We've all seen the stats and heard the news that there is a growing need for licensed nursing medical professionals who can help fill any number of gaps in the healthcare system.
The College Choice ranking helps prospective nursing students decide which schools fit their educational and professional interests, as well as which are feasible for their financial situation.
“The job outlook for nursing professionals is one of the strongest of any field, with an expected growth rate of 17 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics,” Christian Amondson, Managing Editor of College Choice, said of the ranking. “RNs can typically expect to earn in the neighborhood of $60k-$70k per year, depending on education and experience.”
The ranking for the 50 Best Masters in Nursing Degrees for 2017 finds Johns Hopkins University in the top spot. University of Pennsylvania is in second, and University of Washington rounds out the top three.
College Choice developed its list by looking at academic quality along with return on investment—the differential between tuition costs and average early career earnings.
The list includes the annual tuition for each school as well as a College Choice Score, which is computed based on each school’s reputation in the field and its return on investment. The end result is a list of schools that balance cost, reputation, and, ultimately, what they can do for nurses and their unique goals.
The rankings are based on a few important sources, including actual college freshman polled during a nationwide survey published by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. Additional data from other publicly available sources includes U.S. News & World Report, the National Center for Education Statistics, and PayScale.com.
The list is available here and provides information on all of the following schools:
Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Boston College, Chesnut Hill, MA
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Columbia University, New York, NY
Duke University, Durham, NC
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Frontier Nursing University, Hyden, KY
George Washington University, Washington, DC
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
New York University, New York, NY
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Rush University, Chicago, IL
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ
University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
University of Colorado , Aurora, CO
University of Illinois Chicago , Chicago, IL
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Washington State University, Spokane, WA
Yale University, New Haven, CT
College Choice is an independent online publication dedicated to helping students and their families find the right college. The site publishes rankings and reviews that make finding the best colleges for different interests easier and more fun, as well as resources to help students get into, pay for, and thrive at the college of their choice.