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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia

63 Colleges
$69,595 Avg Salary
$23,663 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Virginia. In total, 6,775 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Virginia.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 63 schools in Virginia 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a .

#1

ECPI University

Virginia Beach, VA

Our analysis found ECPI University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. ECPI University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Virginia Beach.

Nursing majors at ECPI University take out an average of $30,534 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $174.

Read full report on Nursing at ECPI University

#2

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great place for nursing students. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

Nursing majors at Liberty University take out an average of $28,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $554, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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The excellent programs at Virginia Commonwealth University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Virginia. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Richmond.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at VCU accumulate an average of around $26,687 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $238.

Read full report on Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University

#4

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Old Dominion University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia list. Old Dominion is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Norfolk.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Old Dominion take out is $25,000.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

On average, nursing graduates from University of Virginia take out $16,836 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#6

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

With a ranking of #6, James Madison University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from JMU take out $23,125 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $329.

Read More…

#7

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason 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. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from GMU carry an average student debt load of $22,000.

Read More…

#8

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Radford take out an average of $27,750 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $223, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#9

Stratford University

Fairfax, VA

Stratford University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Stratford University is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Fairfax.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Stratford University accumulate an average of around $50,165 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Stratford University Report

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Richmond, Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing accumulate an average of around $31,252 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the state of Virginia that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Schools in Virginia award.

Rank College Location
11 Shenandoah University Winchester, VA
12 Bryant & Stratton College - Virginia Beach Virginia Beach, VA

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
Kentucky 6,395
West Virginia 1,771
Alabama 7,364
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
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 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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