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Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

28 Colleges
$15,808 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$99,011 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 31,555 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 28 schools in the Plains States Region 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 10 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA

Our analysis found Morningside College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Plains States Region . 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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#2

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mount Marty University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the 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 also made our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list, coming in at #2.

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#3

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Clarkson College is a great value for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Omaha, Clarkson College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Clarkson College are $12,294 per year.

Full Nursing at Clarkson College Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rochester.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine are $22,716 a year.

Full Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Report

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Out of the 28 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Moorhead landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Moorhead, MSU Moorhead is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at MSU Moorhead are $11,052 per year.

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Winona State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Winona State are $12,836 per year.

Winona State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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With a ranking of #7, Graceland University - Lamoni did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Graceland Lamoni are $11,187 per year.

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#8

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

Briar Cliff University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Sioux City, Briar Cliff is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Briar Cliff are $10,530 per year.

Full Nursing at Briar Cliff University Report

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With a ranking of #9, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Maryville U are $15,696 per year.

Maryville U also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region rankings.

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With a ranking of #10, Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health 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, Nebraska Methodist 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 Nebraska Methodist College are $12,158 a year.

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Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 14,890
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Iowa 2,966
Missouri 6,840

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

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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