2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Doctor'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.
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 Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 380 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named La Salle University the best value school in the United States for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, La Salle is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
La Salle graduate students pay an average of $1,455 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Aspen University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the United States. Aspen University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the large city of Denver.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Aspen University are $4,357 per year.
Aspen University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Morningside College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the United States. Located in the city of Sioux City, Morningside is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Morningside graduate students pay an average of $6,516 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Marty University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Yankton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mount Marty are $9,650 a year.
Mount Marty also made our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list, coming in at #5.
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Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Wilmington University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of New Castle, Wilmington University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Wilmington University are $9,060 a year.
Wilmington University also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #6, Ferris State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Ferris also did well on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Point Loma Nazarene University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.
PLNU graduate students pay an average of $11,880 in tuition and fees each year.
PLNU also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Peoria.
St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing graduate students pay an average of $8,740 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, Ashland University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Ashland.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ashland are $6,972 a year.
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Delta State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Delta State University is a small public school located in the town of Cleveland.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Delta State University are $8,360 per year.
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Viterbo University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Viterbo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of La Crosse.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Viterbo are $9,488 a year.
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With a ranking of #12, American Sentinel University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Aurora, American Sentinel University is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at American Sentinel University are $6,920 per year.
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Mayo Clinic School of Medicine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine graduate students pay an average of $22,716 in tuition and fees each year.
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McKendree University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
McKendree graduate students pay an average of $9,756 in tuition and fees each year.
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Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the city of Mankato.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 per year.
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With a ranking of #16, University of Southern Mississippi did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Hattiesburg, Southern Miss is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Southern Miss graduate students pay an average of $11,204 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #17, Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Chamberlain - Illinois are $14,090 a year.
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University of Scranton did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Scranton are $11,630 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, University of Scranton also is in the top 5% of our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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York College of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. YCP is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of York.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at YCP are $11,646 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, YCP is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Webster University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Webster is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Webster are $13,500 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Webster also is in the top 10% of our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Nebraska Methodist College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Omaha.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Nebraska Methodist College are $12,158 per year.
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 a year.
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Mississippi University for Women landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. MUW is a small public school located in the remote town of Columbus.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at MUW are $7,756 per year.
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Grand Canyon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Grand Canyon University graduate students pay an average of $11,538 in tuition and fees each year.
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Additional Award Winners
This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 380 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 52 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 53 | Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | Lancaster, PA |
| 54 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA |
| 55 | Alverno College | Milwaukee, WI |
| 55 | Purdue University Global | Indianapolis, IN |
| 57 | California State University - Fresno | Fresno, CA |
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 Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | Thomas Edison State University | Trenton, NJ |
| 58 | Bradley University | Peoria, IL |
| 60 | Eastern Mennonite University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 61 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
| 61 | Valparaiso University | Valparaiso, IN |
| 63 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
| 63 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 65 | Bryan College of Health Sciences | Lincoln, NE |
| 65 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN |
| 67 | University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences | San Marcos, CA |
| 68 | North Park University | Chicago, IL |
| 69 | Northern Illinois University | Dekalb, IL |
| 70 | Walsh University | North Canton, OH |
| 71 | Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA |
| 72 | Anderson University South Carolina | Anderson, SC |
| 72 | The College of Saint Scholastica | Duluth, MN |
| 74 | Union University | Jackson, TN |
| 75 | Gardner - Webb University | Boiling Springs, NC |
| 76 | Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.
- 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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