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Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

57 Colleges
$9,240 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 66,964 nursing students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #2 most popular in the country.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 57 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Check out the nursing master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Our 2023 rankings named Mount Marty University the best value school in the Plains States Region for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Yankton.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mount Marty are $9,650 a year.

Mount Marty not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Nursing at Mount Marty University Report

#2

Newman University

Wichita, KS

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Newman University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Wichita, Newman University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Newman University graduate students pay an average of $8,484 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Newman University Report

#3

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Morningside College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Morningside is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Morningside are $6,516 per year.

Full Nursing at Morningside College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rasmussen University - North Dakota. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Rasmussen University - North Dakota is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Fargo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Rasmussen University - North Dakota are $5,615 per year.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of St. Cloud, Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Rasmussen University - Minnesota are $5,615 per year.

Full Nursing at Rasmussen University - Minnesota Report

Nebraska Wesleyan University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. NWU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NWU are $7,580 per year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #7, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SMU MN are $10,890 a year.

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Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. CMU CGES is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Fayette.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at CMU CGES are $6,435 a year.

Full Nursing at Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies Report

Southwest Baptist University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the town of Bolivar, Southwest Baptist University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Southwest Baptist University graduate students pay an average of $5,388 in tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #10, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

Minnesota State Mankato graduate students pay an average of $9,308 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 2,207
Minnesota 5,809
Iowa 462
Kansas 311
Nebraska 414
North Dakota 100
South Dakota 94

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 25 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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