Every ranked institution in Pennsylvania, with what the federal record
publishes for it and how its score was composed.
Ranked 1 of 20
West Chester, PA
79.1 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Public
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
West Chester runs a cohort model over six semesters, and the detail that shapes your calendar is that those semesters are fall and spring only. No summer terms means the sequence is fixed at three academic years, with no way to accelerate through a break. The curriculum splits into three named blocks, 10 credits of nursing science, 9 of leadership and 16 of practice, so 35 credits with practice carrying the largest share. It builds on a master’s rather than starting from a bachelor’s. In-state tuition sits in the lowest seventh on this site, which makes this one of the cheaper routes to the credential for a Pennsylvania resident.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 100
- Established program 62.7
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 47.5
Ranked 2 of 20
Philadelphia, PA
72.1 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Public
- Doctorate (professional)
Temple houses its nursing doctorate inside a college of public health rather than a standalone school of nursing, so the people around you are epidemiologists, biostatisticians and physical therapists as well as nurses. That shapes the degree toward population-level work. Classes meet one day a week at the Health Sciences Center, which is the most useful scheduling fact on this card, because it lets you plan a year of shifts around one fixed day. Many courses mix online and in-person delivery. Both entries, from a bachelor’s and from a master’s, run full-time or part-time, and you can take the degree with or without a concentration. The scholarly project starts in your first year rather than waiting until the end.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 75.9
- Established program 73
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 57.5
Ranked 3 of 20
Waynesburg, PA
67.3 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Waynesburg asks for a portfolio, capped at 25 pages, evidencing your professional career. Almost no nursing doctorate requires one, and it takes real time to assemble. It also wants a written letter of support from your clinical practice setting, so your employer has to know you are applying. Advanced practice nurses show either national certification or 500 documented hours of clinical practice from their master’s. A graduate degree in another discipline is accepted alongside a nursing bachelor’s, but it gets evaluated individually and additional master’s-level courses are added. One deadline is easy to miss: you must start within a year of being admitted, and applications go inactive and are destroyed after a year. The degree is 36 credits over three or four years.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 64.1
- Established program 85.7
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 35
Ranked 4 of 20
Moon Township, PA
67.2 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Robert Morris runs two practitioner doctorates and publishes both as course sequences, which shows you what the training actually contains. The psychiatric mental health route is the more detailed of the two: separate practicums for diagnosis across the lifespan, for managing disorders in two stages, for psychotherapy with individuals and again with families, and one specifically on psychiatric care of older adults. Psychotherapy with families as its own supervised course is not standard, and it matters if you expect to work with them. The family practice route covers women’s health, adults in two stages, and children and adolescents, each with a practicum of its own. Both run on campus and by distance education, and both lead to specialty certification eligibility.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 54.9
- Established program 98.5
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 35
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Gannon runs its DNP as a bridge from an MSN rather than as a standalone doctorate, and it sizes that bridge to what you already did: 26 to 32 credits, with where you land inside that range decided by how many clinical hours your master’s brought with it. Six credits is a semester’s difference, so it is worth establishing early rather than after you enroll. It charges one published rate whichever state you live in, so residency does not move the price here the way it does at a public university. And it confers a substantial number of doctorates a year for a private institution of about 4,200 students, which points to an established program rather than a new one.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 46.6
- Established program 100
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 35
Ranked 6 of 20
California, PA
62.5 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Public
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
PennWest runs its doctorate fully online at 27 credits, taken part-time across five semesters. The hour arithmetic is the part to read twice: the degree requires 1,000 clinical hours counted across your master’s and this program together, it accepts 500 transferred hours from master’s-level work, and it builds in a further 504 practicum hours. A nurse arriving with a full master’s practicum has a clear path through that, and one arriving short does not. You have to supply written documentation of the hours your master’s included at the point of application rather than later. A master’s in a related field such as business or health science can qualify you if you also hold a bachelor’s in nursing.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 100
- Established program 35.7
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 0
Ranked 7 of 20
Wilkes-Barre, PA
59.4 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Wilkes runs its post-master’s doctorate online and mostly asynchronously, and it counts indirect clinical hours toward the total, which matters if your work is systems and leadership rather than direct patient care. How many hours you owe depends on what your master’s already covered, so the number gets settled against your transcript instead of being published as one figure. The catalog also carries a course whose stated purpose is giving students more time to finish the required 1,000 hours. That is a quiet admission that the hours are where people run long, and it is more useful than a completion estimate. If you are here to move into a leadership role rather than a new clinical population, the shape fits that.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 42.8
- Established program 96.9
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 27.5
Ranked 8 of 20
Pittsburgh, PA
58.8 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Chatham runs a 27-credit low-residency post-master’s doctorate that can be finished in four terms, one of the shorter honest routes on this site. The 500-hour rule is the one to read carefully: if you have not completed 500 clinical hours before you enroll, the shortfall has to be made up during the program, and it is required for the degree to be conferred. A lighter master’s practicum turns into extra work here rather than a waiver. The admission essay asks you to describe a clinical problem in your own practice setting and explain how you would spend those 500 hours changing it, so the application is effectively a project proposal. There is no prerequisite course list, but faculty expect research methods and statistics behind you.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 39.4
