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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

27 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 Pennsylvania. In total, 11,477 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Pennsylvania.

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

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 Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 27 schools in Pennsylvania to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Pennsylvania

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Our 2023 rankings named University of Pennsylvania the best school in Pennsylvania 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 very large student population.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from UPenn carry an average student debtload of $156,141.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Pennsylvania

#2

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Villanova University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#3

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Thomas Jefferson University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

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#4

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Wilkes University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Wilkes is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Wilkes-Barre.

Nursing majors at Wilkes take out an average of $35,766 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

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#5

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA

Out of the 27 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Chatham University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Chatham is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from Chatham carry an average student debtload of $27,543.

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With a ranking of #6, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#7

Gannon University

Erie, PA

Gannon 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 #7 on the list. Gannon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Erie.

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Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. PA College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lancaster.

Full Nursing at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences Report

West Chester University of Pennsylvania landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

Read full report on Nursing at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

#10

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

While working on their Doctor's Degree, nursing majors at Drexel accumulate an average of around $43,862 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
New Jersey 5,648
Maryland 4,104
Delaware 1,267
District of Columbia 990

Nursing Focus Areas

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 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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