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Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices

8 Schools Ranked
$19,664 Avg Tuition & Fees*

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamps with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Kentucky to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Kentucky to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, Kentucky
82 Total Awards
$15,594 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Northern Kentucky University the best value school in Kentucky for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. NKU is located in Highland Heights, Kentucky and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 82 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

NKU graduate students pay an average of $15,594 in tuition and fees each year.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since NKU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

NKU also made our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list, coming in at #2.

Full Northern Kentucky University Report

#2

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, Kentucky
1 Total Awards
$12,660 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kentucky State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. KY State is a public institution located in Frankfort, Kentucky. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at KY State are $12,660 per year.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at KY State. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 59% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Kentucky State University Report

#3

Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, Kentucky
11 Total Awards
$13,800 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 8 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s value ranking, Eastern Kentucky University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Eastern is a fairly large public school situated in Richmond, Kentucky. It awarded 11 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Eastern are $13,800 a year.

Online graduate courses are available at Eastern, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 79% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Eastern also made our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list, coming in at #4.

Read full report on Eastern Kentucky University

#4

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky
33 Total Awards
$33,548 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Kentucky is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, the large public school awarded 33 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UK are $33,548 a year.

UK 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 57% took at least some of their classes online.

UK not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list.

Read More…

#5

Murray State University

Murray, Kentucky
29 Total Awards
$14,544 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Murray State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Kentucky. Located in Murray, Kentucky, the medium-sized public school handed out 29 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Murray State are $14,544 a year.

One thing to take note of is that Murray State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 60% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Murray State University

#6

Bellarmine University

Louisville, Kentucky
2 Total Awards
$13,652 Average Tuition & Fees

Bellarmine University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 2 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Bellarmine U are $13,652 a year.

Bellarmine U does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 38% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Bellarmine U did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list.

Read More…

#7

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky
41 Total Awards
$27,839 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, University of Louisville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. UofL is a public institution located in Louisville, Kentucky. The school has a large population, and it awarded 41 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UofL are $27,839 per year.

Online graduate courses are available at UofL, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 68% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

UofL also made our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list, coming in at #5.

Read More…

#8

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Kentucky
24 Total Awards
$18,340 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Kentucky University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Western Kentucky University is a fairly large public school located in Bowling Green, Kentucky that handed out 24 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WKU are $18,340 per year.

You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at WKU. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 81% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

View Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 8 schools only.

References

  • 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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