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Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

51 Colleges
$98,290 Avg Salary
$50,801 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 42,378 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 51 schools in the Southwest Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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.

2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest 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 2023 rankings named Midwestern University - Glendale the best school in the Southwest Region for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Midwestern University - Glendale is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Glendale.

On average, nursing graduates from Midwestern University - Glendale take out $146,705 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Midwestern University - Glendale

#2

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX

The excellent master’s degree programs at Texas Wesleyan University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at Texas Wesleyan accumulate an average of around $128,709 in student debt.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . UTHealth is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Houston.

After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from UTHealth carry an average student debtload of $38,224.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. TTUHSC is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lubbock.

After completing their Master's Degree, nursing graduates from TTUHSC carry an average student debtload of $57,354.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at The University of Texas Medical Branch helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . UTMB Galveston is a small public school located in the town of Galveston.

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at UTMB Galveston accumulate an average of around $38,531 in student debt.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Medical Branch Report

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. UT Health San Antonio is a small public school located in the large city of San Antonio.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UT Health San Antonio take out while working on their Master's Degree is $45,938.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Report

Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Texas A&M College Station take out $34,653 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas A&M University - College Station

The University of Texas at Austin came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UT Austin take out while working on their Master's Degree is $62,347.

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West Coast University - Dallas 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 #9 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Richardson, West Coast University - Dallas is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their Master's Degree, nursing majors at West Coast University - Dallas accumulate an average of around $37,094 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at West Coast University - Dallas

Texas A&M International 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. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Laredo.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Texas A&M International University take out while working on their Master's Degree is $15,182.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas A&M International University

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 12,966
Texas 21,862
New Mexico 1,390
Oklahoma 3,009

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.

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