2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
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 in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 170 schools in the Southeast Region 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 Southeast Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found University of South Alabama to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . USA is a fairly large public school situated in Mobile, Alabama. It awarded 780 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that USA does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 75% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Out of the 170 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Alabama at Birmingham landed the # 2 spot on the list. UAB is a public institution located in Birmingham, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 686 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UAB. In 2019-2020 about 58% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Frontier Nursing University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Hyden, Kentucky, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 607 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 95% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Frontier Nursing 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 master’s degree programs at South University’s online programs helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southeast Region . Savannah, Georgia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 540 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 83% were women.
Since the graduate programs at South University’s online programs are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Miami Regional University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Miami Regional University is a very small private for-profit school located in Miami Springs, Florida that handed out 493 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 59% of those degree recipients were women.
With a ranking of #6, Northern Kentucky University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. 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.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since NKU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Vanderbilt University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. 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.
Around 89% of those degree recipients were women.
Vanderbilt 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, 67% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. USF Tampa is a public institution located in Tampa, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 262 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 86% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at USF Tampa, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 69% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Duke 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 #8 on the list. Duke is located in Durham, North Carolina and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 262 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 92% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Duke, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 2% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Liberty 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 #10 on the list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 222 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Liberty University. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Nova Southeastern University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it awarded 202 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 90% were women.
NUS Florida does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 52% took at least some of their classes online.
University of North Carolina at Wilmington came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Wilmington, North Carolina, and it awarded 196 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 94% were women.
One thing to take note of is that UNCW does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 88% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Read full report on University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of South Carolina - Columbia 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 #13 on the list. UofSC is located in Columbia, South Carolina and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 185 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UofSC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 74% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Miami 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 #14 on the list. University of Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Coral Gables, Florida that handed out 172 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
U Miami 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 29% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Alabama in Huntsville landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. This medium-sized public school is located in Huntsville, Alabama, and it awarded 171 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 88% were women.
One thing to take note of is that UAH does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 88% took at least some of their classes online.
Augusta University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Augusta, Georgia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 156 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 81% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Augusta University. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 49% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #17, Emory University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Atlanta, Georgia. It awarded 150 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 86% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Emory. In 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #18, Jacksonville University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in Jacksonville, Florida, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 149 master’s degree awards 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 JU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 57% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, the large public school handed out 139 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 78% were women.
One thing to take note of is that University of Virginia does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 75% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
East Tennessee State University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. ETSU is located in Johnson City, Tennessee and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 139 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
ETSU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 49% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Eastern Kentucky 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. Eastern is located in Richmond, Kentucky and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 134 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Eastern does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 79% took at least some of their classes online.
Florida International University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Miami, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 131 students in 2020-2021.
Around 72% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that FIU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In 2019-2020 about 84% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 111 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 70% were women.
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 71% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Columbus State University ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Columbus, Georgia, the medium-sized public school awarded 105 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 93% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at CSU. In fact, around 81% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Florida Atlantic University ranked #25 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Boca Raton, Florida, the large public school handed out 104 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 90% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at FAU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 90% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 26 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular nursing schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | University of Memphis | Memphis, TN |
| 28 | Florida National University - Main Campus | Hialeah, FL |
| 29 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 30 | Lincoln Memorial University | Harrogate, TN |
| 31 | East Carolina University | Greenville, NC |
| 32 | Loyola University New Orleans | New Orleans, LA |
| 32 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte, NC |
| 34 | University of North Alabama | Florence, AL |
| 35 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
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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