2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 322,592 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 Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 380 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named La Salle University the best value school in the United States for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. La Salle is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
La Salle graduate students pay an average of $1,455 in tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Aspen University is a great value for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Denver, Aspen University is a private for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Aspen University are $4,357 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Aspen University is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Morningside College is a great value for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Morningside is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Sioux City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Morningside are $6,516 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Marty University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mount Marty are $9,650 a year.
Mount Marty also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools rankings.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wilmington University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Wilmington University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of New Castle.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wilmington University are $9,060 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Wilmington University also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Ferris State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Ferris is a large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.
Ferris graduate students pay an average of $8,232 in tuition and fees each year.
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Point Loma Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at PLNU are $11,880 per year.
PLNU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing graduate students pay an average of $8,740 in tuition and fees each year.
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Ashland University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Ashland graduate students pay an average of $6,972 in tuition and fees each year.
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Delta State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the remote town of Cleveland, Delta State University is a public college with a small student population.
Delta State University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.
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Viterbo University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of La Crosse, Viterbo is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Viterbo graduate students pay an average of $9,488 in tuition and fees each year.
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American Sentinel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. American Sentinel University is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Aurora.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at American Sentinel University are $6,920 a year.
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Mayo Clinic School of Medicine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine graduate students pay an average of $22,716 in tuition and fees each year.
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McKendree University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. McKendree is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lebanon.
McKendree graduate students pay an average of $9,756 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #15, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 per year.
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University of Southern Mississippi ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Southern Miss is a large public school located in the small city of Hattiesburg.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southern Miss are $11,204 per year.
Southern Miss excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Chamberlain University - Illinois ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Addison.
Chamberlain - Illinois graduate students pay an average of $14,090 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #18, York College of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of York, YCP is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
YCP graduate students pay an average of $11,646 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, YCP also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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With a ranking of #18, University of Scranton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Scranton is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Scranton.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Scranton are $11,630 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, University of Scranton also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Webster University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Webster is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Webster graduate students pay an average of $13,500 in tuition and fees each year.
Webster also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #22, Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Omaha, Nebraska Methodist College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Nebraska Methodist College are $12,158 per year.
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 a year.
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Mississippi University for Women did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the town of Columbus, MUW is a public college with a small student population.
MUW graduate students pay an average of $7,756 in tuition and fees each year.
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Grand Canyon University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Grand Canyon University are $11,538 a year.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 380 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 52 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 53 | Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | Lancaster, PA |
| 54 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA |
| 55 | Alverno College | Milwaukee, WI |
| 55 | Purdue University Global | Indianapolis, IN |
| 57 | California State University - Fresno | Fresno, CA |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | Thomas Edison State University | Trenton, NJ |
| 58 | Bradley University | Peoria, IL |
| 60 | Eastern Mennonite University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 61 | Valparaiso University | Valparaiso, IN |
| 61 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
| 63 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 63 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
| 65 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN |
| 65 | Bryan College of Health Sciences | Lincoln, NE |
| 67 | University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences | San Marcos, CA |
| 68 | North Park University | Chicago, IL |
| 69 | Northern Illinois University | Dekalb, IL |
| 70 | Walsh University | North Canton, OH |
| 71 | Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA |
| 72 | The College of Saint Scholastica | Duluth, MN |
| 72 | Anderson University South Carolina | Anderson, SC |
| 74 | Union University | Jackson, TN |
| 75 | Gardner - Webb University | Boiling Springs, NC |
| 76 | Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Focus Areas
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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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