2021 Best Nursing Schools
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Nursing is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2018-2019, 63,380 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 611 schools in the United States to see which 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.
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2021 Best Nursing Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools in Nursing
Our 2021 rankings named Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc the best school in the United States for nursing students. MTSA is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Samuel Merritt University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.
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Out of the 611 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Baylor College of Medicine landed the # 3 spot on the list. Baylor College of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Midwestern University - Glendale is a great place for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a great place for nursing students. 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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Saint Vincent College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Latrobe.
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With a ranking of #7, Villanova University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Albany Medical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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With a ranking of #9, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of North Chicago, RFUMS is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #10, Mount Marty University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the remote town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans is a small public school located in the large city of New Orleans.
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Medical University of South Carolina ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. MUSC is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.
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Texas Christian University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fort Worth.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston landed the #14 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the large city of Houston, UTHealth is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #15, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Provo, RMUoHP is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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University at Buffalo came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. University at Buffalo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Buffalo.
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University of Nebraska Medical Center came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Located in the city of Omaha, UNMC is a public school with a small student population.
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University of Pennsylvania landed the #19 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Loma Linda University landed the #20 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Wake Forest University landed the #21 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #22, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Lubbock, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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Texas Wesleyan University landed the #23 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Texas Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.
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Fairfield University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the suburb of Fairfield, Fairfield U is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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The University of Tennessee-Health Science Center came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. UTHSC is a small public school located in the large city of Memphis.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 611 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools award.
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
One of 33 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | 23,124 |
| Medicine | 19,720 |
| Public Health | 18,212 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 16,970 |
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 14,633 |
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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