2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 272 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Check out the nursing graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named Mayo Clinic School of Medicine the best school in the United States for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Samuel Merritt University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
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Out of the 272 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Frontier Nursing University landed the # 3 spot on the list. 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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Out of the 272 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Thomas Jefferson University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Thomas Jefferson University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public college with a small student population.
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Georgetown University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
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With a ranking of #7, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.
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West Coast University - Orange County landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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Duke University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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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Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of College Station.
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With a ranking of #12, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Western University of Health Sciences landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
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University of St Francis came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.
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With a ranking of #15, Mount Marty University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. 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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With a ranking of #16, Clarkson College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Omaha, Clarkson College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Texas Christian University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Worth.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at TCU take out while working on their Graduate Certificate is $19,027.
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With a ranking of #18, Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Addison.
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West Coast University - Dallas ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Dallas, West Coast University - Dallas is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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Gannon University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Gannon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Erie.
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With a ranking of #21, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. UCSF is a small public school located in the city of San Francisco.
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Winona State University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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Drexel University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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With a ranking of #24, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Florida came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public college with a very large student population.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Wagner College | Staten Island, NY |
| 42 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Lubbock, TX |
| 43 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 44 | Herzing University - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 45 | Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ |
| 46 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 47 | Emory University | Atlanta, GA |
| 48 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 49 | Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego, CA |
| 50 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY |
| 51 | Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions | Provo, UT |
| 52 | The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX |
| 53 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 54 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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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