College Rankings

Best Health Sciences Schools

The top 25 of 146 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Health Sciences degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Health Sciences worth it?

The payoff here is highly dependent on your endgame and your upfront costs, but if played right, it is exceptionally lucrative. Because a bachelor's in Health Sciences is often a stepping stone to expensive graduate programs, the smartest financial move is to keep your undergraduate debt as close to zero as possible. The data proves this out: the highest value is overwhelmingly found at low-cost regional public universities and specialized state colleges, not elite private institutions. Healthcare employers and clinical graduate programs care about your prerequisite GPA, your hands-on patient care experience, and your certifications—they do not care about the prestige of your bachelor's degree.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	Northern Kentucky University	KY	63	$58,970	$8,191†	+$557K
2	Creighton University	NE	59	$47,496	$31,568	+$349K
3	University of Minnesota-Rochester	MN	58	$53,988	$13,744†	+$485K
4	Seattle Central College	WA	56	$71,275	$8,819†	+$677K
5	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	56	$53,988	$16,778†	+$473K
6	California State University-Sacramento	CA	55	$44,162	$9,338†	+$404K
7	Mercy College of Ohio	OH	54	$65,046	$17,989	+$579K
8	San Francisco State University	CA	54	$47,367	$12,278†	+$425K
9	Touro University	NY	53	$98,520	$29,627	+$867K
10	California State University-East Bay	CA	53	$42,602	$9,320†	+$389K
11	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	LA	51	$59,186	$13,606†	+$537K
12	California State University-Fresno	CA	51	$43,134	$7,000†	+$403K
13	Towson University	MD	50	$41,095	$17,413†	+$341K
14	National University	CA	48	$55,679	$22,878	+$465K
15	Seminole State College of Florida	FL	48	$46,328	$8,970†	+$427K
16	Western Kentucky University	KY	48	$42,045	$10,990†	+$376K
17	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	48	$39,009	$18,745†	+$315K
18	Boston University	MA	47	$42,894	$24,402	+$331K
19	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	46	$40,655	$4,831†	+$387K
20	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	46	$34,806	$14,355†	+$291K
21	Southwestern Oklahoma State University	OK	45	$50,704	$14,459†	+$449K
22	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	45	$44,443	$17,613†	+$374K
23	Purdue University Global	IN	45	$41,104	$7,770†	+$380K
24	CUNY York College	NY	45	$39,837	$4,456†	+$381K
25	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	45	$36,494	$4,564†	+$347K
26	California State University-Fullerton	CA	45	$35,563	$6,555†	+$329K
27	Siena Heights University	MI	44	$52,998	$17,124	+$461K
28	University of West Florida	FL	44	$39,603	$9,364†	+$359K
29	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	44	$39,009	$24,406†	+$292K
30	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	44	$36,957	$14,091†	+$313K
31	Thomas Jefferson University	PA	43	$43,635	$28,928	+$321K
32	California State University-Chico	CA	43	$40,057	$14,480†	+$343K
33	Stony Brook University	NY	43	$34,538	$18,784†	+$270K
34	Wilmington University	DE	42	$47,002	$15,644	+$407K
35	University of Florida	FL	42	$23,493	$6,541†	+$209K
36	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	41	$66,407	$36,708	+$517K
37	University of South Dakota	SD	41	$44,109	$19,858†	+$362K
38	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO	41	$39,289	$13,310†	+$340K
39	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	41	$39,186	$20,268†	+$311K
40	University of North Florida	FL	41	$36,199	$10,154†	+$321K
41	San Diego State University	CA	41	$35,624	$15,364†	+$295K
42	University of South Florida	FL	41	$34,073	$9,812†	+$301K
43	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	40	$37,198	$15,927†	+$308K
44	California State University-Stanislaus	CA	40	$36,383	$6,067†	+$340K
45	Rhode Island College	RI	40	$34,995	$9,478†	+$312K
46	William Paterson University of New Jersey	NJ	39	$34,657	$18,745†	+$272K
47	Idaho State University	ID	39	$33,122	$12,193†	+$282K
48	University of Kentucky	KY	39	$19,370	$18,851†	+$118K
49	University of the Incarnate Word	TX	38	$41,126	$22,775	+$320K
50	University of Minnesota-Crookston	MN	38	$40,361	$12,212†	+$355K
51	Shepherd University	WV	38	$39,351	$11,363†	+$348K
52	Portland State University	OR	38	$37,709	$9,552†	+$339K
53	Franklin Pierce University	NH	38	$32,808	$27,154	+$219K
54	Otterbein University	OH	38	$30,581	$19,237	+$229K
55	Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences	MA	37	$49,788	$39,545	+$340K
56	Ball State University	IN	37	$41,603	$14,940†	+$356K
57	Texas Woman's University	TX	37	$34,755	$11,963†	+$300K
58	Purdue University Northwest	IN	37	$33,944	$6,079†	+$315K
59	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	36	$34,454	$10,836†	+$301K
60	The University of Texas at Tyler	TX	36	$34,350	$13,323†	+$290K
61	Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	36	$33,871	$12,568†	+$288K
62	University of Central Florida	FL	36	$27,531	$10,411†	+$234K
63	University of Michigan-Flint	MI	36	$26,225	$7,007†	+$234K
64	Pace University	NY	35	$46,458	$30,892	+$341K
65	Lamar University	TX	35	$31,061	$9,366†	+$273K
