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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

33 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 33 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones were the most popular doctor'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 doctor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus the most popular school in Pennsylvania for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Pitt is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

About 77% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 23% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#2

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chatham University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Chatham is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

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

Full Nursing at Chatham University Report

#3

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Out of the 33 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the # 3 spot on the list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Women make up 71% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Pennsylvania

#4

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Thomas Jefferson University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 70% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University

#5

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Wilkes University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 31 students majoring in nursing at Wilkes, 3% are male and 97% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Wilkes University

#6

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Duquesne is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 24 students majoring in nursing at Duquesne, 13% are male and 88% are female.

Read More…

#7

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #7, Temple University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 19 students majoring in nursing at Temple, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Full Nursing at Temple University Report

#7

Robert Morris University

Moon Township, PA

Robert Morris University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. RMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Moon Township.

Of the 19 students majoring in nursing at RMU, 32% are male and 68% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Robert Morris University

#9

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.

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

Full Nursing at Villanova University Report

#10

Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #10, Holy Family University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Holy Family is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Schools 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

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 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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