2025 Best Nursing Doctor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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 2 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 102 doctor's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

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 doctor'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 doctor'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 doctor'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 Doctor's Degree Schools in Iowa list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Nursing in Iowa

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top Iowa Schools for a Doctorate in Nursing

1

University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

68 Annual Graduates

$123,367 Median Starting Salary

University of Iowa is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in a doctor's degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Nursing doctor's degree recipients from University of Iowa get an earnings boost of around $8,045 above the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a doctorate in nursing from University of Iowa

2

Allen College
Waterloo, IA

12 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in nursing needs to look into Allen College. Allen College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Waterloo.More information about a doctorate in nursing from Allen College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	122	380
Minnesota	120	658
Kansas	97	143
Nebraska	70	177
North Dakota	68	39
South Dakota	45	41

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	33
Nursing Practice	19
Nurse Anesthetist	14
School Nursing	13
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	10
Nursing Administration	7
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	4
Nursing Science	1
Critical Care Nursing	1

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chiropractic	558
Medicine	403
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	262
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	184
Dentistry	84
Communication Sciences	7
Public Health	7
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	2
Other Health Professions	2
Mental & Social Health Services	1

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle. More about our data sources and methodologies.