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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

51 Colleges
$14,110 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 39,944 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 51 schools in the Southwest Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Aspen University

Denver, CO

Our analysis found Aspen University to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southwest Region . Aspen University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Denver.

Aspen University graduate students pay an average of $4,357 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at Aspen University

#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

Out of the 51 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, MSU Texas landed the # 2 spot on the list. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Wichita Falls.

MSU Texas graduate students pay an average of $8,056 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. ENMU - Main Campus is a small public school located in the town of Portales.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at ENMU - Main Campus are $7,110 a year.

Full Nursing at Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at Lubbock Christian University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the Southwest Region . LCU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lubbock.

LCU graduate students pay an average of $9,540 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, LCU also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Read full report on Nursing at Lubbock Christian University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Coast University - Dallas. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. West Coast University - Dallas is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Dallas.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Coast University - Dallas are $10,735 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at West Coast University - Dallas

West Texas A&M University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Canyon.

West Texas A&M University graduate students pay an average of $8,574 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at West Texas A&M University Report

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. UT Health San Antonio is a small public school located in the large city of San Antonio.

UT Health San Antonio graduate students pay an average of $13,448 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

#8

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

Grand Canyon University graduate students pay an average of $11,538 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Grand Canyon University Report

#9

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX

Texas Wesleyan 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 #9 on the list. Located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Texas Wesleyan are $21,243 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Texas Wesleyan is ranked #1 for overall quality for nursing in the Southwest Region .

Read full report on Nursing at Texas Wesleyan University

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. TTUHSC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Lubbock.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at TTUHSC are $19,056 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 21,862
Arizona 12,966
Oklahoma 3,009
New Mexico 1,390

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

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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