2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 77,470 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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 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 Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 149 schools in the Southeast Region 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 Southeast Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Wake Forest University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Vanderbilt University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southeast Region . Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southeast Region . Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Medical University of South Carolina is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Charleston, MUSC is a public college with a small student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend AdventHealth University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. AHU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Orlando.
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Frontier Nursing University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.
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Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Baton Rouge, FranU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Emory 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 #8 on the list. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Florida Gulf Coast 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 #10 on the list. FGCU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fort Myers.
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With a ranking of #11, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UT Chattanooga is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga.
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With a ranking of #12, James Madison University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. JMU is a very large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.
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With a ranking of #13, Florida State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public school with a very large student population.
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Belmont University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.
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University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 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 #16 on the list. Located in the city of Little Rock, UAMS is a public college with a small student population.
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South University’s online programs landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Savannah, South University's online programs is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Augusta 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 #18 on the list. Augusta University is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Augusta.
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Shenandoah University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the small city of Winchester, Shenandoah is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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University of South Carolina - Columbia 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 #20 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, UofSC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Miami ranked #21 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #22, Harding University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Searcy, Harding is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 24 | Samford University | Birmingham, AL |
| 25 | Sentara College of Health Sciences | Chesapeake, VA |
| 26 | Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond, VA |
| 27 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville, TN |
| 28 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
| 29 | Radford University | Radford, VA |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southeast 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 |
| North Carolina | 7,425 |
| West Virginia | 1,771 |
| Georgia | 7,112 |
| South Carolina | 3,296 |
| Virginia | 6,775 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Southeast Region
Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| 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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