2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 380 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc the best school in the United States for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. MTSA is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Rochester.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Midwestern University - Glendale is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Wake Forest University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Out of the 380 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Texas Christian University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. TCU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Worth.
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Frontier Nursing University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Bryan College of Health Sciences ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Bryan College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lincoln.
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Samuel Merritt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Houston, UTHealth is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #11, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Mount Marty University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the remote town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Villanova University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Baylor College of Medicine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Baylor College of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
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Thomas Jefferson University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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With a ranking of #16, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. VCU is a very large public school located in the city of Richmond.
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Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Point Loma Nazarene University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Texas Wesleyan University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Texas Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Worth.
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Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.
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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
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The University of Texas Medical Branch ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Galveston, UTMB Galveston is a public school with a small student population.
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University of Nevada - Las Vegas landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public college with a very large student population.
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Rush University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Rush University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
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Duke University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 380 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Wagner College | Staten Island, NY |
| 52 | Gannon University | Erie, PA |
| 53 | University of St Francis | Joliet, IL |
| 54 | The Graduate Center, CUNY | New York, NY |
| 55 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Lubbock, TX |
| 56 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS |
| 57 | Otterbein University | Westerville, OH |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 59 | George Washington University | Washington, DC |
| 60 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 61 | University of Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE |
| 62 | Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | Lancaster, PA |
| 63 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 64 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 65 | Fairfield University | Fairfield, CT |
| 66 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 67 | Monmouth University | West Long Branch, NJ |
| 68 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 69 | Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 70 | Upstate Medical University | Syracuse, NY |
| 71 | University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, MS |
| 72 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
| 73 | Loma Linda University | Loma Linda, CA |
| 74 | New York University | New York, NY |
| 74 | Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans | New Orleans, LA |
| 76 | Seattle University | Seattle, WA |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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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