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Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

18 Schools Ranked

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in the Southwest Region to see which online doctor's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:

#1

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, Arizona
368 Total Awards
$11,538 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Grand Canyon University the most popular school in the Southwest Region for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the large private for-profit school handed out 368 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.

During the 2019-2020 year, about 96% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Grand Canyon University Report

50 Total Awards
$10,853 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means The University of Texas at Arlington is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. This large public school is located in Arlington, Texas, and it awarded 50 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 94% were women.

Around 65% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Full The University of Texas at Arlington Report

#3

Aspen University

Denver, Arizona
25 Total Awards
$4,357 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you attend Aspen University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Aspen University is a private for-profit institution located in Denver, Arizona. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 25 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 84% of those degree recipients were women.

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

Read More…

#4

Midwestern University - Glendale

Glendale, Arizona
20 Total Awards
$49,283 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you attend Midwestern University - Glendale. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Midwestern University - Glendale is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Glendale, Arizona. It awarded 20 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 1% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Midwestern University - Glendale

19 Total Awards

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Abilene Christian University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Abilene Christian is located in Abilene, Texas and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read full report on Abilene Christian University

15 Total Awards
$5,926 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. NMSU Main Campus is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

Around 80% of those degree recipients were women.

In 2019-2020 about 50% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full New Mexico State University - Main Campus Report

14 Total Awards

University of Phoenix - Arizona came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UOPX - Arizona is a large private for-profit school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 14 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 93% were women.

During the 2019-2020 year, about 99% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full University of Phoenix - Arizona Report

#8

Texas Woman's University

Denton, Texas
25 Total Awards
$7,704 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas Woman’s University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. TWU is located in Denton, Texas and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.

In 2019-2020 about 88% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

#9

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, Texas
11 Total Awards
$7,179 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M Corpus Christi is a fairly large public school situated in Corpus Christi, Texas. It awarded 11 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.

During the 2019-2020 year, about 86% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi Report

#9

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, Texas
83 Total Awards
$32,268 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas Christian University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Fort Worth, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 83 students in 2020-2021.

Around 66% of those degree recipients were women.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read More…

8 Total Awards
$5,567 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern Oklahoma State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. NWOSU is located in Alva, Oklahoma and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.

In 2019-2020 about 90% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Full Northwestern Oklahoma State University Report

17 Total Awards
$8,110 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Texas at Tyler came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Tyler, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.

Around 82% of those degree recipients were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 90% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

6 Total Awards
$7,495 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center is a small public school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that handed out 6 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.

During the 2019-2020 year, about 64% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center

#14

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona
4 Total Awards
$11,555 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Arizona University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. NAU is located in Flagstaff, Arizona and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.

Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.

In 2019-2020 about 54% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read full report on Northern Arizona University

#15

University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, Texas
16 Total Awards
$19,840 Average Tuition & Fees

University of the Incarnate Word ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in San Antonio, Texas, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 16 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.

Of those students who received their degree, 75% were women.

During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full University of the Incarnate Word Report

$10,735 Average Tuition & Fees

West Coast University - Dallas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list.

Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out West Coast University - Dallas. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.

Read full report on West Coast University - Dallas

#15

Oral Roberts University

Tulsa, Oklahoma
$12,800 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #15, Oral Roberts University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 31% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Full Oral Roberts University Report

#15

University of St. Thomas

Houston, Texas
$21,634 Average Tuition & Fees

University of St. Thomas ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Around 80% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Full University of St. Thomas Report

View Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 18 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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