Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Doane University

Doane University's nursing program shows strong first-year earnings of $80,849—ranking in the 74th percentile nationally and comfortably above Nebraska's median of $74,175. Graduates carry $37,741 in debt, but with a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.47, that's manageable by nursing standards. What sets Doane apart among Nebraska's 11 nursing programs is relatively low borrowing: the debt level sits in just the 8th percentile nationally, meaning 92% of nursing programs saddle students with more debt.

The complication is an unusual earnings pattern. By year four, median earnings drop to $67,042—a 17% decline that contradicts the typical nursing trajectory. This could reflect career transitions, part-time work, or geographic moves, but with fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, it might simply be noise. A few graduates making different choices can dramatically skew these numbers.

For Nebraska families, Doane delivers competitive first-year outcomes at lower debt than nearby alternatives like Midland or Clarkson. The small sample size means you shouldn't read too much into the year-four dip—the strong starting salary and reasonable debt load suggest solid fundamentals. Just recognize these specific numbers may not predict your child's experience as reliably as data from larger programs would.