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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

113 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 77,470 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 113 schools in the Southeast Region to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named Frontier Nursing University the most popular school in the Southeast Region for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

Women make up 92% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Frontier Nursing University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Alabama. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the midsize city of Mobile, USA is a public college with a large student population.

Women make up 92% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at University of South Alabama Report

#3

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

Out of the 113 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Samford University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Samford is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Birmingham.

Of the 129 students majoring in nursing at Samford, 11% are male and 89% are female.

Read More…

#4

Duke University

Durham, NC

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Duke University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Of the 107 students majoring in nursing at Duke, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

#5

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Florida. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UNF is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Jacksonville.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Florida

University of Alabama at Birmingham came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Birmingham, UAB is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 98 students majoring in nursing at UAB, 27% are male and 73% are female.

Full Nursing at University of Alabama at Birmingham Report

#7

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

Augusta University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Augusta University is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Augusta.

About 80% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 20% are male.

Full Nursing at Augusta University Report

Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the city of Madison, MTSA is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

About 59% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 41% are male.

Full Nursing at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc Report

University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

Women make up 80% of the nursing majors at the school.

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

Florida International University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Miami, FIU is a public college with a very large student population.

About 76% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 24% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Florida International University

#10

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Northern Kentucky University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a large student population.

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

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

#12

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UF is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.

Of the 79 students majoring in nursing at UF, 8% are male and 92% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Florida

The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the large city of Memphis, UTHSC is a public college with a small student population.

Women make up 79% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of New Orleans, LSU Health - New Orleans is a public college with a small student population.

Of the 69 students majoring in nursing at LSU Health - New Orleans, 28% are male and 72% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans

#15

Barry University

Miami, FL

Barry University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Barry University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Miami.

About 72% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 28% are male.

Read More…

With a ranking of #16, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 67% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
18 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
19 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
19 Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC
21 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
22 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
22 South University’s online programs Savannah, GA

Best Nursing Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
Georgia 7,112
North Carolina 7,425
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 26 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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