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Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

31 Colleges
$74,117 Avg Salary
$28,960 Avg Student Debt

Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. 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 Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 31 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones were the most popular online programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Online Nursing Colleges.

Our analysis found California University of Pennsylvania to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue an online degree in Pennsylvania. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of California.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Cal U take out is $29,696.

Full Nursing at California University of Pennsylvania Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Millersville is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Millersville.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Millersville accumulate an average of around $32,215 in student debt.

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#3

Immaculata University

Immaculata, PA

Out of the 31 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Immaculata University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Immaculata, Immaculata is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Immaculata carry an average student debtload of $33,260.

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#4

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA

Out of the 31 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Chatham University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Chatham is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Chatham accumulate an average of around $25,260 in student debt.

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The excellent online programs at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. SRU is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Slippery Rock.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at SRU accumulate an average of around $27,412 in student debt.

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#6

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #6, Drexel University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Drexel carry an average student debtload of $31,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $596, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#7

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, PA

With a ranking of #7, Lock Haven University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the distant town of Lock Haven, LHU is a public school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from LHU take out $29,651 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#8

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA

Wilkes University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Wilkes accumulate an average of around $31,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $408, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#9

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Duquesne is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Duquesne take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $648.

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#10

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UPenn accumulate an average of around $20,861 in student debt.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

More Nursing Rankings in Pennsylvania

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 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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