2023 Best Nursing Schools in Virginia
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Virginia. In total, 6,775 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Virginia.
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. 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 Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 55 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best programs for nursing students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Virginia
Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 10 Best Nursing Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Standard Healthcare Services - College of Nursing the best school in Virginia for nursing students. Standard College of Nursing is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Falls Church.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chamberlain University - Virginia. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Virginia list. Located in the large suburb of Vienna, Chamberlain - Virginia is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Chamberlain - Virginia accumulate an average of around $22,213 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $283.
The excellent programs at Sentara College of Health Sciences helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Virginia. Sentara College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Chesapeake.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Sentara College of Health Sciences accumulate an average of around $18,888 in student debt.
Read full report on Nursing at Sentara College of Health Sciences
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at University of Virginia accumulate an average of around $42,463 in student debt.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Virginia - Main Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Virginia Career College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Fredericksburg, Eastern Virginia Career College is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Eastern Virginia Career College accumulate an average of around $14,750 in student debt.
Centra College of Nursing ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Centra College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Centra College of Nursing take out $14,009 in student loans while working on their degree.
University of Mary Washington did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. UMW is a small public school located in the suburb of Fredericksburg.
Nursing majors at UMW take out an average of $12,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Mary Washington
Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Virginia list. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Richmond.
Nursing majors at VCU take out an average of $53,868 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 $137.
Read full report on Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University
James Madison University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from JMU take out $24,175 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $425, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Riverside College of Health Careers landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the midsize city of Newport News, Riverside College of Health Careers is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Riverside College of Health Careers carry an average student debtload of $16,750.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges 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 |
| North Carolina | 7,425 |
| West Virginia | 1,771 |
| Georgia | 7,112 |
| South Carolina | 3,296 |
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related 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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