2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Ranked #2 in popularity,
nursing is one of the most sought-after master'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 34 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,560 master's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of nursing for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. 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 master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master'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
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to nursing students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other nursing students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- 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 master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in the Southwest Region
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a master's degree.
10 Top Southwest Region Schools for a Master's in Nursing
It's difficult to beat The University of Texas Medical Branch if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Galveston, UTMB Galveston is a public university with a small student population.
Nursing master's degree recipients from The University of Texas Medical Branch receive an earnings boost of around $4,583 above the typical income of nursing majors.
More information about a master’s in nursing from The University of Texas Medical Branch
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to look into Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. TTUHSC is a small public university located in the city of Lubbock.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $110,624 in their early career salary.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Houston, UTHealth is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduating, nursing master's recipients usually make around $110,523 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in nursing from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Grand Canyon University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a master's degree in nursing. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the large city of Phoenix.
Soon after graduation, nursing master's recipients generally earn around $111,869 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from Grand Canyon University
UT Arlington is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Arlington.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $109,058 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a master’s in nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington
