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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Washington

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Washington

6 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary
$76,952 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Washington. In total, 3,851 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Washington.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Washington to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 6 schools in Washington to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for nursing students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Washington

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top Washington Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing

#1

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

Our 2023 rankings named Gonzaga University the best school in Washington for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Gonzaga take out an average of $83,112 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Gonzaga University Report

#2

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

Out of the 6 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Seattle University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from Seattle U carry an average student debtload of $132,173.

Full Nursing at Seattle University Report

Out of the 6 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Seattle Pacific University landed the # 3 spot on the list. SPU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Seattle.

Read full report on Nursing at Seattle Pacific University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pacific Lutheran University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Washington list. Located in the suburb of Tacoma, PLU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at PLU take out while working on their Doctor's Degree is $108,958.

Full Nursing at Pacific Lutheran University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Washington list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from UW Seattle carry an average student debtload of $72,405.

Full Nursing at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

With a ranking of #6, Washington State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Wazzu is a very large public school located in the town of Pullman.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from Wazzu carry an average student debtload of $67,326.

Read full report on Nursing at Washington State University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 18,329
Nevada 2,015
Alaska 177
Hawaii 535
Oregon 1,502

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 262,974
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,647
Nursing Practice 8,862
Nursing Administration 8,663
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,717
Nursing Science 4,701
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,895
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,075
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 2,011
Nurse Anesthetist 1,768
Critical Care Nursing 747
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 622
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 567
School Nursing 539
Clinical Nurse Leader 502
Clinical Nurse Specialist 340
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 269
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 262
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 192
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 87
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 26
Forensic Nursing 23
Palliative Care Nursing 13

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 6 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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