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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

10 Schools Ranked
$104,683 Avg Student Debt

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in Massachusetts to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for nursing students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

Top Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Massachusetts

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
442 Total Awards
$34,028 Average Tuition & Fees
$80,079 Avg Student Debt

Our 2023 rankings named Boston College the best school in Massachusetts for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Boston College is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 442 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

By the time they get their doctor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $80,079 in student loans.

Online graduate courses are available at Boston College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 41% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

#2

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts
701 Total Awards
$27,009 Average Tuition & Fees
$77,089 Avg Student Debt

Out of the 10 schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Northeastern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 701 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.

Doctor’s Degree recipients from Northeastern accumulate an average of $77,089 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Northeastern. In fact, around 26% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read More…

#3

Simmons University

Boston, Massachusetts
65 Total Awards
$27,314 Average Tuition & Fees
$95,841 Avg Student Debt

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Simmons University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 65 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $95,841 in loans while pursuing their degree.

Online graduate courses are available at Simmons, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 80% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Simmons University

#4

Endicott College

Beverly, Massachusetts
30 Total Awards

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Endicott College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Beverly, Massachusetts, and it awarded 30 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.

One thing to take note of is that Endicott does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 87% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Full Endicott College Report

#5

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts
395 Total Awards
$16,625 Average Tuition & Fees
$60,611 Avg Student Debt

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the large public school handed out 395 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $60,611 in loans while pursuing their degree.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UMass Amherst. In 2020-2021 about 42% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full University of Massachusetts Amherst Report

284 Total Awards
$24,335 Average Tuition & Fees
$79,071 Avg Student Debt

Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 284 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $79,071 in loans while pursuing their degree.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2020-2021 year, about 68% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network Report

#7

University of Massachusetts - Lowell

Lowell, Massachusetts
171 Total Awards
$15,676 Average Tuition & Fees
$42,133 Avg Student Debt

University of Massachusetts - Lowell ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. University of Massachusetts - Lowell is a fairly large public school located in Lowell, Massachusetts that handed out 171 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.

By the time they get their doctor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $42,133 in student loans.

Online graduate courses are available at UMass Lowell, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 65% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.

Read full report on University of Massachusetts - Lowell

#8

University of Massachusetts - Boston

Boston, Massachusetts
104 Total Awards
$19,499 Average Tuition & Fees
$50,318 Avg Student Debt

University of Massachusetts - Boston came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 104 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $50,318 in loans while pursuing their degree.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UMass Boston. During the 2020-2021 year, about 48% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on University of Massachusetts - Boston

#9

Elms College

Chicopee, Massachusetts
27 Total Awards
$17,021 Average Tuition & Fees
$93,990 Avg Student Debt

Elms College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Chicopee, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 27 students in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $93,990 in loans while pursuing their degree.

Elms College does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 39% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Elms College

#10

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
128 Total Awards
$17,065 Average Tuition & Fees
$89,063 Avg Student Debt

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts list. UMass Dartmouth is a public institution located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 128 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $89,063 in loans while pursuing their degree.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UMass Dartmouth does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 43% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the New England Region

View Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.

References

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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