2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Louisiana

If you pursue a master's degree in nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #2 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 7 schools in Louisiana 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 346 master's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Louisiana ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in nursing.

Top Louisiana Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA

20 Annual Graduates

$103,324 Median Starting Salary

University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a wonderful choice for students interested in a master's degree in nursing. Located in the midsize city of Lafayette, UL Lafayette is a public university with a large student population.

Master's recipients from the nursing degree program at University of Louisiana at Lafayette get $2,566 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Louisiana at Lafayette

2

McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA

50 Annual Graduates

$112,712 Median Starting Salary

McNeese State University is a great option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in nursing. McNeese is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Lake Charles.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from McNeese State University earn $11,954 more than the standard nursing graduate.

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

3

University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA

26 Annual Graduates

$95,504 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in nursing needs to look into University of Louisiana at Monroe. Located in the small city of Monroe, ULM is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients typically make around $95,504 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Louisiana at Monroe

4

Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA

60 Annual Graduates

$110,948 Median Starting Salary

Nicholls State University is a great option for students pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Nicholls State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the small city of Thibodaux.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Nicholls State University receive $10,190 more than the typical nursing grad.

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

5

Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA

40 Annual Graduates

$104,763 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Hammond, Southeastern is a public university with a large student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from Southeastern Louisiana University receive $4,005 more than the standard nursing grad.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Southeastern Louisiana University

6

Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA

70 Annual Graduates

$98,816 Median Starting Salary

NSU is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Natchitoches.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $98,816 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Northwestern State University of Louisiana

7

Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, LA

18 Annual Graduates

$96,013 Median Starting Salary

Southern University and A & M College is a medium-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Baton Rouge.

Soon after graduating, nursing master's recipients generally earn about $96,013 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Southern University and A & M College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	2,300
Georgia	190	1,353
Virginia	182	728
North Carolina	178	931
Tennessee	166	1,147
Alabama	151	1,997
Kentucky	147	1,361
South Carolina	146	369
Mississippi	145	175
Arkansas	121	229
West Virginia	112	145

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	271
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	56
Nursing Administration	18
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	1

Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services	524
Communication Sciences	194
Public Health	176
Allied Health Professions	159
Mental & Social Health Services	121
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	109
Other Health Professions	105
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	17
Health Sciences & Services	16
Medical Science	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.