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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina

10 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in North Carolina to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our analysis found Duke University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in North Carolina. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Appalachian State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a very large student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

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#5

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a very large student population.

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#6

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

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University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public college with a large student population.

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#8

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

With a ranking of #8, Winston - Salem State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

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Queens University of Charlotte ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

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

Nursing Concentrations

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 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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