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 109 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the most popular for doctor's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,025 doctor's degrees in nursing during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Doctor's Degree
The nursing doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future.
As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Doctor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Southeast Region ranking.
Being popular does not always equate to overall quality, but a school with a large number of nursing students usually has them for a reason. Sometimes this is because the school offers a great educational experience, it is a good value, or it is highly focused on the program.
This ranking is just one of the many we have created.
First of all, if you are interested in other degree levels, you may want to take a look at one of the rankings highlighted above.
Also, if you are interested in attending school in a specific part of the country, see our rankings by location.
On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for nursing.
Most Popular Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Nursing in the Southeast Region
Below you'll see a list of the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
16 Most Well Attended Schools for Nursing Students Working on Their Doctorate
Every student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in nursing has to check out Frontier Nursing University. Located in the rural area of Hyden, Frontier Nursing University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Kentucky.
There were about 196 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Frontier Nursing University in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing doctorate recipients generally earn about $101,400 in the first five years of their career.
University of South Alabama is a popular choice for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in nursing. USA is a large public university located in the medium-sized city of Mobile. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Alabama.
There were approximately 166 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at USA in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing doctorate recipients generally make an average of $113,800 in the first five years of their career.
Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in nursing needs to take a look at Duke University. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in North Carolina.
There were roughly 140 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available.
Doctorate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $114,400 in their early career salary.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at University of Alabama at Birmingham if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the medium-sized city of Birmingham, UAB is a public university with a very large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Alabama.
There were approximately 113 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UAB in the most recent year we have data available.
Those nursing students who get their doctor's degree from University of Alabama at Birmingham receive $10,160 more than the typical nursing graduate.
Located in the large city of Jacksonville, UNF is a public university with a large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #6 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Florida.
There were approximately 110 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UNF in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Birmingham, Samford is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Alabama.
There were roughly 95 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Samford in the most recent year we have data available.
There were about 82 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UTHSC in the most recent year we have data available.
Nursing doctor's degree recipients from The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center earn a boost of about $2,860 over the typical earnings of nursing majors.
Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Florida.
There were about 82 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing doctorate recipients generally make around $87,500 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of Charleston, MUSC is a public university with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in South Carolina.
There were approximately 78 nursing students who graduated with this degree at MUSC in the most recent year we have data available.
Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Tennessee.
There were approximately 73 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.
MTSA is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Madison. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Tennessee.
There were approximately 69 nursing students who graduated with this degree at MTSA in the most recent data year.
UA is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tuscaloosa. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #4 in quality for doctor's degrees in nursing in Alabama.
There were approximately 64 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UA in the most recent year we have data available.
Doctorate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $109,600 in the first couple years of their career.
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Most Popular Doctor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Southeast Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).