2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
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 2021-2022.
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.
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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
Our analysis found Wake Forest University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in North Carolina. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from Wake Forest University carry an average student debtload of $99,573.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
Nursing majors at Duke take out an average of $84,309 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.
On average, nursing graduates from UNC Chapel Hill take out $48,424 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.
Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The excellent master’s degree programs at Appalachian State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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 medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from UNCW carry an average student debtload of $30,079.
Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from UNC Charlotte carry an average student debtload of $48,613.
Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte Report
East Carolina 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 #7 on the list. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at ECU accumulate an average of around $43,794 in student debt.
Queens University of Charlotte landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Queens take out while working on their Master's Degree is $35,177.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.
After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from UNC Greensboro carry an average student debtload of $27,478.
Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Western Carolina 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. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.
While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at WCU accumulate an average of around $46,419 in student debt.
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 |
| Kentucky | 6,395 |
| Tennessee | 6,004 |
| Louisiana | 3,502 |
| Mississippi | 2,838 |
| Florida | 21,209 |
| Arkansas | 2,882 |
| 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 Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 85,339 |
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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