2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Washington

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 4 schools in Washington to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of nursing. Combined, these schools handed out 280 master's degrees in nursing to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Master's Degree

The nursing master'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 for a Master's Degree 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 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

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 master'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 master'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 colleges for nursing students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The nursing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Washington.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in Washington

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

Top Washington Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA

28 Annual Graduates

$115,543 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to check out University of Washington - Seattle Campus. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population.

Nursing master's degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus get an earnings boost of around $3,019 above the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

2

Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA

191 Annual Graduates

$119,250 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to take a look at Gonzaga University. Located in the midsize city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Master's recipients from the nursing degree program at Gonzaga University get $6,726 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Gonzaga University

3

Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA

24 Annual Graduates

$89,189 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Pacific Lutheran University if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Tacoma, PLU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $89,189.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Pacific Lutheran University

4

University of Washington - Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA

17 Annual Graduates

$115,543 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to take a look at University of Washington - Bothell Campus. UW Bothell is a medium-sized public university located in the large suburb of Bothell.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from University of Washington - Bothell Campus earn $3,019 more than the typical nursing grad.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Washington - Bothell Campus

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	253	3,048
Oregon	158	26
Nevada	105	111
Hawaii	85	29
Alaska	52	14

View All Rankings >

Nursing Related Rankings by Major

Nursing is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing	256
Clinical Nurse Leader	24

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Mental & Social Health Services	436
Public Health	285
Allied Health Professions	169
Communication Sciences	113
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	97
Health & Medical Administrative Services	76
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	45
Alternative Medicine & Systems	29
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	23
Alternative Medical Support Services	13

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.