Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

14 Colleges
$115,233 Avg Salary
$76,952 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Tennessee with 6,004 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

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. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Tennessee to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 14 schools in Tennessee to see which ones were the most popular doctor's degree programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Tennessee.

Our analysis found Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in Tennessee. MTSA is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Madison.

About 53% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 47% are male.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. UTHSC is a small public school located in the city of Memphis.

About 83% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 17% are male.

Read More…

#3

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 81% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 30 students majoring in nursing at UT Knoxville, 20% are male and 80% are female.

Read More…

#5

Union University

Jackson, TN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Union University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the city of Jackson, Union is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 32 students majoring in nursing at Union, 44% are male and 56% are female.

After completing their Doctor's Degree, nursing graduates from Union carry an average student debt load of $145,407.

Full Nursing at Union University Report

#6

Belmont University

Nashville, TN

Belmont University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Belmont University Report

East Tennessee State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. ETSU is a large public school located in the city of Johnson City.

About 91% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 9% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from ETSU take out $56,230 in student loans while working on their Doctor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at East Tennessee State University

With a ranking of #8, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read More…

#9

King University

Bristol, TN

King 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 #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Bristol, King is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

About 50% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 50% are male.

Full Nursing at King University Report

#10

Southern Adventist University

Collegedale, TN

Southern Adventist University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Collegedale, Southern Adventist is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 21 students majoring in nursing at Southern Adventist, 10% are male and 90% are female.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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
Arkansas 2,882
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
West Virginia 1,771
North Carolina 7,425
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775
Georgia 7,112

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 262,974
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,647
Nursing Practice 8,862
Nursing Administration 8,663
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,717
Nursing Science 4,701
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,895
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,075
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 2,011
Nurse Anesthetist 1,768
Critical Care Nursing 747
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 622
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 567
School Nursing 539
Clinical Nurse Leader 502
Clinical Nurse Specialist 340
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 269
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 262
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 192
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 87
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 26
Forensic Nursing 23
Palliative Care Nursing 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 14 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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited nursing schools across the U.S.