenoir - Rhyne University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

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Western Carolina University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Cullowhee.

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#9

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#10

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb 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 #10 on the list. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
Tennessee 6,004
Kentucky 6,395
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

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

Majors Similar to Nursing

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 11 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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