2024 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
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.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 931 master's degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree
The nursing master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
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
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our complete 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in North Carolina
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing.
10 Top North Carolina Schools for a Master's in Nursing
It is hard to beat Duke University if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $95,695 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Duke University
It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you wish to pursue a master's degree in nursing. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill.
After graduating, nursing master's recipients generally earn an average of $89,271 in their early careers.
More information about a master’s in nursing from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing needs to look into Wake Forest University. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Wake Forest University receive $75,375 more than the standard nursing student.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Wake Forest University
East Carolina University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in nursing. ECU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Greenville.
Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $92,078 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from East Carolina University
Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public university with a large student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $86,377 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in nursing from University of North Carolina at Wilmington