2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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.
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 Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Virginia to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences 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.
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Top Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named University of Virginia - Main Campus the best school in Virginia for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. This large public school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 419 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since University of Virginia does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2020-2021 year, about 29% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Out of the 8 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Shenandoah University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Shenandoah is located in Winchester, Virginia and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 100 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Shenandoah accumulate an average of $28,594 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Shenandoah. During the 2020-2021 year, about 51% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. This large public school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 252 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $46,515 in loans while pursuing their degree.
One thing to take note of is that VCU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 56% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means George Mason University is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. This large public school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 759 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
Graduate Certificate recipients from GMU accumulate an average of $33,672 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that GMU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 61% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 1,713 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $39,492 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Liberty University. In fact, around 97% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Radford University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Radford is located in Radford, Virginia and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 43 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Radford. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Marymount 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 #7 on the list. Marymount is a private not-for-profit institution located in Arlington, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 29 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.
One thing to take note of is that Marymount does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 69% took at least some of their classes online.
Old Dominion University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, the large public school handed out 165 graduate certificate awards in 2021-2022.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $37,809 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Old Dominion does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2020-2021 year, about 72% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 8 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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