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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

272 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 272 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best graduate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States

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

Top 25 Top Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Nursing

Our 2023 rankings named Mayo Clinic School of Medicine the best school in the United States for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. 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.

Full Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Samuel Merritt University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Samuel Merritt University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Frontier Nursing University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. 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

#4

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Thomas Jefferson University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. SUNY Downstate is a small public school located in the large city of Brooklyn.

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#6

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#7

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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West Coast University - Orange County came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Anaheim.

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#9

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

#10

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.

Read full report on Nursing at Vanderbilt University

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Nursing at Texas A&M University - College Station Report

Maryville University of Saint Louis came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Maryville U is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

Full Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis Report

Western University of Health Sciences came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of St Francis came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#15

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Mount Marty University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate 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

#16

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

Clarkson College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Clarkson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.

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#17

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

Texas Christian University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Nursing majors at TCU take out an average of $19,027 in student loans while working on their Graduate Certificate.

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Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

West Coast University - Dallas ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. West Coast University - Dallas is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Dallas.

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#20

Gannon University

Erie, PA

Gannon University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Erie, Gannon is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Gannon University Report

University of California - San Francisco came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of California - San Francisco

#22

Winona State University

Winona, MN

Winona State University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.

Full Nursing at Winona State University Report

#23

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #24 on the list. CSUDH is a large public school located in the small city of Carson.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#25

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. UF is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.

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Rest of the Top Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

#27

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA
#28

Bradley University

Peoria, IL
#29

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#30

Augusta University

Augusta, GA
#31

New York University

New York, NY
#32

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA
#33

National University

La Jolla, CA
#34

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
#35

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
#36

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
#37

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#39

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS
#40

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

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 Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
41 Wagner College Staten Island, NY
42 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock, TX
43 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
44 Herzing University - Madison Madison, WI
45 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
46 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
47 Emory University Atlanta, GA
48 Yale University New Haven, CT
49 Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA
50 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
51 Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions Provo, UT
52 The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX
53 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
54 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX

Nursing by Region

View the Best Nursing Graduate 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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