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Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

173 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

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 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 173 schools in the United States to see which online doctor's degree programs were the most popular for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Check out the online nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

Our analysis found Chamberlain University - Illinois to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue an online doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 93% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

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#2

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand Canyon University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 90% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Grand Canyon University

Out of the 173 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Frontier Nursing University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

About 92% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 8% are male.

Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report

#5

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Capella University is a great place for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 94% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Capella University

University of South Alabama landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Mobile, USA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 92% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 8% are male.

Full Nursing at University of South Alabama Report

#7

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

With a ranking of #7, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Of the 113 students majoring in nursing at Brandman, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Brandman University

#8

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

With a ranking of #8, Samford University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Samford is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Birmingham.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Samford University

University of Alabama at Birmingham did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Birmingham, UAB is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 73% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Alabama at Birmingham

University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

About 80% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 20% are male.

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#11

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Northern Kentucky University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 87% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

With a ranking of #12, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Maryville U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

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

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#13

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA

Chatham University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online doctor’s degree nursing programs. Chatham is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

Of the 74 students majoring in nursing at Chatham, 11% are male and 89% are female.

Full Nursing at Chatham University Report

#14

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL

University of North Florida ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UNF is a fairly large public school located in the city of Jacksonville.

Of the 102 students majoring in nursing at UNF, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Florida

#15

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. UF is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.

Women make up 92% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Florida

#16

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN

With a ranking of #16, Purdue University Global did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Purdue University Global is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 97% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 3% are male.

Full Nursing at Purdue University Global Report

Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.

About 67% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 33% are male.

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University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. UMass Amherst is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Amherst.

Women make up 85% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at University of Massachusetts Amherst Report

#19

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 51 students majoring in nursing at ECU, 8% are male and 92% are female.

Read More…

#20

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

University of Kansas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 80 students majoring in nursing at KU, 19% are male and 81% are female.

Full Nursing at University of Kansas Report

With a ranking of #21, University of Central Florida did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 47 students majoring in nursing at UCF, 9% are male and 91% are female.

Read More…

#21

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

With a ranking of #21, University of Iowa did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 82% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

With a ranking of #21, University of Missouri - Kansas City did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Kansas City, UMKC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 81% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 19% are male.

Read More…

With a ranking of #24, The University of Texas at Arlington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online doctor’s degree. UT Arlington is a very large public school located in the city of Arlington.

Women make up 94% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington

South University’s online programs landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Savannah, South University's online programs is a private for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at South University’s online programs

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 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
27 Bradley University Peoria, IL
27 Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA
29 Wilmington University New Castle, DE
29 University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL
31 American Sentinel University Aurora, CO
32 Touro University Nevada Henderson, NV
33 Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA
34 University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI

View the Most Popular Online 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

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 26 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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