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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas

36 Colleges
$62,518 Avg Salary
$21,482 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Arkansas with 2,882 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Schools in Arkansas ranking. Our analysis looked at 36 schools in Arkansas to see which 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.

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Arkansas.

Our analysis found University of Arkansas at Little Rock to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Arkansas. Located in the midsize city of Little Rock, UA Little Rock is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UA Little Rock accumulate an average of around $32,086 in student debt.

Full Nursing at University of Arkansas at Little Rock Report

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Out of the 36 schools in Arkansas that were part of this year’s ranking, Arkansas State University - Main Campus landed the # 2 spot on the list. A-State is a large public school located in the city of Jonesboro.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at A-State take out is $23,057.

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#3

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

Out of the 36 schools in Arkansas that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arkansas landed the # 3 spot on the list. UARK is a very large public school located in the city of Fayetteville.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UARK carry an average student debt load of $26,625. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $410, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Out of the 36 schools in Arkansas that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences landed the # 4 spot on the list. UAMS is a small public school located in the city of Little Rock.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UAMS accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $59, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Central Arkansas is a great place for nursing students. Located in the small city of Conway, UCA is a public school with a large student population.

Nursing majors at UCA take out an average of $23,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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With a ranking of #6, Baptist Health College - Little Rock did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. BHCLR is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Little Rock.

Nursing majors at BHCLR take out an average of $23,000 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $87.

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#7

Arkansas Tech University

Russellville, AR

Arkansas Tech University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. ATU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Russellville.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from ATU carry an average student debt load of $26,131.

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University of Arkansas - Fort Smith ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Arkansas list. Located in the small city of Fort Smith, UAFS is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at UAFS take out an average of $21,574 in student loans while working on their egree.

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With a ranking of #9, NorthWest Arkansas Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. NWACC is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Bentonville.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at NWACC accumulate an average of around $15,500 in student debt.

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#10

Henderson State University

Arkadelphia, AR

Henderson State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the town of Arkadelphia, Henderson State University is a public college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Henderson State University take out $19,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

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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
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
West Virginia 1,771
Georgia 7,112
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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 26 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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