2025 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Minnesota
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.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in Minnesota to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 768 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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Minnesota ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Nursing in Minnesota
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a doctor's degree.
Top Minnesota Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing
Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in nursing has to look into Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Rochester.
Nursing doctor's degree recipients from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine receive an earnings boost of around $65,526 over the average earnings of nursing graduates.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
It is difficult to beat Winona State University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in nursing. Winona State is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Winona.
After graduating, nursing doctorate recipients usually earn around $111,705 in their early careers.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from Winona State University
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $117,039.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
St Catherine University is a great option for students pursuing a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Soon after graduation, nursing doctorate recipients usually earn about $110,870 in their early careers.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from St Catherine University
Located in the small city of Duluth, St. Scholastica is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Soon after graduation, nursing doctorate recipients generally earn an average of $114,210 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a doctorate in nursing from The College of Saint Scholastica
