2023 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 586 schools in the United States to see which master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named Albany Medical College the best school in the United States for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Midwestern University - Glendale. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Vincent College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Latrobe.
Request Information
The excellent master’s degree programs at Wake Forest University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Samuel Merritt University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
Read full report on Nursing at Samuel Merritt University
Request Information
With a ranking of #6, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Request Information
Mount Marty University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the remote town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Full Nursing at Mount Marty University Report
Request Information
Vanderbilt University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full Nursing at Vanderbilt University Report
Request Information
Touro University California came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Vallejo, TUC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Request Information
With a ranking of #10, Texas Wesleyan University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Texas Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Worth.
Read full report on Nursing at Texas Wesleyan University
Request Information
Duke University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Request Information
With a ranking of #12, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
Request Information
University of Pennsylvania landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Pennsylvania
Request Information
Medical University of South Carolina ranked #14 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. MUSC is a small public school located in the midsize city of Charleston.
Request Information
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public college with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Request Information
AdventHealth University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Orlando, AHU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at AdventHealth University
Request Information
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. SMU MN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Winona.
Read full report on Nursing at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Request Information
With a ranking of #18, Frontier Nursing University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Full Nursing at Frontier Nursing University Report
Request Information
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Houston, UTHealth is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Request Information
Newman University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Newman University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Wichita.
Full Nursing at Newman University Report
Request Information
Gonzaga University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Spokane.
Read full report on Nursing at Gonzaga University
Request Information
York College of Pennsylvania came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of York, YCP is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Full Nursing at York College of Pennsylvania Report
Request Information
Loma Linda University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Request Information
Thomas Jefferson University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools list. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Request Information
University of California - Davis came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.
Read full report on Nursing at University of California - Davis
Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools
Remaining Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 586 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools award.
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Master's Degree 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.
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.