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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 319,502 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 104 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs 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 Southeast Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the large city of Madison, MTSA is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Nursing at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc Report

#2

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Wake Forest University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.

Read full report on Nursing at Wake Forest University

#3

Frontier Nursing University

Versailles, KY

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Frontier Nursing University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Versailles.

Nursing majors at Frontier Nursing University take out an average of $70,180 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Frontier Nursing University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Virginia Commonwealth University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from VCU carry an average student debtload of $103,687.

Read full report on Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University

#5

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Vanderbilt University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

Full Nursing at Vanderbilt University Report

#6

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

On average, nursing graduates from Duke take out $123,748 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Read More…

With a ranking of #7, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a very large student population.

Nursing majors at University of Virginia take out an average of $66,303 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Full Nursing at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

#9

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

Samford 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. Samford is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Birmingham.

On average, nursing graduates from Samford take out $56,787 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Samford University

Medical University of South Carolina came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the midsize city of Charleston, MUSC is a public college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at MUSC take out an average of $102,756 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Medical University of South Carolina Report

University of Southern Mississippi came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the small city of Hattiesburg, Southern Miss is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Southern Miss take out while working on their Doctor's Degree is $159,414.

Full Nursing at University of Southern Mississippi Report

#12

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Clemson 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 #12 on the list. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.

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With a ranking of #13, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of New Orleans, LSU Health - New Orleans is a public college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at LSU Health - New Orleans take out while working on their Doctor's Degree is $124,742.

Full Nursing at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans Report

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 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. Located in the medium-sized city of Little Rock, UAMS is a public school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

#15

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida ranked #15 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UF is a fairly large public school located in the city of Gainesville.

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Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
16 University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA
17 The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center Memphis, TN
18 Radford University Radford, VA
19 Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA
20 Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
Georgia 7,112
North Carolina 7,425
West Virginia 1,771
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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

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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