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Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

149 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master'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.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 149 schools in the Southeast Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Our analysis found Wake Forest University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Wake Forest University

#2

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Out of the 149 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanderbilt University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Vanderbilt University

#3

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Duke University

Out of the 149 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Medical University of South Carolina landed the # 4 spot on the list. MUSC is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.

Read full report on Nursing at Medical University of South Carolina

#5

AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL

Out of the 149 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, AdventHealth University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Orlando, AHU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read More…

Frontier Nursing University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Frontier Nursing University

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. FranU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Baton Rouge.

Read full report on Nursing at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University

#8

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Emory University

With a ranking of #9, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

Full Nursing at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

#10

Florida Gulf Coast University

Fort Myers, FL

With a ranking of #10, Florida Gulf Coast University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Fort Myers, FGCU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at Florida Gulf Coast University Report

The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public school with a large student population.

Read More…

#12

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

James Madison University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

#13

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Florida State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Florida State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee.

Full Nursing at Florida State University Report

#14

Belmont University

Nashville, TN

Belmont University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Belmont University

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.

Read More…

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UAMS is a small public school located in the midsize city of Little Rock.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

South University’s online programs came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. South University's online programs is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Savannah.

Read full report on Nursing at South University’s online programs

#18

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

With a ranking of #18, Augusta University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Augusta, Augusta University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Augusta University Report

#19

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

With a ranking of #19, Shenandoah University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winchester.

Full Nursing at Shenandoah University Report

University of South Carolina - Columbia did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. UofSC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Columbia.

Read More…

#21

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

With a ranking of #21, University of Miami did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Coral Gables.

Read More…

#22

Harding University

Searcy, AR

Harding University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Harding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Searcy.

Read full report on Nursing at Harding University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
23 Auburn University Auburn, AL
24 Samford University Birmingham, AL
25 Sentara College of Health Sciences Chesapeake, VA
26 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
27 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
28 Clemson University Clemson, SC
29 Radford University Radford, VA

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
Kentucky 6,395
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Alabama 7,364
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Arkansas 2,882

Nursing is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

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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