Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Colorado, Ranked (2026)
Neither of the two PhD in nursing programs in Colorado is a campus program. The University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus delivers its PhD online, and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley delivers its online too. If you were picturing an office down the hall from your advisor and a lab you badge into, Colorado won't give you that. What it gives you instead is a doctorate you can do from anywhere in the state without moving, and both programs take part-time students, which is a trade a lot of working nurses would make.
Last updated
Programs ranked
2
Universities
2
Nursing faculty median
$82,530
Faculty jobs in CO
1,350
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Colorado
Campus and online programs are scored on separate models, because they compete on different
things, and this page lists both together with each one's score from its own model. Research
funding comes from NIH RePORTER, doctoral scale from federal IPEDS completions, and the
curriculum, funding and deadline figures from each school's own pages.
The full scoring model is here.
Colorado has no on-campus nursing PhD, so the real question is what you fly to. Anschutz asks for three trips to Aurora a year and holds $17.7 million in NINR funding across 37 awards, most of the research money in the state.
Where it wins. It's the only Colorado route in from a BSN, so a nurse without a master's has one in-state option. Sixty credits at $766 works out at $45,960, roughly $7,000 under the Greeley program, and you pick a focal area at application rather than drifting into one.
What you give up. Three campus intensives a year, one of them five days, is real travel if you live outside the Front Range. Admission also wants a 3.5 graduate GPA and a scholarly paper, and the program awards three PhDs a year against 43 DNPs.
Funding. Nurse Faculty Loan Program participation and Jonas Philanthropies grant money, plus general scholarships and financial aid. Funding is not guaranteed.
Research. Biobehavioral Sciences, Caring Science, Health Care Systems Research.
Every published detail for CU Anschutz
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Online
School
University of Colorado College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
January 15 priority deadline
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Three on-campus PhD intensives per year in Aurora, CO, including a 5-day in-person cohort intensive
One five-day trip to Greeley before you start, then everything is online. Against the three intensives a year Anschutz wants, that is much lighter travel, and it's the deciding factor if you can't fly to Colorado repeatedly.
Where it wins. Tuition is $802 a credit flat with no student or technology fees, charged the same whether you live in Colorado or not, so an out-of-state applicant pays the in-state price. It also graduates six PhDs a year, twice Anschutz's three.
What you give up. This is a Nursing Education PhD, aimed at faculty work rather than clinical or biobehavioral science, and entry requires a master's, so a BSN-only nurse can't apply. Sixty-six credits at $802 comes to $52,932, the higher of the two.
Funding. No funding package is offered; students pay a flat per-credit tuition rate and are directed to FAFSA-based federal financial aid.
Research. research to generate new knowledge that advances nursing science, leadership to advance the professional discipline of nursing, education promoting innovative, evidence-based teaching.
Every published detail for University of Northern Colorado
Degree awarded
PhD (Nursing Education)
Delivery
Online
School
UNC School of Nursing
Entry points
MSN-to-PhD, post-master's
GRE
Not required
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
February 1 (priority)
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
A required 5-day orientation on UNC's Greeley campus the summer before coursework begins, including sessions with faculty and attendance at the Nurse Educator Conference in the Rocky Mountains.
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Colorado
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Colorado have a median wage of $82,530, $2,280 above the national median of $80,250. Registered nurses in the state have a median of $100,260, so faculty pay sits $17,730 below bedside pay. The spread is the thing to look at here: $39,850 at the tenth percentile and $127,800 at the ninetieth, across about 1,350 instructors. That's a range of nearly $88,000 between the bottom tenth and the top tenth of the same occupation in the same state. A median tells you very little in a distribution that wide. Where you land depends on rank, institution and how much of your salary comes off grants.
Is a Colorado Nursing PhD a Research Degree or a Teaching Degree?
The two programs answer that differently, and the answer is sitting in the program names. The University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing, scoring 74.5, first in the state. The University of Northern Colorado offers a Nursing Education PhD out of Greeley, scoring 72.8. One is a general nursing research doctorate. The other is explicitly about preparing nurse educators. If you want to run a funded research program, those two are not interchangeable, and the 1.7 points between them say nothing about which one fits you.
Colorado holds $20,050,854 in NIH nursing research awards from FY2021 through FY2025 while awarding about 12 nursing doctorates a year. That's a lot of research money moving through a state that graduates very few nursing PhDs, and it means the research infrastructure exists whether or not the doctoral pipeline is feeding it.
On the practical side, the median Colorado program runs 63 credits and about 3.9 years. One of the two admits BSN holders directly, so if you're coming without a master's, that halves your options before you start. One of the two drops the GRE.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Colorado
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Colorado?
2, at 2 universities. 0 are campus-based and 2 run online.
Can you get a PhD in nursing online in Colorado?
Both Colorado programs are online. The University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley offers a Nursing Education PhD. Both accept part-time students, so neither requires you to relocate.
Do you need a master's to apply to a nursing PhD in Colorado?
At one of the two, no. One Colorado program admits BSN holders directly, the other doesn't, so a bachelor's-only application narrows you to a single school. The median program runs 63 credits over about 3.9 years.
What do nursing professors earn in Colorado?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Colorado earn a $82,530 median. The bottom 10% earn $39,850 and the top 10% clear $127,800, across 1,350 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Colorado without moving?
2 of the 2 programs in Colorado run online. You can also apply to any of the online programs based in other states, since an online nursing PhD does not care where you live. They are all ranked here.