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Best Nursing Schools in Arkansas

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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Arkansas

28 Colleges
$62,518 Avg Salary
$21,482 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Arkansas with 2,882 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Arkansas ranking. This report analyzed 28 schools in Arkansas to see which ones offered the best programs for healthcare students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Arkansas

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Baptist Health College - Little Rock to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Arkansas. BHCLR is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Little Rock.

Nursing majors at BHCLR take out an average of $23,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $87, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Baptist Health College - Little Rock Report

#2

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Arkansas is a great place for nursing students. UARK is a very large public school located in the small city of Fayetteville.

On average, nursing graduates from UARK take out $26,625 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $410.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Arkansas

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is a great place for nursing students. UAMS is a small public school located in the city of Little Rock.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UAMS accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $59.

Read More…

#4

Harding University

Searcy, AR

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Harding University is a great place for nursing students. Harding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Searcy.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Harding take out is $29,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $330.

Read full report on Nursing at Harding University

#5

Henderson State University

Arkadelphia, AR

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Henderson State University is a great place for nursing students. Located in the town of Arkadelphia, Henderson State University is a public school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Henderson State University take out $19,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Henderson State University Report

Arkansas State University - Newport ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. ASUN is a small public school located in the rural area of Newport.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at ASUN take out is $17,302.

Full Nursing at Arkansas State University - Newport Report

Jefferson Regional Medical Center School of Nursing ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. JRMC School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Pine Bluff.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at JRMC School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Jefferson Regional Medical Center School of Nursing

#8

John Brown University

Siloam Springs, AR

John Brown University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the distant town of Siloam Springs, JBU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from JBU take out $27,077 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

University of Arkansas at Little Rock did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Little Rock, UA Little Rock is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UA Little Rock carry an average student debtload of $32,086.

Full Nursing at University of Arkansas at Little Rock Report

With a ranking of #10, Arkansas State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. A-State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Jonesboro.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at A-State accumulate an average of around $23,057 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Arkansas State University - Main Campus Report

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
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

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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