2025 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in
nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #2 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 266 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 32,783 bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree
The nursing bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. 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
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges 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 bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
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 bachelor'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 bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in the Southeast Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor'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.
25 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing
It's difficult to beat Duke University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Duke University earn a boost of about $3,718 above the average income of nursing graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Duke University
Emory University is a great choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Emory University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,503 above the typical income of nursing majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Emory University
Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing has to look into University of South Carolina - Columbia. UofSC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbia.
Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $73,872 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of South Carolina - Columbia
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in nursing needs to look into Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Fort Lauderdale.
Bachelor's recipients from the nursing degree program at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale earn $3,775 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale
U Miami is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Coral Gables.
Soon after graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients usually make around $75,036 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Miami
Located in the large city of Louisville, Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville get an earnings boost of approximately $2,664 over the typical income of nursing majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville
Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $73,711 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Florida
Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn about $75,220 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Virginia - Main Campus
UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill.
Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $71,594 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
ECU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Greenville.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $72,051 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from East Carolina University