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Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools

16 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 16 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular online associate degree programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing an online associate degree.

#1

Excelsior College

Albany, NY

Our analysis found Excelsior College to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue an online associate degree in the United States. Excelsior College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Albany.

Of the 1,522 students majoring in nursing at Excelsior College, 16% are male and 84% are female.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Excelsior College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,429.

Read More…

#2

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

Out of the 16 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Amarillo College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Amarillo.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from Amarillo College take out $22,468 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Amarillo College Report

#3

Polk State College

Winter Haven, FL

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Polk State College is a great place for nursing students working on their online associate degree. Polk State is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Winter Haven.

About 83% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 17% are male.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Polk State accumulate an average of around $19,264 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Polk State College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vermont Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the remote area of Randolph, Vermont Tech is a public college with a small student population.

Of the 149 students majoring in nursing at Vermont Tech, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Nursing majors at Vermont Tech take out an average of $26,121 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Out of the 16 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, James A Rhodes State College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of Lima, Rhodes State College is a public school with a small student population.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Rhodes State College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,078.

Read full report on Nursing at James A Rhodes State College

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Utah Valley University is a great place for nursing students working on their online associate degree. Located in the city of Orem, UVU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 104 students majoring in nursing at UVU, 21% are male and 79% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from UVU take out $15,279 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Utah Valley University Report

#7

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Western Kentucky University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 91% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at WKU accumulate an average of around $25,980 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Western Kentucky University Report

#8

LaGuardia Community College

Long Island City, NY

LaGuardia Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools list. LaGuardia is a large public school located in the large city of Long Island City.

Of the 95 students majoring in nursing at LaGuardia, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Nursing majors at LaGuardia take out an average of $16,899 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at LaGuardia Community College

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online associate degree nursing programs. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of San Mateo.

Women make up 84% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,947.

Read More…

Northwest Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online associate degree nursing programs. NTC is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.

About 91% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 9% are male.

Nursing majors at NTC take out an average of $32,265 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

View the Most Popular Online Nursing Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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 16 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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