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Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

142 Colleges
$43,116 Avg Salary
$21,919 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Health Professions Associate Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 977,800 health professions students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #2 most popular in the country.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 142 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Check out the health professions associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Baptist Health System School of Health Professions the best school in the Southwest Region for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of San Antonio, Baptist Health System School of Health Professions is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio is a great place for health professions students working on their associate degree. Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Antonio.

Full Health Professions at Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio Report

#3

Parker University

Dallas, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Parker University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Parker University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Dallas.

Full Health Professions at Parker University Report

#4

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Tarleton State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Tarleton is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Stephenville.

Read full report on Health Professions at Tarleton State University

#5

Central Arizona College

Coolidge, AZ

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central Arizona College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the rural area of Coolidge, Pinal County Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Full Health Professions at Central Arizona College Report

Platt College - Tulsa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Platt College - Tulsa is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Tulsa.

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Pima Medical Institute - Tucson did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Tucson, PMI Tucson is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Health Professions at Pima Medical Institute - Tucson Report

University of the Incarnate Word came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large city of San Antonio, UIW is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Health Professions at University of the Incarnate Word Report

#9

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree health professions programs. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Health Professions at El Centro College Report

#10

Northeast Texas Community College

Mount Pleasant, TX

Northeast Texas Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the rural area of Mount Pleasant, NTCC is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Health Professions at Northeast Texas Community College

With a ranking of #11, Carrington College, Mesquite did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Mesquite, Carrington College, Mesquite is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Health Professions at Carrington College, Mesquite

#12

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

South Texas College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree health professions programs. Located in the medium-sized city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public college with a very large student population.

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#13

South University, Austin

Round Rock, TX

South University, Austin came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. South University, Austin is a small private for-profit school located in the rural area of Round Rock.

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#14

Weatherford College

Weatherford, TX

With a ranking of #14, Weatherford College did quite well on this year’s best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Weatherford College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Weatherford.

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The College of Health Care Professions - Northwest landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree health professions programs. CHCP - Northwest is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Houston.

Full Health Professions at The College of Health Care Professions - Northwest Report

Pima Medical Institute - Mesa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the city of Mesa, PMI Mesa is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Health Professions at Pima Medical Institute - Mesa Report

#17

Panola College

Carthage, TX

Panola College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the distant town of Carthage, Panola College is a public school with a small student population.

Full Health Professions at Panola College Report

Pima Medical Institute - El Paso came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. PMI El Paso is a small private for-profit school located in the city of El Paso.

Read full report on Health Professions at Pima Medical Institute - El Paso

#20

Lone Star College System

The Woodlands, TX

Lone Star College System did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #20 on the list. North Harris Montgomery is a fairly large public school located in the city of The Woodlands.

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Remington College - North Houston Campus came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Remington College - North Houston Campus is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.

Full Health Professions at Remington College - North Houston Campus Report

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
22 Houston Community College Houston, TX
23 Concorde Career College - Dallas Dallas, TX
24 Pima Medical Institute - Albuquerque Albuquerque, NM
25 Pima Medical Institute - Houston Houston, TX
26 Remington College - Dallas Campus Garland, TX
27 Southwestern Oklahoma State University Weatherford, OK
28 Western New Mexico University Silver City, NM

Best Health Professions Colleges by State

Explore the best health professions schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 24,705
Texas 45,833
New Mexico 3,731
Oklahoma 6,642

Health Professions Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
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
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Mental & Social Health Services 29,053
Medicine 28,629
Dental Support Services 26,399
Communication Sciences 22,298
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 20,393
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 18,901
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,751
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,210
Other Health Professions 7,984
Dentistry 6,770
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 6,158
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,115
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,564
Chiropractic 2,658
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,374
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,089
Optometry 1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,775
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 960
Medical Science 909
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 294
Alternative Medical Support Services 227
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 68

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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