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Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

57 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 31,555 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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.

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 the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 57 schools in the Plains States 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 Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Our analysis found Mount Marty University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Plains States Region . SMU MN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Winona.

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#3

Newman University

Wichita, KS

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Newman University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Newman University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Wichita.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Nebraska Medical Center is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Omaha, UNMC is a public school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Nebraska Medical Center

#5

Webster University

Saint Louis, MO

The excellent master’s degree programs at Webster University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Webster is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Webster University Report

#6

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

Clarkson College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Omaha, Clarkson College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Clarkson College

#7

Augsburg University

Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Augsburg is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Read full report on Nursing at Augsburg University

Maryville University of Saint Louis 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 suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis

#9

Bethel University Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN

Bethel University Minnesota came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Bethel University Minnesota is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Paul.

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#10

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

Allen College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Allen College Report

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Nebraska 1,908
Minnesota 14,890
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Iowa 2,966
Missouri 6,840
Kansas 2,633

Nursing Focus Areas

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 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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