2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools
Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You
With 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, nursing is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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 with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 272 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Nursing
Our analysis found Mayo Clinic School of Medicine to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at Samuel Merritt University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
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Out of the 272 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Frontier Nursing University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Out of the 272 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Thomas Jefferson University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Thomas Jefferson University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
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Out of the 272 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public school with a small student population.
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
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Johns Hopkins University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.
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West Coast University - Orange County came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
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Duke University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #10, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.
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Maryville University of Saint Louis landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Western University of Health Sciences ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Pomona.
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University of St Francis came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Joliet.
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Mount Marty University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Clarkson College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Omaha, Clarkson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Texas Christian University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.
After completing their Graduate Certificate, nursing graduates from TCU carry an average student debtload of $19,027.
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Chamberlain University - Illinois ranked #18 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Chamberlain - Illinois is a very large private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Addison.
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West Coast University - Dallas ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Dallas, West Coast University - Dallas is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
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Gannon University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Gannon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Erie.
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University of California - San Francisco came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
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Winona State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Drexel University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.
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University of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a very large student population.
Full Nursing at University of Florida Report
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Wagner College | Staten Island, NY |
| 42 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Lubbock, TX |
| 43 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 44 | Herzing University - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 45 | Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ |
| 46 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 47 | Emory University | Atlanta, GA |
| 48 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 49 | Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego, CA |
| 50 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY |
| 51 | Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions | Provo, UT |
| 52 | The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX |
| 53 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 54 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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