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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

16 Colleges
$15,258 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in North Carolina with 7,425 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in North Carolina to see which master'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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of North Carolina at Wilmington to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in North Carolina. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

UNCW graduate students pay an average of $7,514 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UNCW not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Charlotte helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in North Carolina. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte graduate students pay an average of $7,713 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

Out of the 16 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, East Carolina University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at ECU are $7,594 per year.

Full Nursing at East Carolina University Report

Out of the 16 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a very large student population.

Appalachian State graduate students pay an average of $8,007 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Appalachian State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Read More…

#5

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Winston - Salem State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WSSU are $6,718 a year.

Full Nursing at Winston - Salem State University Report

Western Carolina University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

WCU graduate students pay an average of $7,480 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #7, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNC Greensboro are $8,265 per year.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report

With a ranking of #8, University of North Carolina at Pembroke did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the distant town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNC Pembroke are $6,775 a year.

Read More…

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNC Chapel Hill are $12,566 per year.

UNC Chapel Hill also took the #3 spot in our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina rankings.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

#10

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

Gardner - Webb graduate students pay an average of $10,130 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Gardner - Webb University Report

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

Nursing Concentrations

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 16 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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