2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Virginia
Nursing is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 14 schools in Virginia to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 740 master's degrees in nursing during the 2021-2022 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of nursing for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to nursing students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other nursing students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for nursing students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in Virginia
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing.
10 Top Virginia Schools for a Master's in Nursing
It is difficult to beat University of Virginia - Main Campus if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $89,572 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Virginia - Main Campus
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in nursing needs to look into Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Richmond.
Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University make $7,327 more than the standard nursing grad.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University
It is difficult to beat Old Dominion University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Old Dominion is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Norfolk.
After graduation, nursing master's recipients typically make about $104,712 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Old Dominion University
Marymount University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in nursing. Marymount is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Arlington.
Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $105,608 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Marymount University
Located in the city of Winchester, Shenandoah is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Master's recipients from the nursing degree program at Shenandoah University earn $20,667 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Shenandoah University
Located in the large city of Virginia Beach, ECPI University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $102,419 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in nursing from ECPI University
Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, nursing master's recipients typically earn an average of $105,346 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from George Mason University
Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, nursing master's recipients usually make around $97,814 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from James Madison University
Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Lynchburg.
Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career income of $95,825.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Liberty University
Located in the town of Radford, Radford is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $101,223.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Radford University