66	Indiana University-Kokomo	IN	35	$30,760	$3,968†	+$292K
67	North Park University	IL	34	$40,374	$16,948	+$336K
68	Clayton State University	GA	34	$34,006	$8,365†	+$307K
69	University of Houston	TX	34	$32,447	$14,276†	+$267K
70	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	34	$27,347	$19,608†	+$195K
71	Los Angeles Pacific University	CA	33	$42,012	$22,677	+$329K
72	Husson University	ME	33	$40,361	$21,005	+$320K
73	Keene State College	NH	33	$36,956	$17,887†	+$298K
74	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	CO	33	$32,393	$15,788†	+$261K
75	University of Northern Colorado	CO	32	$39,099	$17,760†	+$320K
76	University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne	IN	32	$38,878	$18,196	+$316K
77	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	32	$37,967	$14,967†	+$320K
78	DePaul University	IL	32	$34,897	$30,902	+$225K
79	California State University-Channel Islands	CA	32	$34,053	$9,849†	+$301K
80	Indiana University-South Bend	IN	32	$32,829	$8,653†	+$294K
81	Wheaton College	IL	32	$32,375	$26,975	+$216K
82	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	32	$20,631	$18,267†	+$133K
83	Alvernia University	PA	31	$42,607	$28,138	+$314K
84	Johnson & Wales University-Online	RI	31	$39,502	$20,252	+$314K
85	Wichita State University	KS	31	$36,010	$13,194†	+$307K
86	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	31	$35,810	$24,022†	+$262K
87	Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi	TX	31	$34,063	$15,225†	+$280K
88	Florida Atlantic University	FL	31	$32,257	$8,752†	+$288K
89	Arkansas State University	AR	31	$30,586	$12,366†	+$256K
90	Stockton University	NJ	31	$25,791	$20,670†	+$175K
91	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale	FL	30	$41,965	$30,498	+$298K
92	New Jersey City University	NJ	30	$37,691	$16,053†	+$313K
93	University of Central Missouri	MO	30	$33,674	$14,462†	+$279K
94	Utica University	NY	30	$32,043	$19,108	+$244K
95	California Baptist University	CA	30	$31,550	$26,285	+$210K
96	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	29	$39,553	$39,949	+$236K
97	Johnson & Wales University-Providence	RI	29	$39,502	$31,027	+$271K
98	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte	NC	29	$39,502	$27,426	+$285K
99	Saint Louis University	MO	29	$29,092	$24,398	+$193K
100	Nicholls State University	LA	29	$28,062	$12,947†	+$229K
101	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	28	$37,331	$21,315†	+$288K
102	Maria College of Albany	NY	28	$34,127	$13,082	+$289K
103	Prairie View A & M University	TX	28	$32,266	$13,570†	+$268K
104	University of Hartford	CT	28	$32,157	$30,282	+$200K
105	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	28	$31,491	$14,260†	+$258K
106	Trinity Washington University	DC	28	$30,904	$9,302	+$272K
107	Springfield College	MA	28	$11,874	$30,587	−$4K
108	University of Vermont	VT	27	$36,441	$19,343†	+$287K
109	University of Arkansas at Little Rock	AR	27	$35,746	$17,248†	+$288K
110	University of Delaware	DE	27	$35,637	$17,799†	+$285K
111	Stetson University	FL	26	$30,106	$19,372	+$224K
112	Moravian University	PA	25	$35,991	$30,670	+$237K
113	Lincoln University	PA	24	$32,664	$14,977†	+$267K
114	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	24	$29,735	$10,974†	+$253K
115	The College of Idaho	ID	24	$25,897	$19,481	+$181K
116	Jacksonville State University	AL	24	$24,692	$14,279†	+$190K
117	Spalding University	KY	23	$33,822	$25,491	+$236K
118	Northwest Missouri State University	MO	23	$32,268	$16,244†	+$258K
119	Angelo State University	TX	23	$31,780	$15,091†	+$257K
120	Georgia Southern University	GA	23	$31,582	$15,267†	+$255K
121	University of West Georgia	GA	23	$30,522	$12,786†	+$254K
122	Columbus State University	GA	23	$30,382	$13,115†	+$251K
123	University of New England	ME	23	$30,169	$38,107	+$149K
124	Monmouth University	NJ	23	$29,770	$30,988	+$174K
125	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	23	$29,455	$13,624†	+$240K
126	Valdosta State University	GA	23	$28,490	$10,945†	+$241K
127	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	23	$27,553	$13,739†	+$221K
128	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	22	$32,962	$21,067†	+$245K
129	Carroll College	MT	21	$30,457	$23,960	+$209K
130	Florida State University	FL	21	$27,277	$11,297†	+$228K
131	Stonehill College	MA	19	$31,215	$33,016	+$180K
132	Merrimack College	MA	19	$31,161	$37,927	+$160K
133	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	19	$29,260	$17,490†	+$223K
134	West Texas A & M University	TX	19	$26,513	$19,487†	+$187K
135	Temple University	PA	18	$29,950	$28,198†	+$187K
136	Sam Houston State University	TX	18	$27,611	$16,404†	+$210K
137	AdventHealth University	FL	17	$29,287	$30,135	+$172K
138	Spelman College	GA	17	$28,357	$38,967	+$128K
139	Messiah University	PA	17	$28,275	$26,502	+$177K
140	Rowan University	NJ	17	$27,584	$22,408†	+$186K
141	Lee University	TN	17	$26,734	$18,878	+$192K
142	The University of Tampa	FL	17	$26,672	$36,211	+$122K
143	North Greenville University	SC	16	$26,681	$21,063	+$183K
144	Tuskegee University	AL	16	$26,437	$35,013	+$124K
145	Marymount University	VA	16	$25,727	$29,137	+$141K
146	Texas Southern University	TX	15	$20,655	$16,590†	+$140K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

