Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Indiana, Ranked (2026)
Indiana awards about 10 nursing doctorates a year. That's a very small annual cohort, and it tells you something the program count doesn't: the two PhD in nursing programs in Indiana are small, selective operations rather than volume producers. Indiana University-Indianapolis runs a PhD in Nursing Science and Purdue University runs a PhD in Nursing out of West Lafayette. Both are public. Both are on campus. A cohort that size means you'll know every other student in your year, and it means the faculty admitting you have room for very few people.
Last updated
Programs ranked
2
Universities
2
Nursing faculty median
$76,080
Faculty jobs in IN
1,520
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Indiana
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.
Indiana's two nursing PhDs are both public, both campus-based and both 90 credits, so the split is research money. This one holds $10 million of the state's $10.5 million in NINR funding across 21 awards.
Where it wins. Required courses are scheduled on one known weekday, so you can plan a job around it, and part-time study is a real route at five to six years. Every student is paired with a faculty researcher as mentor, and funding runs to tuition remission, stipend and health insurance.
What you give up. That funding is competitive, not automatic, so an offer of admission isn't an offer of a stipend. Ninety credits is a long build even at three to four years full time, and the weekday classes tie you to Indianapolis whether you commute or move.
Funding. The IU School of Nursing offers competitive funding for PhD students, including tuition remission, a stipend, and health insurance. Funding is competitive rather than automatic.
Research. Clinical Nursing Science, Health Systems, Behavioral oncology across the cancer continuum, Family caregiving across the lifespan, Nursing informatics, Health policy and public policy analysis.
Every published detail for Indiana University-Indianapolis
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
Indiana University School of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
January 15
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Required PhD courses are scheduled across one day each week on the IU Indianapolis campus so students know in advance which day to be available
Price is the argument here. Purdue lists $347.85 a credit, so the 90-credit degree comes to about $31,300 before any scholarship, and full-tuition awards or assistantships are on the table for full-time students.
Where it wins. The BS-to-PhD track opened in Fall 2023, so a new BSN graduate can go straight into a doctorate. Purdue keeps this deliberately campus-based rather than online, and a non-credit PhD seminar runs through the whole program, which is the sort of structure a first-time researcher needs.
What you give up. Research funding is thin: $495,000 across three NINR awards, against $10 million and 21 awards at Indianapolis, and Purdue graduates two nurses a year. It's also genuinely residential in West Lafayette, so you relocate or drive.
Funding. "The School of Nursing offers financial support to admitted full-time students in the form of full-tuition scholarships or research and teaching assistantships, based on available funds."
Research. innovative care, innovations in healthcare delivery systems.
Every published detail for Purdue University
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
Purdue University School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Sciences
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
Minimum GPA
3
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Campus-based study at West Lafayette; a non-credit PhD Seminar meets regularly throughout the program.
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Indiana
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Indiana have a median wage of $76,080, which sits $4,170 below the national median of $80,250. The state's registered nurses have a median of $83,500, itself $14,050 under the national RN median of $97,550. Both sides of the Indiana nursing wage picture run low, and the gap between them is only $7,420. That changes the calculation on a doctorate. In most places moving into teaching costs you a large pay cut, and in Indiana that cut is smaller mostly because RN wages here start lower. About 1,520 instructors work statewide, with a tenth percentile of $48,740 and a ninetieth of $107,420.
Do You Have to Be on Campus for a Nursing PhD in Indiana?
Yes. Both programs are on campus. Indiana University-Indianapolis runs its PhD in Nursing Science in Indianapolis and Purdue University runs its PhD in Nursing in West Lafayette, and neither offers an online route. If you can't get to one of those two cities on a regular schedule, an Indiana nursing PhD isn't available to you, and what you're really shopping for is an online program based somewhere else.
The workload is heavy too. The median Indiana nursing PhD runs 90 credits against a median of about 4.25 years to finish, so the coursework is dense from the start. Both programs require the GRE, so budget time and money for the test. One of the two takes part-time students, which means the other expects you full time and on campus.
The two schools are also far apart on score. Indiana University-Indianapolis takes 71.8 and Purdue takes 47.6, a gap of more than 24 points, which is wide for two programs in the same state. Both admit BSN holders directly, so a master's isn't required at either. Indiana holds $10,515,995 in NIH nursing research awards from FY2021 through FY2025.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Indiana
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Indiana?
2, at 2 universities. 2 are campus-based and 0 run online.
Can you do a PhD in nursing online in Indiana?
Not through an Indiana school. Both in-state programs are on campus, at Indiana University-Indianapolis and at Purdue University in West Lafayette. One of the two accepts part-time students, but that still means being in the city on a schedule.
Do Indiana nursing PhD programs require the GRE?
Both do. Neither Indiana program has dropped the test, so plan for it in your application timeline. Both admit BSN holders directly, and the median program runs 90 credits over about 4.25 years.
What do nursing professors earn in Indiana?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Indiana earn a $76,080 median. The bottom 10% earn $48,740 and the top 10% clear $107,420, across 1,520 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Indiana without moving?
Every nursing PhD program in Indiana is campus-based, so studying in state means commuting or moving. The alternative is an online program based elsewhere, and those are ranked here.