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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. 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.

The Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 16 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

Our 2023 rankings named Thomas Jefferson University the best school in Pennsylvania for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

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#2

Gannon University

Erie, PA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gannon University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Erie, Gannon is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Gannon University

#3

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Out of the 16 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Drexel University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Drexel University

#4

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Duquesne University is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Duquesne is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Duquesne University

#5

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DeSales University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the rural area of Center Valley, DeSales is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at DeSales University

#6

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova 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 #6 on the list. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.

Full Nursing at Villanova University Report

#7

Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA

Cedar Crest College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Cedar Crest is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Allentown.

Read full report on Nursing at Cedar Crest College

With a ranking of #8, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Full Nursing at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report

Millersville University of Pennsylvania landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Millersville is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Millersville.

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#10

Waynesburg University

Waynesburg, PA

Waynesburg 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 #10 on the list. Waynesburg is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Waynesburg.

Read full report on Nursing at Waynesburg University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

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 16 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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