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2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

82 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
6,500 Master's Degrees
$120,805 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a master's degree in nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #2 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 82 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,500 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

Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools

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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 the Middle Atlantic Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in the Middle Atlantic Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

16 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in nursing. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career wages of $115,382.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Pennsylvania

2
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

It is difficult to beat New York University if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Master's recipients from the nursing degree program at New York University make $20,548 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in nursing from New York University

3

It is hard to beat George Washington University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $102,660.

More information about a master’s in nursing from George Washington University

4

Johns Hopkins University is a great decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career income of $84,697.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Johns Hopkins University

5
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $112,845 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Georgetown University

6

UMB is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Baltimore.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $85,488.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Maryland - Baltimore

7
SUNY Stony Brook crest
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY

SUNY Stony Brook is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Stony Brook.

Nursing master's degree recipients from Stony Brook University earn a boost of about $5,987 over the average income of nursing graduates.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Stony Brook University

8

Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public university with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University receive $11,674 more than the average nursing graduate.

More information about a master’s in nursing from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

9
Molloy crest
Molloy College
Rockville Centre, NY

Located in the large suburb of Rockville Centre, Molloy is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Molloy College earn $13,147 more than the average nursing graduate.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Molloy College

10
Drexel crest
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA

Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $117,291 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Drexel University

11
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA

Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.

Nursing master's degree recipients from Villanova University receive an earnings boost of about $4,612 over the average income of nursing graduates.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Villanova University

12

University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $104,483 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Rochester

13

Thomas Jefferson University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients usually earn around $117,607 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Thomas Jefferson University

14
LIU Post crest
LIU Post
Brookville, NY

Located in the suburb of Brookville, LIU Post is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Nursing master's degree recipients from LIU Post earn a boost of around $10,153 over the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a master’s in nursing from LIU Post

15

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, SUNY Upstate Medical University is a public university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program report average early career income of $109,921.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Upstate Medical University

16

Pace University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

Master's recipients from the nursing major at Pace University - New York get $15,216 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Pace University - New York

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
26 Gannon University Erie, PA
27 Wagner College Staten Island, NY
17 Adelphi University Garden City, NY
18 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
19 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
20 La Salle University Philadelphia, PA

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 261 2,540
Pennsylvania 248 2,051
Maryland 193 624
New Jersey 188 445
District of Columbia 154 448
Delaware 109 129

View All Rankings >

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 2,462
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 1,637
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 348
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 341
Nursing Administration 312
Nursing Science 299
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 171
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 166
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 149
School Nursing 133

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Health 3,820
Allied Health Professions 3,190
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 2,442
Health & Medical Administrative Services 2,284
Communication Sciences 2,106
Mental & Social Health Services 1,839
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 617
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 469
Other Health Professions 400
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 352

Notes and References

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