Nursing and science students graduating from the NYU College of Nursing earn the most in the nation according to a new ranking by student finance website NerdScholar.
The blog’s Top 10 Nursing and Science Schools with the Highest Salaries ranking states that graduatesfrom the nursing school earn $70,236 annually after graduation, higher than the average $51,816 of 40 public and private schools the website analyzed from self-reported data.
Nursing school dean Eileen Sullivan-Marx said the faculty and researchers aim to offer an education that will provide students with the practical experience and critical thinking skills needed to succeed post-graduation.
“A priority for the College of Nursing is to have our graduates compete for the best positions available, and we have been very successful with this,” Sullivan-Marx said. “We know that our graduates are very competitive in the job market, because a key indicator is that their salaries are commensurate with top pay.”
Other schools ranked within the top five included the University of Pennsylvania, which is ranked as the one of best nursing schools in the country. Carnegie Mellon’s Mellon College of Science ranked second with a salary of $60,720 — a nearly $10,000 difference with NYU — even though it does not have a specific nursing program and instead trains students in an interdisciplinary program.
According to the article, nursing jobs are in high demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics has projected that the nursing field will see steady job growth in the coming years.
“The sector is growing every year due to an aging population,” said Laura Pereyra, who wrote the article for NerdScholar. “[Students] should consider the amount they’re investing and the return that they will get on that investment.”
Melanie Streich, a sophomore in the nursing school, said NYU’s rankings guided her decision process.
“The placement rate and promise of a high salary for nursing students gave NYU an edge over the other colleges I was looking at,” Streich said. “[I] didn’t necessarily know that NYU nursing students made the most money, [but I] knew that the alumni were doing financially well afterward … It’s a good feeling to know that I will have a nice salary and job waiting for me if I continue to do well academically.”
The school has a history of being at the forefront of research and technology. According to NerdScholar, the nursing school began considering nursing as a science in the 1960s, which helped develop its reputation as a prominent college. The National Institutes of Health has ranked it fifth in research funding nationwide.
“We are also lucky to have some of the best technology to practice on during our simulation labs,” Streich said. “[The college has] five SimMan 3Gs that act almost identically to humans. They produce lung, heart and bowel sounds, and can even respond to medication that is administered to them.”
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Oct. 28 print edition. Graham Rapier is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
