2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Nursing is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 17 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,828 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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

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 complete 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.

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 the Rocky Mountains Region.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Nursing in the Rocky Mountains Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing.

10 Top Rocky Mountains Region Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT

1,949 Annual Graduates

$100,249 Median Starting Salary

Western Governors University is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a master's degree in nursing. WGU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $100,249.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Western Governors University

2

Westminster College Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

46 Annual Graduates

$114,972 Median Starting Salary

Westminster College Utah is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a master's degree in nursing. Located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City, Westminster College Salt Lake is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Master's recipients from the nursing program at Westminster College Utah earn $7,410 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Westminster College Utah

3

Regis University
Denver, CO

114 Annual Graduates

$111,284 Median Starting Salary

Regis University is a good decision for individuals interested in a master's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Denver, Regis U is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Regis University receive $3,722 more than the standard nursing grad.

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

4

AmeriTech College - Draper
Draper, UT

47 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing needs to take a look at AmeriTech College - Draper. Located in the suburb of Draper, AmeriTech College - Draper is a private for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in nursing from AmeriTech College - Draper

5

University of Providence
Great Falls, MT

32 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Great Falls, University of Providence is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly small student population.More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Providence

6

University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO

167 Annual Graduates

$97,061 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Denver, CU Anschutz is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing master's recipients usually earn an average of $97,061 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

7

Boise State University
Boise, ID

18 Annual Graduates

$124,851 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Boise, Boise State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the nursing degree program at Boise State University earn $17,289 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Boise State University

8

Denver College of Nursing
Denver, CO

17 Annual Graduates

$94,554 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Denver, Denver College of Nursing is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

After graduating, nursing master's recipients typically make an average of $94,554 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Denver College of Nursing

9

Colorado State University - Pueblo
Pueblo, CO

32 Annual Graduates

$118,401 Median Starting Salary

Colorado State University - Pueblo is a medium-sized public university located in the midsize city of Pueblo.

Master's recipients from the nursing major at Colorado State University - Pueblo get $10,839 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Colorado State University - Pueblo

10

University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY

26 Annual Graduates

UW is a fairly large public university located in the town of Laramie.More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Wyoming

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Colorado	185	1,273
Utah	164	3,335
Idaho	96	56
Montana	90	14
Wyoming	53	11

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
Nursing Administration	1,795
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	461
Registered Nursing	250
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	222
Nursing Practice	30
Nurse Anesthetist	26
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing	22
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	18
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	3
Clinical Nurse Leader	1

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,461
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	1,106
Allied Health Professions	572
Public Health	522
Mental & Social Health Services	495
Communication Sciences	289
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	140
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	90
Medical Illustration & Informatics	72
Alternative Medicine & Systems	23

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.