2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in the Plains States 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.
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Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:
Out of the 21 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Capella University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 171 students in 2020-2021.
Around 94% of those degree recipients were women.
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.
Out of the 21 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Maryville University of Saint Louis landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 77 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 91% of those degree recipients were women.
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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. KU is a public institution located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 80 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 81% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 69% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - Kansas City. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. UMKC is a public institution located in Kansas City, Missouri. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 52 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 81% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 66% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Iowa is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Iowa is a large public school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 51 doctor’s degrees 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 33% took at least some of their classes online.
Winona State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Winona, Minnesota, and it awarded 22 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
Around 66% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #8, Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Nebraska Methodist College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Omaha, Nebraska. It awarded 21 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 95% were women.
Nebraska Methodist College is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Read full report on Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
Washburn University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Washburn University is a public institution located in Topeka, Kansas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 20 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 48% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Pittsburg State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Pitt State is a medium-sized public school situated in Pittsburg, Kansas. It awarded 18 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 94% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 80% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Fort Hays State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Hays, Kansas, the fairly large public school handed out 17 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
Around 93% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Wichita State University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. This fairly large public school is located in Wichita, Kansas, and it awarded 8 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 37% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Missouri - St Louis ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. This fairly large public school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 41 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 95% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 71% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Morningside College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Sioux City, Iowa, and it awarded 6 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
Morningside is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Allen College landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Allen College is a very small private not-for-profit school located in Waterloo, Iowa that handed out 4 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 78% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Briar Cliff University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Briar Cliff University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Sioux City, Iowa that handed out 3 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 64% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Graceland University - Lamoni came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lamoni, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Graceland Lamoni are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of North Dakota 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 #18 on the list. UND is a fairly large public school situated in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It awarded 1 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
Around 71% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #19, Rasmussen University - North Dakota did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.
Since the graduate programs at Rasmussen University - North Dakota are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
With a ranking of #19, Rasmussen University - Minnesota did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.
Since the graduate programs at Rasmussen University - Minnesota are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
With a ranking of #19, Rasmussen University - Kansas did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree.
If you are interested in distance education, Rasmussen University - Kansas is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 21 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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