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Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Iowa

6 Schools Ranked
$118,179 Avg Student Debt

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Also there are many trade schools and bpptcamp that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 6 schools in Iowa 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 Iowa

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
920 Total Awards
$12,564 Average Tuition & Fees
$111,615 Avg Student Debt

Our 2023 rankings named University of Iowa the best school in Iowa for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, the large public school awarded 920 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2021-2022.

By the time they get their doctor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $111,615 in student loans.

One thing to take note of is that Iowa does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 37% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read More…

#2

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa
5 Total Awards

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Morningside College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Morningside is located in Sioux City, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

If you are interested in distance education, Morningside is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.

Full Morningside College Report

6 Total Awards
$11,905 Average Tuition & Fees
$45,049 Avg Student Debt

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Graceland University - Lamoni is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lamoni, Iowa. It awarded 6 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 $45,049 in student loans.

One thing to take note of is that Graceland Lamoni does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 89% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.

Full Graceland University - Lamoni Report

#4

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
32 Total Awards
$9,554 Average Tuition & Fees
$138,757 Avg Student Debt

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Briar Cliff University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Sioux City, Iowa, the very small private not-for-profit school handed out 32 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.

On average, doctor’s degree students take out $138,757 in loans while pursuing their degree.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Briar Cliff. In fact, around 64% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read More…

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
14 Total Awards
$11,176 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mount Mercy University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 14 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.

One thing to take note of is that Mount Mercy does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 57% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Mount Mercy University

#6

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
45 Total Awards
$13,080 Average Tuition & Fees
$70,719 Avg Student Debt

Clarke University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree nursing programs. Clarke University is a very small private not-for-profit school located in Dubuque, Iowa that handed out 45 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 $70,719 in student loans.

Clarke does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 41% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.

Full Clarke University Report

Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

View Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 6 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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