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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

23 Schools Ranked

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.

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 the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in the Southwest Region 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 the Southwest Region of the U.S.

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, Texas
$32,268 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Texas Christian University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Southwest Region .

TCU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 82% took at least some of their classes online.

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#2

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, Texas
$21,243 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 23 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Wesleyan University landed the # 2 spot on the list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Texas Wesleyan. In 2019-2020 about 59% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full Texas Wesleyan University Report

#3

Aspen University

Denver, Arizona
$4,357 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Aspen University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Aspen University. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.

Read full report on Aspen University

Out of the 23 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the # 4 spot on the list.

UT Austin does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 66% took at least some of their classes online.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Abilene Christian University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Abilene Christian. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

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#6

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, Arizona
$11,538 Average Tuition & Fees

Grand Canyon University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Grand Canyon University does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 96% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Grand Canyon University Report

$10,853 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs.

One thing to take note of is that UT Arlington does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 65% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on The University of Texas at Arlington

$12,608 Average Tuition & Fees

Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at ASU - Tempe. During the 2019-2020 year, about 42% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Arizona State University - Tempe

#9

Baylor University

Waco, Texas

Baylor University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list.

Online graduate courses are available at Baylor, 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, 77% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Baylor University

#10

University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, Texas
$19,840 Average Tuition & Fees

University of the Incarnate Word landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs.

UIW 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.

Full University of the Incarnate Word Report

#11

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico
$7,115 Average Tuition & Fees

University of New Mexico - Main Campus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UNM does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 38% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

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#12

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona
$11,555 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #12, Northern Arizona University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at NAU. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 54% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Northern Arizona University Report

#13

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, Texas
$7,179 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. In fact, around 86% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

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#14

University of Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma
$25,182 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Tulsa ranked #14 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

University of Tulsa 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 10% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read full report on University of Tulsa

#15

Texas Woman's University

Denton, Texas
$7,704 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas Woman’s University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since TWU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 88% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

$5,567 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern Oklahoma State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at NWOSU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Northwestern Oklahoma State University Report

#17

New Mexico State University - Main Campus

Las Cruces, New Mexico
$5,926 Average Tuition & Fees

New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list.

NMSU Main Campus does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 50% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read More…

#18

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
$13,460 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Arizona ranked #18 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Online graduate courses are available at University of Arizona, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 37% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Full University of Arizona Report

$7,166 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Texas at El Paso ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UTEP. During the 2019-2020 year, about 88% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

#20

Prairie View A & M University

Prairie View, Texas
$7,993 Average Tuition & Fees

Prairie View A & M University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at PVAMU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 86% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Prairie View A & M University Report

#21

Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
$13,410 Average Tuition & Fees

Oklahoma City University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at OCU. In 2019-2020 about 12% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

$8,110 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #22, The University of Texas at Tyler did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.

Online graduate courses are available at UT Tyler, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs.

UOPX - Arizona does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 99% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full University of Phoenix - Arizona Report

View Best Doctor’s Degree Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 23 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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