2025 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Tennessee

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.

College Factual reviewed 13 schools in Tennessee 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 1,142 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. 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 colleges for nursing students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools in Tennessee list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

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

10 Top Tennessee Schools for a Master's in Nursing

1

Southern Adventist University
Collegedale, TN

25 Annual Graduates

$105,170 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in nursing has to take a look at Southern Adventist University. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Collegedale.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients typically earn about $105,170 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Southern Adventist University

2

Union University
Jackson, TN

35 Annual Graduates

$102,228 Median Starting Salary

Union University is a great choice for students interested in a master's degree in nursing. Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Jackson.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $102,228 in their early career salary.

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

3

The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN

51 Annual Graduates

$150,889 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga if you want to pursue a master's degree in nursing. Located in the midsize city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those nursing students who get their master's degree from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga make $44,771 more than the typical nursing graduate.

More information about a master’s in nursing from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

4

East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN

82 Annual Graduates

$93,524 Median Starting Salary

East Tennessee State University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $93,524 in the first couple years of working.

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

5

Lincoln Memorial University
Harrogate, TN

57 Annual Graduates

$97,154 Median Starting Salary

LMU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Harrogate.

Master's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $97,154 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Lincoln Memorial University

6

South College
Knoxville, TN

83 Annual Graduates

$88,631 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Knoxville, South College is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

After graduation, nursing master's recipients generally make around $88,631 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from South College

7

University of Memphis
Memphis, TN

76 Annual Graduates

$98,692 Median Starting Salary

UofM is a very large public university located in the city of Memphis.

After graduating, nursing master's recipients typically earn about $98,692 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in nursing from University of Memphis

8

Belmont University
Nashville, TN

16 Annual Graduates

$94,655 Median Starting Salary

Belmont is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $94,655 in the first couple years of working.

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

9

King University
Bristol, TN

64 Annual Graduates

$87,661 Median Starting Salary

King is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Bristol.

Soon after graduating, nursing master's recipients usually earn about $87,661 at the beginning of their careers.

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

10

Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, TN

39 Annual Graduates

$93,349 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $93,349.

More information about a master’s in nursing from Tennessee Technological University

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
Alabama	151	1,997
Kentucky	147	1,361
Louisiana	147	340
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	426
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	354
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	84
School Nursing	77
Critical Care Nursing	40
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing	29
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	28
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery	25
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	24
Nursing Administration	18

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	691
Public Health	282
Mental & Social Health Services	224
Health & Medical Administrative Services	187
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	167
Communication Sciences	126
Health Sciences & Services	95
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	21
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18
Medical Illustration & Informatics	16

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.