Northern Kentucky University takes the #1 spot because of its geography and its airtight local pipelines. Sitting just across the river from Cincinnati's massive medical hub, NKU has deeply integrated partnerships with St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Students are logging clinical hours and landing job offers in health administration and allied health long before they cross the graduation stage.

But the most fascinating story in this ranking is how specialized, hyper-local programs dominate traditional universities. Take the University of Minnesota-Rochester at #3: the campus is essentially embedded within the Mayo Clinic, giving undergraduates unparalleled, resume-making access to one of the world's premier hospital systems. Even more surprising is Seattle Central College landing at #4. It offers an applied bachelor's degree that feeds students straight into Seattle's high-wage medical sector—like UW Medicine and Swedish Medical Center—for a fraction of the cost of a traditional four-year university. Similarly, the California State University system flexes its structural advantage with five campuses in the top 25. The CSU formula is unbeatable for this major: heavily subsidized tuition paired with California's aggressive healthcare wages.

What is Health Sciences?

Think of Health Sciences as the Swiss Army knife of healthcare degrees, bridging the gap between hard clinical science and healthcare administration. Graduates often step directly into non-clinical roles like hospital operations, public health coordination, and health tech, or they use the degree as a strategic, prerequisite-heavy launchpad for graduate clinical programs to become physician assistants, physical therapists, or healthcare administrators.

Frequently asked questions

Should I major in Health Sciences or Nursing?

If you know you want to be a registered nurse, major in Nursing (BSN)—it is a direct, licensure-track degree. Health Sciences is the better choice if you want to work in healthcare administration, public health, or if you are using it as a pre-professional track to apply for medical, physician assistant, or physical therapy school down the line.

Do I need to go to graduate school with this degree?

Not necessarily, but it dictates your career ceiling. A bachelor's degree alone can land you solid roles in health services management, medical device sales, or clinical research coordination. However, if your goal is to practice in a high-paying clinical specialty—like becoming an occupational therapist or a PA—you will absolutely need to pursue a master's or doctorate.

Why do regional public schools and community colleges dominate this list?

Because healthcare is a credential-driven, highly regulated industry. Employers care about your clinical hours, your specific technical skills, and your prerequisite coursework. A healthcare administrator or allied health professional with a degree from a regional state school checks the exact same boxes as one from an expensive private university, but the state school graduate enters the workforce without a crushing debt load.