2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Kentucky
Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Kentucky with 6,395 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.
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.
The Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 11 schools in Kentucky to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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.
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2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Frontier Nursing University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Kentucky. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Versailles.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Frontier Nursing University carry an average student debtload of $65,523.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bellarmine University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Bellarmine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Louisville.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bellarmine U take out while working on their Master's Degree is $39,458.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Kentucky University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from NKU take out $43,960 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Spalding University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the city of Louisville, Spalding is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Spalding take out while working on their Master's Degree is $49,650.
Out of the 11 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of the Cumberlands landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cumberlands is a large private not-for-profit school located in the town of Williamsburg.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Cumberlands carry an average student debtload of $35,722.
Kentucky Christian University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Kentucky Christian University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Grayson.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Kentucky Christian University take out while working on their Master's Degree is $37,458.
Eastern Kentucky University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Eastern is a large public school located in the town of Richmond.
On average, nursing graduates from Eastern take out $46,842 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
University of Louisville landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Louisville, UofL is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at UofL accumulate an average of around $54,383 in student debt.
Midway University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the rural area of Midway, Midway is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
With a ranking of #10, Western Kentucky University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public school with a large student population.
Nursing majors at WKU take out an average of $28,212 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
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 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 7,364 |
| 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 |
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 85,339 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 11 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.