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Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

11 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor'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.

The Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in North Carolina 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 following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the most popular school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

Women make up 86% of the nursing majors at the school.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

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

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#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 51 students majoring in nursing at ECU, 8% are male and 92% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at East Carolina University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Of the 28 students majoring in nursing at UNC Chapel Hill, 7% are male and 93% are female.

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Out of the 11 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Lenoir - Rhyne University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Hickory, Lenoir - Rhyne University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 25 students majoring in nursing at Lenoir - Rhyne University, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Lenoir - Rhyne University

Western Carolina University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. WCU is a large public school located in the distant town of Cullowhee.

Of the 17 students majoring in nursing at WCU, 29% are male and 71% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Western Carolina University

University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

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

University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 85% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

#9

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Boiling Springs.

Read full report on Nursing at Gardner - Webb University

#9

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

With a ranking of #9, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.

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

Full Nursing at Wake Forest University Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges 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 11 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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