2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 147 schools in the United States to see which online graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:
Our 2023 rankings named Maryville University of Saint Louis the most popular school in the United States for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 352 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 91% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of South Alabama helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the United States. USA is located in Mobile, Alabama and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 126 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 94% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 75% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Frontier Nursing University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Hyden, Kentucky, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 125 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Frontier Nursing University is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Purdue University Global is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Purdue University Global is a public institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 115 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $33,486 in student loans. Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Purdue University Global is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means The University of Texas at Arlington is a great place for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Arlington, Texas, the large public school awarded 93 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 65% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #6, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 92 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Grand Canyon University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. Grand Canyon University is a large private for-profit school situated in Phoenix, Arizona. It awarded 76 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Concordia University, Wisconsin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Concordia University, Wisconsin is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mequon, Wisconsin. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 69 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 93% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 67% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Herzing University - Madison ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 62 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
Herzing University - Madison is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. National University is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 39 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 48% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of New Hampshire - Main Campus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in Durham, New Hampshire, the fairly large public school handed out 43 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Around 81% of those degree recipients were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 60% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #12, Drexel University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Drexel is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 37 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $23,548 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 85% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #13, Chamberlain University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Chamberlain University - Illinois is a large private for-profit school located in Addison, Illinois that handed out 33 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 94% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Chamberlain - Illinois are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
South University’s online programs did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in Savannah, Georgia, the medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 32 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at South University’s online programs 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 #15, Bradley University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Bradley is located in Peoria, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 30 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 93% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 95% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
George Washington University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. GWU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $29,615 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 70% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 37% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of St Francis landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate nursing programs. University of St Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in Joliet, Illinois that handed out 27 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 81% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 89% took at least some of their classes online.
Brandman University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Brandman University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Irvine, California that handed out 26 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Brandman is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. UT Knoxville is located in Knoxville, Tennessee and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Around 91% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 36% took at least some of their classes online.
Western Kentucky University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. WKU is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 26 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 96% were women.
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.
Graceland University - Lamoni ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Graceland University - Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school located in Lamoni, Iowa that handed out 21 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Graceland Lamoni is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
With a ranking of #22, West Coast University - Orange County did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school situated in Anaheim, California. It awarded 19 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 79% were women.
West Coast University - Orange County is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
University of Southern Indiana did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list. USI is a public institution located in Evansville, Indiana. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 19 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 74% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #24, University of Mississippi did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. University, Mississippi is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 18 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 24% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Iowa came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This large public school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 17 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 76% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 33% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Narrow Schools by Region
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular online nursing schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 26 | University of Michigan - Flint | Flint, MI |
| 28 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 28 | Rush University | Chicago, IL |
| 28 | Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond, KY |
| 28 | Capella University | Minneapolis, MN |
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 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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