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2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k

9 Ranked Colleges
444 Degrees Awarded
$18,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 313,362 nursing students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, nursing graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $67,065 and had an average of $26,282 in loans still to pay off.

Across Kentucky, there were 5,967 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,033 and $24,430 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 444 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,800 and $117,458 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in nursing. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality nursing programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the nursing program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 9 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Nursing (Income $30-$48k) in Kentucky

#1

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, Kentucky
#4 in overall quality
$17,358 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Kentucky University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k. Highland Heights, Kentucky is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s nursing degrees to 66 students in 2019-2020.

NKU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Kentucky University are $17,358, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Nursing at NKU

#2

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, Kentucky
#9 in overall quality
$12,650 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Kentucky State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k. Frankfort, Kentucky is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s nursing degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

KY State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kentucky State University are $12,650, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Nursing at Kentucky State University

#3

Murray State University

Murray, Kentucky
#7 in overall quality
$14,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees
$86,867 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Murray State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Murray State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Murray, Kentucky. It awarded 27 doctorate’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Murray State also made our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at Murray State are $14,400, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Murray State Nursing Report

#4

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky
#2 in overall quality
$33,216 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Kentucky landed the #4 spot on the list. Lexington, Kentucky is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s nursing degrees to 69 students in 2019-2020.

UK did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Kentucky are $33,216, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Nursing at UK

#5

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky
#3 in overall quality
$27,575 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Louisville. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 44 doctorate’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

UofL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UofL are $27,575, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Nursing at University of Louisville

#6

Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, Kentucky
#8 in overall quality
$14,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees
$69,338 Average Early-Career Earnings

Eastern Kentucky University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k list. Eastern is a fairly large public school situated in Richmond, Kentucky. It awarded 14 doctorate’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our kentucky doctor’s degree nursing students whose families make $30-$48k list, Eastern has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern are $14,500.

Full Eastern Kentucky University Nursing Report

#7

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Kentucky
#5 in overall quality
$18,340 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Western Kentucky University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it awarded 19 doctorate’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our kentucky doctor’s degree nursing students whose families make $30-$48k list, WKU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Kentucky University are $18,340, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Nursing at Western Kentucky University

#8

Bellarmine University

Louisville, Kentucky
#6 in overall quality
$16,645 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Bellarmine University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Louisville, Kentucky is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s nursing degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

Bellarmine U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Bellarmine University are $16,645.

Full Bellarmine University Nursing Report

#9

Spalding University

Louisville, Kentucky
#8 in overall quality
$12,286 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Spalding University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for a Doctorate in Kentucky For Those Making $30-$48k list. Spalding is a small school located in Louisville, Kentucky that handed out 1 doctorate’s nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Spalding also made our “Best Nursing Doctor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at Spalding are $12,286, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Nursing at Spalding

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

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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.

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