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Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

16 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 16 schools in North Carolina to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for nursing students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Wake Forest University the best school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.

Read full report on Nursing at Wake Forest University

#2

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

Read full report on Nursing at Duke University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

Out of the 16 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Appalachian State University

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Wilmington helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the midsize city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

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University of North Carolina at Charlotte 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 #6 on the list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

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#7

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at East Carolina University

Queens University of Charlotte 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. Located in the city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Queens University of Charlotte

University of North Carolina at Greensboro landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

#10

Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC

Western Carolina University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

Full Nursing at Western Carolina University Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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

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

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 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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