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Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

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2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

272 Colleges
$99,011 Avg Salary
$21,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate School for You

Nursing is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 66,964 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 272 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Nursing

Our analysis found Mayo Clinic School of Medicine to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Rochester.

Full Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Samuel Merritt University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Frontier Nursing University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. 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

#4

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Thomas Jefferson University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public school with a small student population.

Full Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Report

#6

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

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#7

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

Read full report on Nursing at Johns Hopkins University

West Coast University - Orange County came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County

#9

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#10

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at Vanderbilt University Report

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.

Read full report on Nursing at Texas A&M University - College Station

Maryville University of Saint Louis ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis Report

Western University of Health Sciences came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Pomona.

Full Nursing at Western University of Health Sciences Report

University of St Francis landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Joliet.

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#15

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

With a ranking of #15, Mount Marty University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Mount Marty University Report

#16

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

With a ranking of #16, Clarkson College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Omaha, Clarkson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Clarkson College

#17

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

With a ranking of #17, Texas Christian University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fort Worth.

While working on their Graduate Certificate, nursing majors at TCU accumulate an average of around $19,027 in student debt.

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Chamberlain University - Illinois landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Addison.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

West Coast University - Dallas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the large city of Dallas, West Coast University - Dallas is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

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#20

Gannon University

Erie, PA

Gannon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Gannon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Erie.

Read full report on Nursing at Gannon University

With a ranking of #21, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their graduate certificate. UCSF is a small public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Full Nursing at University of California - San Francisco Report

#22

Winona State University

Winona, MN

Winona State University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#23

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools list. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Full Nursing at Drexel University Report

California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate nursing programs. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#25

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Florida

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools

#27

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA
#28

Bradley University

Peoria, IL
#29

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#30

Augusta University

Augusta, GA
#31

New York University

New York, NY
#32

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA
#33

National University

La Jolla, CA
#34

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
#35

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
#36

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
#37

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#39

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS
#40

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
41 Wagner College Staten Island, NY
42 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock, TX
43 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
44 Herzing University - Madison Madison, WI
45 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
46 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
47 Emory University Atlanta, GA
48 Yale University New Haven, CT
49 Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA
50 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
51 Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions Provo, UT
52 The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX
53 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
54 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX

Nursing by Region

View the Best Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Nursing is one of 29 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952

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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