Find Nursing Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

20 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 the United States with 39,944 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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.

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 in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in the Southwest Region to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

Our analysis found Texas A&M University - College Station to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Southwest Region . Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a very large student population.

Read More…

#2

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Texas Christian University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Graduate Certificate, nursing majors at TCU accumulate an average of around $19,027 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Texas Christian University Report

The excellent graduate certificate programs at West Coast University - Dallas helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . West Coast University - Dallas is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Dallas.

Read full report on Nursing at West Coast University - Dallas

Out of the 20 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center landed the # 4 spot on the list. TTUHSC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Lubbock.

Read More…

#5

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand Canyon University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read More…

The University of Texas at Arlington came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Arlington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Arlington.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington Report

With a ranking of #7, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, UOHSC is a public college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center Report

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. UT Health San Antonio is a small public school located in the city of San Antonio.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Report

Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. ASU - Tempe is a very large public school located in the city of Tempe.

Read full report on Nursing at Arizona State University - Tempe

Best Nursing Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 12,966
Texas 21,862
New Mexico 1,390
Oklahoma 3,009

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

Majors Similar to Nursing

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

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.