- Established program 100
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 27.5
Ranked 9 of 20
Philadelphia, PA
58.8 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Jefferson’s nurse anesthesia doctorate publishes the number that matters most in that field: more than 650 anesthetics administered across over 2,000 clinical hours, inside an integrated 36-month, nine-semester program of 85 credits, accredited through 2029. Case volume is what separates anesthesia programs from each other, and most of them do not state it. The condition attached is unusual and expensive to miss. Every student must hold active Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware nursing licenses before clinical work starts, and keep all three current for the whole program, because the rotations cross state lines. Three licenses, three renewal cycles, three sets of fees. From fall 2026 the college is adding program options in Center Valley through a partnership with a 33-hospital health network.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 34.9
- Established program 100
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 42.5
Ranked 10 of 20
Dallas, PA
56 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Misericordia has taught nursing for more than 75 years and carries Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accreditation across the bachelor’s, master’s, post-graduate advanced practice certificate and the doctorate. Against a student body of a few thousand, its doctoral output sits in the top quarter of accredited institutions nationally, which is more than a university this size usually manages and suggests the program is a priority rather than an afterthought. The doctorate carries no distance flag in its federal filing, so plan on being in Dallas, Pennsylvania. The university also publishes merit and need-based aid that can exceed twenty thousand dollars a year for students who qualify.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 48.1
- Established program 69.9
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 50
Ranked 11 of 20
Pittsburgh, PA
53.6 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Carlow runs a women’s health and gender-related nurse practitioner master’s alongside its family practice route, a specialization very few schools staff and a real alternative if that is the population you want to work with. The doctorate sits above them and is filed federally as a distance program. The psychiatric mental health practitioner route and its post-master’s certificate are taught online. This is a small Catholic university in Pittsburgh founded by the Sisters of Mercy, and its doctoral output against size sits in the top third of accredited institutions nationally, so the program is a genuine part of the place rather than an add-on.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 54.6
- Established program 66.5
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 20
Ranked 12 of 20
Villanova, PA
50 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Villanova is blunt about what its nurse anesthesia track takes: more than 2,000 hours of clinical experience and no fewer than 700 cases, and the college states plainly that the average weekly commitment may run to 60 hours or more. That is a full-time job with a doctorate attached, and it is the frankest statement of the trade any school on this site publishes. Rotations move you deliberately from simple to complex cases across several sites rather than keeping you in one. The post-master’s track is a different proposition: it starts in early summer with an on-campus residency, so your first commitment is a fixed date rather than a rota you can negotiate.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 0
- Established program 100
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 100
Ranked 13 of 20
Pittsburgh, PA
47.7 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
2 DNP tracks at this
institution, Nursing administration, Nursing practice (general). Ranked once, on the largest.
Duquesne’+A+’s DNP is hybrid, and its nurse anesthesia curriculum rotates you through adult, pediatric, obstetric and ambulatory anesthesia rather than concentrating in one setting, which is the breadth a certification exam assumes. Nineteen doctorates a year from a private university of 8,234 in Pittsburgh puts it among the more established programs in western Pennsylvania, and federal records flag it for distance study. Pittsburgh has three accredited institutions to Philadelphia’+A+’s eleven, so the local competition for preceptors is thinner at one end of the state than the other. The nurse anesthesia route is a 92-credit plan across nine semesters and 36 months, and it wants two years of critical care behind you before you start. A residency does not count toward that two years.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 30.2
- Established program 66.5
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 62.5
Ranked 14 of 20
Mechanicsburg, PA
47.3 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Messiah runs three doctoral tracks online, family nurse practitioner, nurse educator and nursing leadership, and the leadership one is written for nurses who already hold a master’s in nursing or a related field. The practitioner route is the heavy one, published at 82 credits with 1,215 clinical hours, which is a bachelor’s-entry load rather than a top-up. Messiah also advertises no-fee tuition, meaning the published rate is the rate rather than a base you add course and technology charges to, and that is worth checking against whatever you compare it with. It is a small private university, so the doctoral cohort is small, and every track is taught online rather than in Mechanicsburg.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 43.2
- Established program 48.8
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 57.5
Ranked 15 of 20
Philadelphia, PA
45 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
La Salle runs two DNP routes that ask for very different lives. The post-master’+A+’s track is aimed at nurses moving into organizational policy, quality improvement and executive roles, and can be fitted around work. The nurse anesthesia route is a 41-month integrated hybrid program of didactic and clinical work ending in a scholarly project, taught through the Frank J. Tornetta school, and 41 months of it is close to continuous. Both sit in Philadelphia, where eleven accredited institutions compete for clinical placements, so ask early how each one arranges yours. Post-MSN students choose their pace explicitly, six credits a semester full time or three part time, and the required clinical hours vary with what you arrive holding. The post-BSN anesthesia route is built differently again: 24 months of coursework, then a 29-month clinical residency on site at the Tornetta program.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 52.2
- Established program 48.8
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 12.5
Ranked 16 of 20
Philadelphia, PA
40.5 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
2 DNP tracks at this
institution, Family nurse practitioner, Nursing practice (general). Ranked once, on the largest.
