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Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$16,636 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$115,233 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was ranked 3rd in North Carolina. In fact, 1,399 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in North Carolina to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of North Carolina at Wilmington to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in North Carolina. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNCW are $7,514 a year.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a great value for nursing students working on their doctor’s degree. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNC Charlotte are $7,713 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Western Carolina University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in North Carolina. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WCU are $7,480 a year.

Full Nursing at Western Carolina University Report

#4

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in North Carolina. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

ECU graduate students pay an average of $7,594 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at East Carolina University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UNC Greensboro are $8,265 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

UNC Chapel Hill graduate students pay an average of $12,566 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UNC Chapel Hill not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Nursing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

#7

Winston - Salem State University

Winston-Salem, NC

Winston - Salem State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

WSSU graduate students pay an average of $6,718 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at Winston - Salem State University

Lenoir - Rhyne University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of Hickory, Lenoir - Rhyne University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lenoir - Rhyne University are $12,060 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Lenoir - Rhyne University

#9

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree nursing programs. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Gardner - Webb are $10,130 a year.

Full Nursing at Gardner - Webb University Report

#10

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Wake Forest University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.

Wake Forest University graduate students pay an average of $39,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Wake Forest University not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list.

Read full report on Nursing at Wake Forest University

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Virginia 1,110
Florida 3,074
Georgia 1,685
Tennessee 1,589
Kentucky 2,017
Louisiana 520
Alabama 2,641
South Carolina 468
Mississippi 262
Arkansas 299
West Virginia 184

One of 29 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 11 schools only.

  • 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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