2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. 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 Nursing Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 673 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
You’ll be in good company if you attend Chamberlain University - Illinois. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Addison, Illinois, the large private for-profit school handed out 3,923 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.
Chamberlain - Illinois is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Governors University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Western Governors University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 3,210 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 91% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, WGU is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Grand Canyon University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. This large private for-profit school is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and it awarded 1,935 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Grand Canyon University. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 96% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend The University of Texas at Arlington. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. UT Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas. It awarded 1,204 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UT Arlington does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 65% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Maryville University of Saint Louis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 839 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Maryville U. In fact, around 91% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of South Alabama did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. University of South Alabama is a fairly large public school located in Mobile, Alabama that handed out 780 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 88% were women.
USA does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. 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.
University of Alabama at Birmingham landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, the large public school awarded 686 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 86% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UAB does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 58% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Capella University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the large private for-profit school awarded 643 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 93% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Capella University is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Frontier Nursing University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Hyden, Kentucky, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 607 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 95% of those degree recipients were women.
Frontier Nursing University 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 Cincinnati - Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. UC is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 576 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 89% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UC does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 82% took at least some of their classes online.
South University’s online programs ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. South University’s online programs is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in Savannah, Georgia that handed out 540 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 83% 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.
Simmons University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Simmons is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 534 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 92% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Simmons are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
Purdue University Global ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Purdue University Global is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 526 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 89% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Purdue University Global are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
Miami Regional University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Miami Regional University is a private for-profit institution located in Miami Springs, Florida. The school has a very small population, and it awarded 493 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 59% of those degree recipients were women.
Northern Kentucky University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. NKU is located in Highland Heights, Kentucky and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 466 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
NKU does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 96% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Aspen University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Aspen University is a private for-profit institution located in Denver, Arizona. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 455 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.
Aspen University 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 Phoenix - Arizona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. This large private for-profit school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 436 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 89% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UOPX - Arizona, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 99% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
United States University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. United States University is a small private for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 397 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 83% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at USU are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
With a ranking of #20, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 382 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UPenn does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 74% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Spring Arbor University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 381 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Spring Arbor does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 93% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Vanderbilt University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 347 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 89% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Vanderbilt. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 67% took at least some of their classes online.
Drexel University ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Drexel is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 335 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Drexel does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 85% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
West Coast University - Orange County landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school situated in Anaheim, California. It awarded 317 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 78% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out West Coast University - Orange County. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Regis College landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Regis College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Weston, Massachusetts. It awarded 315 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
Regis College does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 79% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Narrow Schools by Region
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular nursing schools ranking:
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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