Holy Family runs its post-master’s doctorate online for advanced practice registered nurses, and takes you part-time or full-time, so the pace is yours rather than a cohort’s. The admission conditions are specific and worth reading before you pay an application fee. Your BSN or MSN has to come from a program accredited by CCNE, ACEN or CNEA, the undergraduate grade point average floor is 3.0, and the application asks for a statement of goals naming the scholarly project you intend to pursue. That last one is unusual at application stage, because most schools let you settle the project after you enroll. Holy Family also files a family nurse practitioner track beside the general doctorate. It is a private university of about 3,200 students, and the doctoral cohort is small to match.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 55.4
- Established program 27
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 22.5
Ranked 17 of 20
Philadelphia, PA
37.5 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
- Offered online
Drexel sets an entry floor other schools leave implicit: no fewer than 400 precepted practice hours completed during your graduate studies, documented on a verification form your previous program has to sign. If your master’s practicum fell short of that, you are not eligible yet, and it is worth checking that before anything else. The cumulative graduate grade point average floor is 3.2, above the usual 3.0. Two tracks run. The advanced clinical expert route requires you to already hold advanced practice national certification. The leadership route accepts advanced certification or the 400 documented hours in its place. The application asks you to identify a practice problem that intrigues you and say how the doctorate would help you fix it.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 11.5
- Established program 62.7
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 65
Ranked 18 of 20
Center Valley, PA
26 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
DeSales offers its post-master’+A+’s DNP full or part-time with two concentrations, clinical leadership and executive leadership, so the choice is between deepening practice and moving away from it. The detail worth planning around is financial rather than academic: acute care nurse practitioner students have access to partner loan repayment of up to $65,000 for a three-year commitment, which against a $45,000 published rate changes the arithmetic considerably for anyone willing to sign one. Admission runs on cohort deposits with fixed deadlines, so a place is held by paying rather than by accepting. DeSales gates each track on prior experience rather than on one blanket requirement. The family route wants 24 months caring for adults, the adult-gerontology acute care route 24 months of adult acute or ICU work, and the psychiatric route 24 months in mental health, all before you enter the clinical sequence.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 36.9
- Established program 0
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 50
Ranked 19 of 20
Scranton, PA
22 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (professional)
Scranton runs a 30-credit post-master’+A+’s leadership DNP at $772 per credit, which is one of the few programs on this site to publish a per-credit rate rather than an annual figure, and it makes the arithmetic straightforward. The format is executive: online coursework built on the assumption that you are practicing full-time while you study, which is a design choice rather than a concession. All students complete a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours toward the capstone, and advanced practice students are credited for hours already completed in a master’+A+’s specialty. The framing is Jesuit, with the emphasis on ethical leadership and service alongside the clinical content.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 23.1
- Established program 0
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 70
Ranked 20 of 20
Chester, PA
16.3 of 100
- CCNE-accredited
- Private nonprofit
- Doctorate (research)
Widener settles your clinical hours by audit rather than by rule. Every post-MSN applicant gets a gap analysis, in which the hours you completed toward your master’s are applied against the 1,000 the doctorate requires, and if that leaves you short you make up the difference inside the DNP project courses. Health systems leadership works the same way, with the shortfall covered by two specialization courses carrying roughly 150 to 167 hours between them. So two people admitted in the same year can owe very different amounts of clinical time, and you will not know which you are until the analysis is done. The GRE is not required.
Scored on
- Published in-state graduate tuition 20.6
- Established program 0
- Institution-wide undergraduate completion 40
