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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 2023 rankings named Duke University the best school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the 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.

Full Nursing at Appalachian State University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Out of the 10 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the # 4 spot on the list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small 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 fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at East Carolina University

#6

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

With a ranking of #6, Gardner - Webb University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

Full Nursing at Gardner - Webb University Report

University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the midsize city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

#8

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston - Salem State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report

With a ranking of #10, Queens University of Charlotte did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Queens University of Charlotte

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

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