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Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

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

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 2,017 degrees and certificates from a Kentucky school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Kentucky to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky

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

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. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#2

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

The excellent programs at University of Kentucky helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Kentucky. UK is a very large public school located in the large city of Lexington.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Kentucky

#3

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bellarmine University is a great place for nursing students. Located in the large city of Louisville, Bellarmine U is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Bellarmine University

#4

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northern Kentucky University is a great place for nursing students. NKU is a large public school located in the large suburb of Highland Heights.

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

#5

Spalding University

Louisville, KY

The excellent programs at Spalding University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Kentucky. Spalding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Louisville.

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#6

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, KY

Kentucky State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. KY State is a small public school located in the town of Frankfort.

Read full report on Nursing at Kentucky State University

#7

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 #7 on the list. UofL is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Louisville.

Full Nursing at University of Louisville Report

#8

University of the Cumberlands

Williamsburg, KY

University of the Cumberlands landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the town of Williamsburg, Cumberlands is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at University of the Cumberlands Report

Kentucky Christian University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the distant town of Grayson, Kentucky Christian University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Eastern Kentucky 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 distant town of Richmond, Eastern is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Eastern Kentucky 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
Virginia 1,110
Florida 3,074
Georgia 1,685
North Carolina 1,399
Tennessee 1,589
Louisiana 520
Alabama 2,641
South Carolina 468
Mississippi 262
Arkansas 299
West Virginia 184

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 14 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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