2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Registered Nursing in Pennsylvania
23
Ranked Colleges
1,110
Degrees Awarded
$31,200
Avg Cost*

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania” ranking.
In 2021-2022, 262,974 registered nursing students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country.
Across Pennsylvania, there were 9,950 registered nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,110 registered nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,037 and $44,515 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania” ranking, we looked at 23 colleges that offer a degree in registered nursing. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their registered nursing program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The registered nursing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania”.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania
The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania master’s degree registered nursing students.
Top 23 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Registered Nursing in Pennsylvania
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Thomas Jefferson University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 324 masters’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Registered Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wilkes University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania. Wilkes is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 122 masters’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Wilkes Registered Nursing Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Holy Family University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania. Holy Family is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 28 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Holy Family University Registered Nursing Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drexel University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Drexel is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 284 masters’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Registered Nursing at Drexel
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Waynesburg University landed the #5 spot on the list. Waynesburg University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. It awarded 23 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Registered Nursing at Waynesburg University
La Roche University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 57 diplomas to qualified masters’s registered nursing students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full La Roche Registered Nursing Report
With a ranking of #9, Villanova University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Villanova is a private not-for-profit institution located in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 38 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Full Villanova University Registered Nursing Report
Robert Morris University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking. This small school is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 17 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Registered Nursing at Robert Morris University
With a ranking of #12, Chatham University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 15 degrees to qualified masters’s registered nursing students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Registered Nursing at Chatham
Eastern University ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Saint Davids, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s registered nursing degrees to 5 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full EU Registered Nursing Report
With a ranking of #15, Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus is a medium-sized public school situated in Indiana, Pennsylvania. It awarded 18 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full IUP Registered Nursing Report
West Chester University of Pennsylvania came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking. WCUPA is a fairly large school located in West Chester, Pennsylvania that handed out 5 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Registered Nursing at WCUPA
Gannon University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #17. Erie, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s registered nursing degrees to 10 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Gannon University Registered Nursing Report
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a large public school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 338 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Pitt Registered Nursing Report
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #19. Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It awarded 1 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
Read more about Registered Nursing at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
University of Pennsylvania ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 219 degrees to qualified masters’s registered nursing students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full UPenn Registered Nursing Report
DeSales University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking. DeSales University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. It awarded 110 masters’s registered nursing degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full DeSales University Registered Nursing Report
Saint Francis University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Registered Nursing Major in Pennsylvania ranking. Loretto, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s registered nursing degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Saint Francis Registered Nursing Report
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits