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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

586 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 586 schools in the United States to see which master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

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

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Nursing

Our 2023 rankings named Albany Medical College the best school in the United States for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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Out of the 586 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Midwestern University - Glendale landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Midwestern University - Glendale

#3

Saint Vincent College

Latrobe, PA

Out of the 586 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Vincent College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Latrobe.

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#4

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 #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Samuel Merritt University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.

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University of Southern California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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#7

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Mount Marty University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#8

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #8, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Vanderbilt University

Touro University California came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Vallejo, TUC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Touro University California Report

#10

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX

Texas Wesleyan University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Texas Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.

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#11

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

With a ranking of #12, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

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#13

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Pennsylvania

Medical University of South Carolina came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. MUSC is a small public school located in the midsize city of Charleston.

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SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

#16

AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL

AdventHealth University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Orlando, AHU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at AdventHealth University

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. SMU MN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Winona.

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Frontier Nursing University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the city of Houston, UTHealth is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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#20

Newman University

Wichita, KS

Newman University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Newman University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Wichita.

Read full report on Nursing at Newman University

#21

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

Gonzaga University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Spokane.

Full Nursing at Gonzaga University Report

York College of Pennsylvania landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of York, YCP is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#23

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

With a ranking of #23, Loma Linda University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Loma Linda University

#24

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #24, Thomas Jefferson University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University

University of California - Davis came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Nursing at University of California - Davis Report

Rest of the Top 50 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#26

University of Providence

Great Falls, MT
#27

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
#28

Touro University Nevada

Henderson, NV
#30

Gannon University

Erie, PA
#33

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
#35

Webster University

Saint Louis, MO
#38

Yale University

New Haven, CT
#43

Emory University

Atlanta, GA
#44

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#47

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD
#48

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA
#49

New York University

New York, NY
#50

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

Remaining Award Winners

This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 586 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL
52 University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA
53 Vanguard University of Southern California Costa Mesa, CA
54 Wagner College Staten Island, NY
55 Saint Anthony College of Nursing Rockford, IL
56 Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA
57 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
58 Upstate Medical University Syracuse, NY
59 Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles, CA
60 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
61 American University of Health Sciences Signal Hill, CA
62 The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
63 Augsburg University Minneapolis, MN
64 The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN
65 Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA
66 Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO
67 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
68 California State University - Chico Chico, CA
69 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
70 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
71 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
72 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
73 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
74 Bethel University Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
74 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
76 Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ
77 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
78 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
79 Bushnell University Eugene, OR
80 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
81 University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA
82 University of Scranton Scranton, PA
83 MGH Institute of Health Professions Boston, MA
84 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
85 United States University San Diego, CA
86 Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA
87 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
88 Otterbein University Westerville, OH
89 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
90 Belmont University Nashville, TN
91 College of Saint Elizabeth Morristown, NJ
92 University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester Worcester, MA
93 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
94 Allen College Waterloo, IA
95 Holy Names University Oakland, CA
96 Ottawa University - Kansas City Overland Park, KS
97 Fresno Pacific University Fresno, CA
98 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR
99 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA
100 Bellin College Green Bay, WI
101 DeSales University Center Valley, PA
102 Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR
103 Teachers College at Columbia University New York, NY
104 University of Delaware Newark, DE
105 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
106 University of St Francis Joliet, IL
106 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND
108 West Coast University - Dallas Dallas, TX
109 Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO
110 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
111 Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT
112 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
113 Towson University Towson, MD
114 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
115 Texas A&M International University Laredo, TX
116 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
117 University of Mary Bismarck, ND

Nursing by Region

View the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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

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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