2023 Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 272 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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 Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named La Salle University the best value school in the United States for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. La Salle is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at La Salle are $1,455 per year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Morningside College is a great value for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Morningside is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Morningside are $6,516 per year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means American Sentinel University is a great value for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. American Sentinel University is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize 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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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Mount Marty University is a great value for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the remote town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Mount Marty graduate students pay an average of $9,650 in tuition and fees each year.
Mount Marty excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means West Coast University - Orange County is a great value for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Coast University - Orange County are $10,989 a year.
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West Coast University - Dallas landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Dallas, West Coast University - Dallas is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at West Coast University - Dallas are $10,735 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, Youngstown State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Youngstown State University are $6,931 a year.
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SIUE are $9,316 per year.
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With a ranking of #9, Delta State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the remote town of Cleveland, Delta State University is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Delta State University are $8,360 a year.
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Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing are $8,740 per year.
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With a ranking of #11, Clarkson College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Omaha, Clarkson College 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 Clarkson College are $12,294 a year.
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Mayo Clinic School of Medicine ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Rochester.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine are $22,716 per year.
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Grand Canyon University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the large city of Phoenix.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Grand Canyon University are $11,538 a year.
Grand Canyon University also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Concordia University, Wisconsin came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Mequon, Concordia University, Wisconsin is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Concordia University, Wisconsin graduate students pay an average of $11,760 in tuition and fees each year.
Concordia University, Wisconsin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list.
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Herzing University - Madison ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Herzing University - Madison is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Herzing University - Madison are $11,680 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Herzing University - Madison also did well on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #16, Wheeling University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Wheeling University is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Wheeling.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wheeling University are $10,160 per year.
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Minnesota State University - Moorhead ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the suburb of Moorhead, MSU Moorhead is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at MSU Moorhead are $11,052 a year.
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With a ranking of #18, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 a year.
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Winona State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Winona State are $12,836 per year.
Winona State also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the remote area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni 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 Graceland Lamoni are $11,187 a year.
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Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU 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 PLNU are $11,880 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, PLNU is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list.
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University of St Francis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Saint Francis are $13,839 a year.
University of Saint Francis also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Briar Cliff University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the city of Sioux City, Briar Cliff 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 Briar Cliff are $10,530 a year.
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With a ranking of #24, Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.
Chamberlain - Illinois graduate students pay an average of $14,090 in tuition and fees each year.
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Illinois State University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.
Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $11,773 in tuition and fees each year.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College | Saint Louis, MO |
| 42 | Research College of Nursing | Kansas City, MO |
| 43 | Cedar Crest College | Allentown, PA |
| 44 | Saint Joseph’s College of Maine | Standish, ME |
| 45 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX |
| 46 | Seattle University | Seattle, WA |
| 47 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, OH |
| 48 | Bradley University | Peoria, IL |
| 49 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN |
| 50 | California State University - Dominguez Hills | Carson, CA |
| 51 | Anderson University South Carolina | Anderson, SC |
| 52 | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, IL |
| 53 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 54 | Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions | Provo, UT |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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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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