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

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

170 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master'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 Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 170 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones were the most popular master'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 master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the Southeast Region .

Our analysis found University of South Alabama to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the midsize city of Mobile, USA is a public college with a large student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at University of South Alabama

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Alabama at Birmingham is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Birmingham, UAB is a public college with a very large student population.

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

Full Nursing at University of Alabama at Birmingham Report

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Frontier Nursing University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southeast Region . Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

Of the 607 students majoring in nursing at Frontier Nursing University, 5% are male and 95% are female.

Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South University’s online programs. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Savannah, South University's online programs is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 540 students majoring in nursing at South University's online programs, 17% are male and 83% are female.

Full Nursing at South University’s online programs Report

#5

Miami Regional University

Miami Springs, FL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Miami Regional University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Miami Regional University is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Miami Springs.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Miami Regional University

#6

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 master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Read More…

#7

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

Of the 347 students majoring in nursing at Vanderbilt, 11% are male and 89% are female.

Read More…

#8

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

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

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

With a ranking of #8, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. USF Tampa is a very large public school located in the large city of Tampa.

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

Read full report on Nursing at University of South Florida - Main Campus

#10

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 87% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

Read More…

#11

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Nova Southeastern University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the suburb of Fort Lauderdale, NUS Florida is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Of the 202 students majoring in nursing at NUS Florida, 10% are male and 90% are female.

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University of North Carolina at Wilmington landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

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

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report

With a ranking of #13, University of South Carolina - Columbia did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, UofSC is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 185 students majoring in nursing at UofSC, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Read More…

#14

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

With a ranking of #14, University of Miami did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Of the 172 students majoring in nursing at U Miami, 18% are male and 82% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Miami

University of Alabama in Huntsville came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. UAH is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Huntsville.

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

Read More…

#16

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

With a ranking of #16, Augusta University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Augusta University is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Augusta.

Of the 156 students majoring in nursing at Augusta University, 19% are male and 81% are female.

Read More…

#17

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.

Of the 150 students majoring in nursing at Emory, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Read More…

#18

Jacksonville University

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Jacksonville, JU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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

Read More…

#19

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #19, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read More…

#19

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, TN

East Tennessee State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at East Tennessee State University

Eastern Kentucky University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Eastern is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Richmond.

Of the 134 students majoring in nursing at Eastern, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Full Nursing at Eastern Kentucky University Report

Florida International University ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the large suburb of Miami, FIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read More…

#23

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, FL

With a ranking of #23, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Fort Lauderdale.

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

Read More…

#24

Columbus State University

Columbus, GA

Columbus State University ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. CSU is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Columbus.

Of the 105 students majoring in nursing at CSU, 7% are male and 93% are female.

Read More…

#25

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL

Florida Atlantic University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. FAU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Boca Raton.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Florida Atlantic University

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
26 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
27 University of Memphis Memphis, TN
28 Florida National University - Main Campus Hialeah, FL
29 The University of West Florida Pensacola, FL
30 Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, TN
31 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
32 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
32 Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA
34 University of North Alabama Florence, AL

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges 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 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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