Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

147 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

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 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 147 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular online graduate certificate programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Check out the online nursing graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

Our analysis found Maryville University of Saint Louis to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue an online graduate certificate in the United States. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Women make up 87% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Alabama. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. USA is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Mobile.

Women make up 94% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

Request Information

Out of the 147 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Frontier Nursing University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 125 students majoring in nursing at Frontier Nursing University, 4% are male and 96% are female.

Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report

Request Information
#4

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN

Out of the 147 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University Global landed the # 4 spot on the list. Purdue University Global is a very large public school located in the small city of Indianapolis.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

Full Nursing at Purdue University Global Report

Request Information

Out of the 147 online programs at schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Arlington landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Arlington, UT Arlington is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

Request Information
#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

About 89% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 11% are male.

Full Nursing at Liberty University Report

Request Information
#7

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the large city of Phoenix.

Of the 76 students majoring in nursing at Grand Canyon University, 11% are male and 89% are female.

Read More…

Request Information

With a ranking of #8, Concordia University, Wisconsin did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Mequon, Concordia University, Wisconsin is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 69 students majoring in nursing at Concordia University, Wisconsin, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Concordia University, Wisconsin

Request Information

Herzing University - Madison landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. Herzing University - Madison is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.

Women make up 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

Request Information
#10

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

Read More…

Request Information

University of New Hampshire - Main Campus landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. UNH is a large public school located in the small suburb of Durham.

Of the 43 students majoring in nursing at UNH, 19% are male and 81% are female.

Read More…

Request Information
#12

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Women make up 89% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Drexel University Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #13, Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their online graduate certificate. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.

Women make up 94% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

Request Information

South University’s online programs did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #14 on the list. South University's online programs is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Savannah.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at South University’s online programs

Request Information
#15

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

About 70% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 30% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at George Washington University

Request Information
#15

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Bradley University

Request Information

University of St Francis landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Joliet.

About 81% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 19% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St Francis

Request Information
#18

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Brandman University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 96% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Brandman University Report

Request Information

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular online places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 91% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Report

Request Information
#20

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Western Kentucky University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. WKU is a large public school located in the city of Bowling Green.

Of the 26 students majoring in nursing at WKU, 4% are male and 96% are female.

Read More…

Request Information

Graceland University - Lamoni landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 21 students majoring in nursing at Graceland Lamoni, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni

Request Information

West Coast University - Orange County came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

About 79% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 21% are male.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County Report

Request Information

University of Southern Indiana landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular online graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Evansville, USI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 19 students majoring in nursing at USI, 26% are male and 74% are female.

Read More…

Request Information

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 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
24 University of Mississippi University, MS
25 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
26 University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI
26 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
28 Capella University Minneapolis, MN
28 Rush University Chicago, IL
28 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
28 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY

View the Most Popular Online 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

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.

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.