2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania
Finding the Best Nursing 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 76 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best programs for healthcare students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.
Top 15% Best Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing take out $20,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a great place for nursing students. Located in the suburb of Bethlehem, St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing take out is $21,381.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing is a great place for nursing students. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Nursing majors at West Penn Hospital School of Nursing take out an average of $20,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Out of the 76 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing take out is $27,892.
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Out of the 76 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Citizens School of Nursing landed the # 5 spot on the list. Citizens School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of New Kensington.
On average, nursing graduates from Citizens School of Nursing take out $21,312 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. RHSHS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Reading.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at RHSHS accumulate an average of around $25,208 in student debt.
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UPMC Mercy School of Nursing landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. UPMC Mercy School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
On average, nursing graduates from UPMC Mercy School of Nursing take out $24,743 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #8, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the fringe town of New Castle, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Nursing majors at UPMC Jameson School of Nursing take out an average of $24,750 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Washington Hospital School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Washington.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Washington Hospital School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $23,719.
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DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Memorial Medical Center is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small city of Johnstown.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Memorial Medical Center accumulate an average of around $24,420 in student debt.
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Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the town of Pottsville, Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing take out is $29,000.
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Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the state of Pennsylvania that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Saint Vincent College | Latrobe, PA |
| 13 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 14 | Thomas Jefferson University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 15 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
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 |
More Nursing Rankings in Pennsylvania
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
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 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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