The rankings are part of the media company’s 2025 Best Online Programs rankings, which examined nearly 1,800 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs offered online.
To determine the best online master’s in nursing programs, U.S. News evaluated programs using five categories: engagement (30%); faculty credentials and training (20%); peer assessment (20%); services and technologies (20%); and student excellence (10%).
The media company calculated a program’s overall score by taking the raw category scores — which it determined by pooling data reported by the program in both a statistical survey and a separate peer assessment survey — prior to rescaling and multiplying them by the category weights. The resulting scores are rescaled and rounded to the nearest whole number, ranging from zero to 100. A program’s overall score reflects its proximity to the highest-scoring program. More information about the methodology is available here.
The 20 best online master’s in nursing programs, alongside their overall scores:
Note: The list includes ties.
1. University of South Carolina (Columbia) — 100
2. Saint Xavier University (Chicago) — 98
3. Duke University (Durham, N.C.) — 97 (tie)
3. The Ohio State University (Columbus) — 97 (tie)
5. University of Connecticut (Storrs) — 96
6. George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) — 95 (tie)
6. The University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) — 95 (tie)
8. Stony Brook (N.Y.) University–SUNY — 94 (tie)
8. Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.) — 94 (tie)
10. East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.) — 93
10. University of Texas Medical Branch–Galveston — 93
12. Ohio University (Athens) — 92 (tie)
12. Oregon Health and Science University (Portland) — 92 (tie)
12. University of North Carolina at Greensboro — 92 (tie)
12. University of Utah (Salt Lake City) — 92 (tie)
16. University of San Francisco — 91
17. Georgia College & State University (Milledgeville) — 90 (tie)
17. Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia) — 90 (tie)
17. University of Central Florida (Orlando) — 90 (tie)
17. University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (Aurora) — 90 (tie)
View the full rankings list here.
