2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania
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. 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Pennsylvania to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school us, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Pennsylvania.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $34,734 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Thomas Jefferson University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 65% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gannon University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Gannon. During the 2019-2020 year, about 55% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drexel University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $23,548 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Drexel does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 85% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Duquesne University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Duquesne. During the 2019-2020 year, about 72% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at DeSales University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania.
One thing to take note of is that DeSales does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 57% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Villanova University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
Online graduate courses are available at Villanova, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 89% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Cedar Crest College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Cedar Crest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 79% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #8, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Pitt accumulate an average of $22,469 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that Pitt does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 16% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #9, Millersville University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.
Online graduate courses are available at Millersville, 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, 97% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Waynesburg University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.
Waynesburg 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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Carlow University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Carlow does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 83% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
La Salle University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
Online graduate courses are available at La Salle, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 83% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Widener University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Widener. In 2019-2020 about 100% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Robert Morris University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #14 on the list.
RMU 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 60% took at least some of their classes online.
Clarion University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #15 on the list.
One thing to take note of is that Clarion University does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 84% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Neumann University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.
One thing to take note of is that Neumann does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 56% took at least some of their classes online.
Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 16 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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