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Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

42 Colleges
$65,824 Avg Salary
$26,802 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 6,395 degrees and certificates from a Kentucky school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Schools in Kentucky ranking. This report analyzed 42 schools in Kentucky to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Frontier Nursing University to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Kentucky. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

Read full report on Nursing at Frontier Nursing University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a great place for nursing students. Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Louisville.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Galen College of Nursing - Louisville accumulate an average of around $41,365 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $117, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Galen College of Nursing - Louisville Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Galen College of Nursing - ARH is a great place for nursing students. Galen College of Nursing - ARH is a small private for-profit school located in the town of Hazard.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Galen College of Nursing - ARH accumulate an average of around $34,938 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $111.

Read full report on Nursing at Galen College of Nursing - ARH

#4

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bellarmine University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Bellarmine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Louisville.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bellarmine U take out is $28,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $285, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Bellarmine University

#5

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

The excellent programs at University of Kentucky helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Kentucky. Located in the city of Lexington, UK is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UK take out is $27,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $363, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#6

Sullivan University

Louisville, KY

With a ranking of #6, Sullivan University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Sullivan University is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Louisville.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Sullivan University accumulate an average of around $35,507 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Sullivan University Report

#7

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Northern Kentucky University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public college with a large student population.

Nursing majors at NKU take out an average of $30,429 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $252, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Northern Kentucky University

Kentucky Christian University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. Kentucky Christian University is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Grayson.

Nursing majors at Kentucky Christian University take out an average of $32,561 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Kentucky Christian University Report

#9

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

University of Louisville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Louisville, UofL is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UofL accumulate an average of around $25,656 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $178.

Read More…

#10

Midway University

Midway, KY

Midway University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the rural area of Midway, Midway is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Midway carry an average student debtload of $22,375.

Read full report on Nursing at Midway University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 7,112
Virginia 6,775
North Carolina 7,425
Florida 21,209
Tennessee 6,004
South Carolina 3,296
Louisiana 3,502
Arkansas 2,882
Alabama 7,364
Mississippi 2,838
West Virginia 1,771

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

Majors Similar to Nursing

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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