2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You
In 2021-2022, 319,502 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 56 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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.
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2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Samuel Merritt University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Samuel Merritt University take out while working on their Master's Degree is $144,982.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at USC take out while working on their Master's Degree is $102,769.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Touro University California helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Far Western US Region . TUC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Vallejo.
Nursing majors at TUC take out an average of $55,574 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - San Francisco. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public college with a small student population.
While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at UCSF accumulate an average of around $88,514 in student debt.
Full Nursing at University of California - San Francisco Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gonzaga University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the midsize city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Gonzaga carry an average student debtload of $55,541.
Loma Linda University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.
Nursing majors at Loma Linda University take out an average of $112,150 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
On average, nursing graduates from UC Davis take out $60,014 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Touro University Nevada ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Touro University Nevada is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Henderson.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Touro University Nevada take out while working on their Master's Degree is $55,574.
Western University of Health Sciences landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Western University of Health Sciences carry an average student debtload of $119,725.
Full Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences Report
With a ranking of #10, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. USAHS is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the suburb of San Marcos.
On average, nursing graduates from USAHS take out $32,246 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Full Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Report
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,851 |
| California | 18,329 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Alaska | 177 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Oregon | 1,502 |
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Concentrations
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing | 262,974 |
| Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | 16,647 |
| Nursing Practice | 8,862 |
| Nursing Administration | 8,663 |
| Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 4,717 |
| Nursing Science | 4,701 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,895 |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,075 |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | 2,011 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 1,768 |
| Critical Care Nursing | 747 |
| Geriatric Nurse/Nursing | 622 |
| Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery | 567 |
| School Nursing | 539 |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | 502 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 340 |
| Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing | 269 |
| Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing | 262 |
| Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing | 192 |
| Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing | 87 |
| Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | 26 |
| Forensic Nursing | 23 |
| Palliative Care Nursing | 13 |
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 85,339 |
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.