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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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

19 Colleges
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master'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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in North Carolina to see which master'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 Master'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 master’s degree. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

About 92% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 8% are male.

Full Nursing at Duke University Report

Out of the 19 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Wilmington landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 94% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 6% are male.

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

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The in-demand master’s degree programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Nursing at East Carolina University Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a great place for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

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

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte Report

The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

Of the 72 students majoring in nursing at UNC Chapel Hill, 18% are male and 82% are female.

Read More…

Queens University of Charlotte 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 city of Charlotte, Queens is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 96% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Queens University of Charlotte

#7

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’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.

Of the 47 students majoring in nursing at Gardner - Webb, 6% are male and 94% are female.

Read full report on Nursing at Gardner - Webb University

Western Carolina University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

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

Full Nursing at Western Carolina University Report

With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

Of the 31 students majoring in nursing at UNC Greensboro, 13% are male and 87% are female.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report

#10

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston - Salem State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 79% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 21% are male.

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
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 19 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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