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Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Iowa

6 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 Iowa with 2,966 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Iowa 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 Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top Iowa Schools for a Master's in Nursing

#1

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

Our analysis found Allen College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Iowa. Located in the city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Allen College take out an average of $38,395 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Full Nursing at Allen College Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

Full Nursing at University of Iowa Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Graceland University - Lamoni. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the remote area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Graceland Lamoni take out while working on their Master's Degree is $51,290.

Read full report on Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni

#4

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Morningside College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Morningside is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.

On average, nursing graduates from Morningside take out $29,734 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Morningside College

#5

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Briar Cliff University is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Briar Cliff is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Briar Cliff University Report

#6

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

Mount Mercy University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.

Full Nursing at Mount Mercy University Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

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

Nursing Focus Areas

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 6 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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