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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

6 Colleges
$12,773 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Iowa. In total, 2,966 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Iowa.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Iowa 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a master's degree.

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Nursing

#1

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA

Our 2023 rankings named Morningside College the best value school in Iowa for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Morningside is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Morningside are $6,516 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Morningside College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Graceland University - Lamoni. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Lamoni.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Graceland Lamoni are $11,187 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Graceland Lamoni is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in Iowa.

Read full report on Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Iowa is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a very large student population.

Iowa graduate students pay an average of $12,065 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Iowa did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Iowa

#4

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Briar Cliff University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Sioux City.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Briar Cliff are $10,530 per year.

Read More…

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Mount Mercy University is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Mount Mercy are $11,176 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Mount Mercy University

#6

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

Allen College 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 #6 on the list. Allen College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waterloo.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Allen College are $18,908 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Allen College

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 14,890
Missouri 6,840
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976

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 6 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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