According to a 2014 Pew Research study, salaries for young professionals who have earned at least a master’s degree are 24% higher than salaries of those who have attained a bachelor’s degree. Graduates with professional or doctoral degrees can earn as much as 51% more. Prospective nursing students who are interested in higher potential earnings may want to strongly consider graduate school, however, it can be difficult determining which school is the right one you.
To help with searching, U.S. News & World Report released its 2016 rankings for best nursing schools in the nation, including expanded rankings for several nursing specialties.
How the Schools Were Ranked
Among all nursing rankings, 503 schools were surveyed, 273 responded and 246 were eligible to be included in the U.S. News report. All schools surveyed offer masters or doctoral programs and are accredited by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.
According to the 2016 rankings methodology, schools were graded on several factors. Ranking indicators included quality assessment, peer assessment, student selectivity and achievement, mean undergraduate grade-point average, acceptance rate, achievement, faculty resources, student-faculty ratio, faculty credentials, nursing practice participation and research activity.
Specialties Ranked
Nursing specialties were ranked on the assessments by nursing school deans as well as deans of graduate studies, who were asked to identify up to 10 schools that offered the best programs in each area of specialty. Here are four common nursing specialties and the top-3 schools for each, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
University of Maryland—Baltimore
University of Minnesota—Twin Cities
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Iowa
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
Frontier Nursing University
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
University of Pittsburgh
Rush University
Duke University
Best Nursing Schools
Overall, the 10-best nursing schools in the country were ranked:
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
- University of California—San Francisco
- University of Washington – Seattle, WA
- University of Pittsburgh, PA
- Duke University, Durham, NC
- New York University, NYC, NY
- University of Maryland—Baltimore
- University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
- Emory University, Atlanta, GA
An Advanced Degree Pays Off
According to an annual survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nursing graduates with a bachelor’s degree entered the workforce with a median salary of $50,000 in 2011, which made nursing one of the top-paying fields for new graduates outside of IT and engineering.
Nurses who wish to follow a career path toward nurse supervisor or manager should obtain at least a BSN, but an MSN is often recommended. Luckily there are many online degree programs that allow nurses to obtain their degrees even while juggling a demanding work schedule. It is an increased desire to receive an advanced degree combined with heavier workloads that has caused enrollment in many online master’s programs to nearly double.
