Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at University of the Cumberlands

University of the Cumberlands produces nurses who earn $81,012 in their first year—roughly $10,500 more than the typical Kentucky nursing graduate. That's a meaningful premium, though the program lands squarely in the middle of Kentucky's nursing offerings (60th percentile), trailing schools like Beckfield College and University of Pikeville by about $2,000. Nationally, the program performs even better, reaching the 75th percentile among over 1,100 nursing programs.

The financial equation looks solid: $29,400 in median debt translates to just 36 cents of debt for every dollar of first-year earnings. That's better than the national median for nursing programs, and the debt load itself sits comfortably below average. For context, nearly half of students here receive Pell grants, suggesting the program serves less affluent students without saddling them with excessive debt.

This represents a straightforward path into a well-paying profession. Your child would graduate earning more than most Kentucky nurses while taking on manageable debt. The program isn't the absolute top performer in the state, but it delivers strong outcomes at a reasonable cost—exactly what you want from a nursing degree.