2023 Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
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. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamps with offerings that you might find attractive.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in North Carolina to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the most popular school in North Carolina for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Duke University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Durham, North Carolina that handed out 3,256 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $69,699 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Duke does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 31% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of North Carolina at Wilmington helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, the fairly large public school awarded 1,341 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $30,969 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 70% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UNCW, 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, 78% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you attend East Carolina University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in Greenville, North Carolina, the large public school handed out 1,344 master’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $37,520 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 70% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at ECU. In 2020-2021 about 73% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 1,770 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Master’s Degree recipients from UNC Charlotte accumulate an average of $32,897 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 59% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UNC Charlotte does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 60% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. This large public school is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it awarded 2,364 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $57,073 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
UNC Chapel Hill 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, 36% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Read full report on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
With a ranking of #6, Queens University of Charlotte did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 254 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $40,294 in student loans. Around 73% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Queens. In 2020-2021 about 91% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #7, Gardner - Webb University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It awarded 334 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Master’s Degree recipients from Gardner - Webb accumulate an average of $38,103 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 59% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Gardner - Webb. In 2020-2021 about 29% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #8, Western Carolina University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. WCU is located in Cullowhee, North Carolina and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 614 master’s degrees to qualified students.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $29,119 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 66% were women.
WCU 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. In fact, around 63% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro 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 #9 on the list. Greensboro, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 909 students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $28,963 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UNC Greensboro, 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, 61% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Winston - Salem State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. This medium-sized public school is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and it awarded 132 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $28,001 in student loans. Around 88% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that WSSU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 80% took at least some of their classes online.
Wake Forest University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 1,038 students in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $65,104 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Wake Forest University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 32% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Barton College 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 #12 on the list. Barton College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Wilson, North Carolina. It awarded 41 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Master’s Degree recipients from Barton College accumulate an average of $30,257 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Barton College. In fact, around 41% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Appalachian State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in Boone, North Carolina, the large public school handed out 734 master’s degree awards in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $26,553 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 70% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Appalachian State does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 66% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree nursing programs. Located in Pembroke, North Carolina, the medium-sized public school awarded 681 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $39,447 in student loans. Around 70% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UNC Pembroke does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 93% of graduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #14, University of Mount Olive did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UMO is located in Mount Olive, North Carolina and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 77 master’s degrees to qualified students.
On average, master’s degree students take out $31,999 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.
Since the graduate programs at UMO are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
Lenoir - Rhyne 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 #16 on the list. Hickory, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 259 students in 2021-2022.
Master’s Degree recipients from Lenoir - Rhyne University accumulate an average of $48,882 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 75% were women.
Lenoir - Rhyne University 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. During the 2020-2021 year, about 62% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
South University, High Point ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in High Point, North Carolina, the very small private for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their master’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $58,493 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 100% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since South University, High Point does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 40% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Fayetteville State 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 #17 on the list. Fayetteville State University is a public institution located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 348 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $33,878 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Fayetteville State University. 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.
With a ranking of #17, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Concord, North Carolina, and it awarded 69 master’s degrees in 2021-2022.
On average, master’s degree students take out $39,172 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 93% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Cabarrus College of Health Sciences. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Most Popular Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 19 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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