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.
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:
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Capella University is a great place for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. This large private for-profit school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 1,324 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Capella University accumulate an average of $103,660 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 76% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Capella University are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Maryville University of Saint Louis helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Plains States Region . Maryville U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 239 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $68,489 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 80% were women.
In 2020-2021 about 89% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Kansas helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Plains States Region . KU is a large public school situated in Lawrence, Kansas. It awarded 966 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from KU accumulate an average of $77,632 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 42% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Missouri - Kansas City helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Plains States Region . Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the fairly large public school handed out 617 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from UMKC accumulate an average of $122,267 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 43% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 920 students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their doctor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $111,615 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 37% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #7, Winona State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Winona, Minnesota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 52 students in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Winona State accumulate an average of $40,979 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 83% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 87% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health 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 #8 on the list. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 65 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $46,310 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Nebraska Methodist College is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Read full report on Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
Washburn University 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 #9 on the list. Located in Topeka, Kansas, the medium-sized public school handed out 137 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $70,739 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 59% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 51% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Pittsburg State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Pittsburg, Kansas, the medium-sized public school awarded 21 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $15,666 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 76% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #11, Fort Hays State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Hays, Kansas, the fairly large public school handed out 34 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
Of those students who received their degree, 94% were women.
In 2020-2021 about 94% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #12, Wichita State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. WSU is a public institution located in Wichita, Kansas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 88 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, doctor’s degree students take out $63,548 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 67% were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 47% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
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. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the fairly large public school handed out 173 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from UMSL accumulate an average of $78,643 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 74% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 68% took at least some of their classes online.
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. Morningside is located in Sioux City, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
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 came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Waterloo, Iowa, and it awarded 3 doctor’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 78% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #16, Briar Cliff University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Sioux City, Iowa, the very small private not-for-profit school awarded 32 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2021-2022.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Briar Cliff accumulate an average of $138,757 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 64% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Graceland University - Lamoni landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree nursing programs. Graceland Lamoni is located in Lamoni, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 6 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Doctor’s Degree recipients from Graceland Lamoni accumulate an average of $45,049 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 89% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of North Dakota ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the fairly large public school handed out 378 doctor’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their doctor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $79,374 in student loans. Around 60% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 73% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Rasmussen University - North Dakota came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.
If you are interested in distance education, Rasmussen University - North Dakota is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Rasmussen University - Minnesota 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 #19 on the list.
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.
Rasmussen University - Kansas ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Rasmussen University - Kansas. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class 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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