2023 Best Nursing Schools in Maryland
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Maryland. In total, 4,104 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Maryland.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Schools in Maryland ranking. Our analysis looked at 26 schools in Maryland to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Schools in Maryland
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.
Top 10 Best Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Johns Hopkins University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Maryland. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Johns Hopkins take out is $63,274.
The excellent programs at Frostburg State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Maryland. Located in the suburb of Frostburg, Frostburg State is a public school with a small student population.
Nursing majors at Frostburg State take out an average of $16,750 in student loans while working on their egree.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Maryland - Baltimore. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Maryland list. Located in the city of Baltimore, UMB is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Nursing majors at UMB take out an average of $59,730 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $260, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Out of the 26 schools in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Towson University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Towson, Towson is a public school with a large student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Towson carry an average student debtload of $20,464. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $298, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stevenson University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Maryland list. Stevenson is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Owings Mills.
On average, nursing graduates from Stevenson take out $28,672 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $499.
With a ranking of #6, Salisbury University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Salisbury is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Salisbury.
Nursing majors at Salisbury take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $394.
University of Maryland Global Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Adelphi, UMGC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Nursing majors at UMGC take out an average of $12,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Maryland Global Campus
Harford Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Maryland list. Harford Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Bel Air.
On average, nursing graduates from Harford Community College take out $10,026 in student loans while working on their degree.
Montgomery College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Maryland list. Montgomery College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Rockville.
Howard Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. HCC is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at HCC accumulate an average of around $17,434 in student debt.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 11,477 |
| New York | 17,708 |
| New Jersey | 5,648 |
| Delaware | 1,267 |
| District of Columbia | 990 |
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 |
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.