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Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

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

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 400 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Colleges.

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

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

Full Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis Report

Out of the 400 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the # 2 spot on the list. UC is a very large public school located in the city of Cincinnati.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Graduate Certificate, nursing majors at UC accumulate an average of around $21,375 in student debt.

Read More…

Out of the 400 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of South Alabama landed the # 3 spot on the list. USA is a large public school located in the midsize city of Mobile.

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

Read full report on Nursing at University of South Alabama

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Frontier Nursing University is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. 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.

Read More…

#5

Regis College

Weston, MA

Out of the 400 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Regis College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Regis College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Weston.

About 84% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 16% are male.

Full Nursing at Regis College Report

#6

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN

Purdue University Global ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Purdue University Global is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Purdue University Global

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 108 students majoring in nursing at CSULB, 17% are male and 83% are female.

Full Nursing at California State University - Long Beach Report

Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Of the 95 students majoring in nursing at Columbia, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Full Nursing at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

The University of Texas at Arlington did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Arlington, UT Arlington is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read More…

#10

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

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

#11

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Grand Canyon University

Illinois State University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Full Nursing at Illinois State University Report

#13

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Northern Kentucky University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. NKU is a large public school located in the suburb of Highland Heights.

About 90% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

Read full report on Nursing at Northern Kentucky University

Concordia University, Wisconsin ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. 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.

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Herzing University - Madison came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Herzing University - Madison is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Madison.

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

Read More…

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 60 students majoring in nursing at UT Rio Grande Valley, 20% are male and 80% are female.

Read More…

#17

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 57 students majoring in nursing at Duke, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Duke University

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, RMUoHP is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

#19

Ursuline College

Pepper Pike, OH

Ursuline College ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Pepper Pike, Ursuline College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 98% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

University of Massachusetts - Boston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the city of Boston, UMass Boston is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 44 students majoring in nursing at UMass Boston, 5% are male and 95% are female.

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University of New Hampshire - Main Campus came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. UNH is a large public school located in the suburb of Durham.

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

Read full report on Nursing at University of New Hampshire - Main Campus

Washington State University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the distant town of Pullman, Wazzu is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Washington State University

#23

National University

La Jolla, CA

With a ranking of #23, National University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. National University is a fairly 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…

Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 37 students majoring in nursing at Ohio State, 16% are male and 84% are female.

Full Nursing at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

#24

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #24 on the list. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Drexel University

#26

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD
#29

Washburn University

Topeka, KS
#31

Bradley University

Peoria, IL
#31

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#33

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
#35

Molloy College

Rockville Centre, NY
#37

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY
#37

Brandman University

Irvine, CA
#37

Pace University - New York

New York, NY
#41

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL
#41

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA
#45

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, TN
#48

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA
#50

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Remaining Award Winners

This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 400 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
50 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
52 Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Rochester, MN
52 Rivier University Nashua, NH
52 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
52 West Coast University - Orange County Anaheim, CA
52 University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN
57 University of Mississippi University, MS
57 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS
57 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
57 University of Toledo Toledo, OH

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
61 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
61 Texas Woman’s University Denton, TX
61 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
61 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
61 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
61 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
67 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock, TX
67 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
67 Lehman College Bronx, NY
67 Emory University Atlanta, GA
67 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN
72 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
72 Alverno College Milwaukee, WI
72 University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI
75 Capella University Minneapolis, MN
75 Russell Sage College Troy, NY
75 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
75 Rush University Chicago, IL
75 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
75 University of Maryland - Baltimore Baltimore, MD
75 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY
75 William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, NJ

Nursing by Region

View the Most Popular 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.

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