2025 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
Ranked #5 in popularity,
nursing is one of the most sought-after doctor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 71 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,832 doctor's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Doctor's Degree
Your choice of nursing for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor'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 doctor'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 doctor'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 doctor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Nursing in the Southeast Region
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a doctor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
14 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing
Duke University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Doctorate recipients from the nursing program at Duke University earn $19,053 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Duke University
It's difficult to beat Emory University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the nursing program report average early career wages of $109,067.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Emory University
Virginia Commonwealth University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Nursing doctor's degree recipients from Virginia Commonwealth University receive an earnings boost of approximately $65,907 above the average earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University
It's difficult to beat Samford University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the suburb of Birmingham, Samford is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $107,827.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Samford University
U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Coral Gables.
Nursing doctor's degree recipients from University of Miami earn a boost of approximately $46,353 above the average income of nursing graduates.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Miami
