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Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

76 Colleges
$74,117 Avg Salary
$28,960 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many 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 with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 76 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the large suburb of Bethlehem, St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing take out an average of $21,381 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Out of the 76 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from West Penn Hospital School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $20,000.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing take out an average of $27,892 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#5

Citizens School of Nursing

New Kensington, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Citizens School of Nursing. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Citizens School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of New Kensington.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Citizens School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $21,312 in student debt.

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Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. RHSHS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Reading.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at RHSHS take out is $25,208.

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With a ranking of #7, UPMC Mercy School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. UPMC Mercy School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UPMC Mercy School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $24,743 in student debt.

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With a ranking of #8, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the town of New Castle, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UPMC Jameson School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $24,750.

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Washington Hospital School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Washington.

On average, nursing graduates from Washington Hospital School of Nursing take out $23,719 in student loans while working on their degree.

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DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Memorial Medical Center is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of Johnstown.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Memorial Medical Center take out is $24,420.

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Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the town of Pottsville, Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing take out an average of $29,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the state of Pennsylvania that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania award.

Rank College Location
12 Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA
13 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
14 Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA
15 Villanova University Villanova, PA

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

One of 30 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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