Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

12 Schools Ranked
$36,343 Avg Student Debt

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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.

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 in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in Pennsylvania 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.

Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:

#1

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
286 Total Awards
$37,074 Average Tuition & Fees
$52,506 Avg Student Debt

Our 2023 rankings named Drexel University the most popular school in Pennsylvania for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Drexel University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 286 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $52,506 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 64% were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 64% took at least some of their classes online.

Read More…

#2

Gannon University

Erie, Pennsylvania
33 Total Awards
$21,410 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 12 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Gannon University landed the # 2 spot on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Erie, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 33 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Around 67% of those degree recipients were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 30% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Gannon University Report

#3

DeSales University

Center Valley, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you attend DeSales University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.

During the 2020-2021 year, about 59% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Full DeSales University Report

#3

Cedar Crest College

Allentown, Pennsylvania
51 Total Awards
$14,811 Average Tuition & Fees
$22,710 Avg Student Debt

Out of the 12 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Cedar Crest College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cedar Crest is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It awarded 51 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

On average, graduate certificate students take out $22,710 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 69% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Cedar Crest College Report

#5

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
42 Total Awards

Out of the 12 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Duquesne University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Duquesne is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 42 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Around 71% of those degree recipients were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 48% took at least some of their classes online.

Read full report on Duquesne University

#6

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
170 Total Awards
$23,103 Average Tuition & Fees
$17,478 Avg Student Debt

Thomas Jefferson University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 170 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2021-2022.

On average, graduate certificate students take out $17,478 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 65% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Thomas Jefferson University Report

#7

Misericordia University

Dallas, Pennsylvania
1 Total Awards
$38,328 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Misericordia University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Around 100% of those degree recipients were women.

To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 49% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.

Full Misericordia University Report

#7

Carlow University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12 Total Awards
$21,450 Average Tuition & Fees

Carlow University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Carlow is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 12 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

Of those students who received their degree, 83% were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 87% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Carlow University Report

#9

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
50 Total Awards
$26,646 Avg Student Debt

Messiah University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 50 graduate certificate awards in 2021-2022.

Graduate Certificate recipients from Messiah accumulate an average of $26,646 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 78% of those degree recipients were women.

Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.

Full Messiah University Report

#9

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences

Lancaster, Pennsylvania
1 Total Awards

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 graduate certificates in 2021-2022.

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

In 2020-2021 about 84% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Read More…

Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

View Most Popular Online Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 12 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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited nursing schools across the U.S.