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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

21 Schools Ranked
$20,795 Avg Student Debt

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in the Plains States Region to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

Top Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region of the U.S.

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Maryville University of Saint Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
$15,696 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Maryville University of Saint Louis the best school in the Plains States Region for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.

Maryville U 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, 91% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Maryville University of Saint Louis

#2

Mount Marty University

Yankton, South Dakota
$9,650 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Marty University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

One thing to take note of is that Mount Marty does offer online graduate classes in some areas. 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.

Read full report on Mount Marty University

#3

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota
$8,756 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 21 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Winona State University landed the # 3 spot on the list.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Winona State. In 2019-2020 about 66% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full Winona State University Report

#4

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, North Dakota
$13,217 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 21 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Dakota landed the # 4 spot on the list.

Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UND. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 71% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on University of North Dakota

#5

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
$12,065 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Iowa. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 33% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on University of Iowa

#6

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas
$11,045 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Kansas landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.

Online graduate courses are available at KU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 69% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

$11,052 Average Tuition & Fees

Minnesota State University - Moorhead landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at MSU Moorhead. During the 2019-2020 year, about 84% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Minnesota State University - Moorhead Report

$11,187 Average Tuition & Fees

Graceland University - Lamoni came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

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

Read full report on Graceland University - Lamoni

#9

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri
$11,745 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Missouri - Kansas City came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Online graduate courses are available at UMKC, 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 66% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on University of Missouri - Kansas City

#10

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa

Morningside College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.

Since the graduate programs at Morningside are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.

Read full report on Morningside College

#11

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, Missouri
$22,614 Average Tuition & Fees

Saint Louis University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since SLU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 57% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

#12

Creighton University

Omaha, Nebraska
$19,096 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #12, Creighton University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate.

Creighton 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 50% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

#13

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
$10,530 Average Tuition & Fees

Briar Cliff University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Online graduate courses are available at Briar Cliff, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 64% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read More…

#14

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota
$9,384 Average Tuition & Fees

South Dakota State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

One thing to take note of is that South Dakota State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 45% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read full report on South Dakota State University

#15

The College of Saint Scholastica

Duluth, Minnesota
$15,502 Average Tuition & Fees

The College of Saint Scholastica ranked #15 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

One thing to take note of is that St. Scholastica does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 50% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read full report on The College of Saint Scholastica

#16

Washburn University

Topeka, Kansas
$9,636 Average Tuition & Fees

Washburn University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.

Washburn University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 48% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full Washburn University Report

#18

Capella University

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Capella University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Since the graduate programs at Capella University are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.

Read More…

$13,024 Average Tuition & Fees

MidAmerica Nazarene University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

MNU 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 2019-2020 about 48% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on MidAmerica Nazarene University

#20

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

University of Missouri - St Louis landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs.

UMSL 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. During the 2019-2020 year, about 71% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read More…

#21

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
$14,147 Average Tuition & Fees

Clarke University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Clarke does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 7% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Clarke University

View Best Graduate Certificate Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 21 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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