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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas

36 Colleges
$62,518 Avg Salary
$21,482 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Arkansas with 2,882 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Schools in Arkansas ranking. Our analysis looked at 36 schools in Arkansas to see which 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.

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

Our analysis found University of Arkansas at Little Rock to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Arkansas. Located in the city of Little Rock, UA Little Rock is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UA Little Rock take out is $32,086.

Full Nursing at University of Arkansas at Little Rock Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arkansas State University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. A-State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Jonesboro.

Nursing majors at A-State take out an average of $23,057 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#3

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arkansas. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. UARK is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Fayetteville.

On average, nursing graduates from UARK take out $26,625 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $410.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. UAMS is a small public school located in the city of Little Rock.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UAMS take out is $25,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $59.

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Out of the 36 schools in Arkansas that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Central Arkansas landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Conway, UCA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UCA carry an average student debt load of $23,000.

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Baptist Health College - Little Rock ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. BHCLR is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Little Rock.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from BHCLR carry an average student debt load of $23,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $87, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Baptist Health College - Little Rock

#7

Arkansas Tech University

Russellville, AR

Arkansas Tech University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. ATU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Russellville.

On average, nursing graduates from ATU take out $26,131 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Arkansas Tech University Report

University of Arkansas - Fort Smith ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. Located in the city of Fort Smith, UAFS is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UAFS carry an average student debt load of $21,574.

Full Nursing at University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Report

NorthWest Arkansas Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. NWACC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Bentonville.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at NWACC take out is $15,500.

Full Nursing at NorthWest Arkansas Community College Report

#10

Henderson State University

Arkadelphia, AR

Henderson State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the distant town of Arkadelphia, Henderson State University is a public college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Henderson State University accumulate an average of around $19,250 in student debt.

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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
North Carolina 7,425
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

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 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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