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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

51 Colleges
$14,110 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 39,944 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

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 the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 51 schools in the Southwest Region 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Aspen University

Denver, CO

Our 2023 rankings named Aspen University the best value school in the Southwest Region for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Aspen University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Denver.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Aspen University are $4,357 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Aspen University also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Read More…

#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

The excellent master’s degree programs at MSU Texas helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the Southwest Region . MSU Texas is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at MSU Texas are $8,056 a year.

Full Nursing at MSU Texas Report

Out of the 51 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. ENMU - Main Campus is a small public school located in the town of Portales.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at ENMU - Main Campus are $7,110 a year.

Full Nursing at Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus Report

Out of the 51 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Lubbock Christian University landed the # 4 spot on the list. LCU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lubbock.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at LCU are $9,540 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, LCU is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Nursing at Lubbock Christian University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means West Coast University - Dallas is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. West Coast University - Dallas is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Dallas.

West Coast University - Dallas graduate students pay an average of $10,735 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

West Texas A&M University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. West Texas A&M University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at West Texas A&M University

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Health San Antonio is a small public school located in the large city of San Antonio.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Health San Antonio are $13,448 a year.

Full Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Report

#8

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Grand Canyon University graduate students pay an average of $11,538 in tuition and fees each year.

Grand Canyon University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Read full report on Nursing at Grand Canyon University

#9

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX

With a ranking of #9, Texas Wesleyan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Texas Wesleyan graduate students pay an average of $21,243 in tuition and fees each year.

Texas Wesleyan not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas Wesleyan University

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. TTUHSC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Lubbock.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at TTUHSC are $19,056 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Best Nursing Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 12,966
Texas 21,862
New Mexico 1,390
Oklahoma 3,009

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

Majors Similar 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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