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Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

23 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Kentucky with 6,395 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's healthcare students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in Kentucky to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named Galen College of Nursing - Louisville the most popular school in Kentucky for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Louisville, Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 623 students majoring in nursing at Galen College of Nursing - Louisville, 11% are male and 89% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville take out $43,752 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $123, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Galen College of Nursing - Louisville Report

#2

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kentucky. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. UK is a very large public school located in the city of Lexington.

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

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at UK accumulate an average of around $27,393 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $363.

Full Nursing at University of Kentucky Report

#3

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

Out of the 23 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Louisville landed the # 3 spot on the list. UofL is a very large public school located in the city of Louisville.

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

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UofL take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $24,742. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $178.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Louisville

#4

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Kentucky University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. NKU is a large public school located in the large suburb of Highland Heights.

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

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at NKU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $32,669. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $252.

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

#5

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Western Kentucky University is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. WKU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bowling Green.

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

On average, nursing graduates from WKU take out $26,389 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $200.

Full Nursing at Western Kentucky University Report

#6

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY

Bellarmine University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the large city of Louisville, Bellarmine U is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bellarmine U take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,437. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $285.

Read full report on Nursing at Bellarmine University

Eastern Kentucky University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Richmond, Eastern is a public college with a large student population.

Women make up 86% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Eastern take out $32,291 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Eastern Kentucky University Report

#8

Spalding University

Louisville, KY

Spalding University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Spalding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Louisville.

Women make up 87% of the nursing majors at the school.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Spalding carry an average student debt load of $33,080.

Read full report on Nursing at Spalding University

With a ranking of #9, Murray State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Murray State is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Murray.

Of the 120 students majoring in nursing at Murray State, 8% are male and 92% are female.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Murray State accumulate an average of around $23,439 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Murray State University

#10

Morehead State University

Morehead, KY

Morehead State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Morehead State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Morehead.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Morehead State University accumulate an average of around $30,832 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Morehead State University Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Alabama 7,364
Arkansas 2,882

Nursing is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

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 23 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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