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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

19 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in North Carolina to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in North Carolina.

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the most popular school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Of the 262 students majoring in nursing at Duke, 8% are male and 92% are female.

Read More…

The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Wilmington helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the midsize city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 196 students majoring in nursing at UNCW, 6% are male and 94% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The in-demand master’s degree programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Full Nursing at East Carolina University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Read More…

Out of the 19 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the # 5 spot on the list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

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

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Queens University of Charlotte ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the large city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 96% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 4% are male.

Read More…

#7

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

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

Full Nursing at Gardner - Webb University Report

Western Carolina University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

Of the 45 students majoring in nursing at WCU, 13% are male and 87% are female.

Read More…

With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

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

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report

#10

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston - Salem State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 24 students majoring in nursing at WSSU, 21% are male and 79% are female.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
Kentucky 6,395
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Alabama 7,364
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Arkansas 2,882

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 19 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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