Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Louisiana, Ranked (2026)
One of the two PhD in nursing programs in Louisiana is at a historically Black university. Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge runs a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, and nationally that's rare, because very few HBCUs offer a nursing doctorate at all. The other program is at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Both are public, both are taught on campus, and between them they turn the whole state into a two-city decision.
Last updated
Programs ranked
2
Universities
2
Nursing faculty median
$79,960
Faculty jobs in LA
440
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Louisiana
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.
Louisiana's two PhDs split on who they let in and what they study. This one is built around health disparities in underserved and minority populations, vulnerable-population policy and global health, at the state's HBCU land-grant.
Where it wins. It's the faster of the two and the only one you can start in January. Three years against four to five in New Orleans, with two intakes a year, April 15 for fall and November 1 for spring, rather than a single June cutoff.
What you give up. You need the master's first. Admission runs from an MSN, so a BSN-prepared nurse has to go to New Orleans or out of state, and you also have to interview in person and hold a current Louisiana RN license.
Research. global health issues, public policy related to the health of vulnerable populations, health disparities among underserved and minority populations, nursing education, clinical practice, and leadership.
For a BSN-prepared nurse this is the only Louisiana route, because Baton Rouge admits from a master's only. It's also the one attached to a health sciences center rather than a general campus, with 2,750 students, all in health professions.
Where it wins. The financial engineering is the real draw. Tuition is $457 a credit, so 61 credits from a master's runs about $27,900, and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program can cover tuition and fees for five years with 85 percent forgiven after four years teaching.
What you give up. It's slow. Four to five years from a master's, five to seven from a BSN, and the 3.5 GPA floor is the higher of the two. Louisiana's faculty median of $79,960 also sits within $270 of the state RN median.
Funding. Nurse Faculty Loan Program covers in-state or out-of-state tuition and fees including the Excellence Fee for up to five years, with 85% forgiven for four years of full-time US nursing faculty service; a separate PhD in Nursing Scholarship covers in-state tuition and fees for up to five years of part-time study capped at 17 credits a year.
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Louisiana
Louisiana's nursing faculty median is $79,960 and the state's RN median is $80,230, a difference of $270. Teaching and bedside work pay about the same here, which is unusual, but the reason is that Louisiana RN pay sits $17,320 under the national RN median of $97,550, not that faculty pay is strong. The faculty figure is close to the national faculty median of $80,250. The bigger caution is the size of the base. About 440 people hold postsecondary nursing instructor jobs in the entire state, so that median rests on a small count and can swing from year to year. The faculty range runs from $49,370 to $127,910.
The median time to degree across Louisiana's two programs is 5.25 years, against a median load of 61 credits. Read that combination carefully. It isn't a heavy credit count, so the years are going into the dissertation and the data collection rather than into coursework, and that's the part of a PhD that stretches when funding or a committee's attention runs thin.
Louisiana awards about two nursing doctorates a year, which says the same thing from the other direction. Both programs are small and both are taught on campus, at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge and at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Only one of the two lists a part-time track, and only one admits straight from a BSN, so the entry route narrows depending on what you already hold.
If you apply, ask each school what its students' actual completion times look like and who pays for the years after the coursework ends. In a state with two programs and a 5.25-year median, that answer decides more than the ranking does.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Louisiana
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Louisiana?
2, at 2 universities. 2 are campus-based and 0 run online.
Is there an HBCU nursing PhD program in Louisiana?
Yes. Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing on campus, and it's one of a small number of HBCU nursing doctorates in the country.
Can you earn a nursing PhD online in Louisiana?
Both Louisiana programs are taught on campus, in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. If you can't be in one of those two cities, online programs based in other states are the realistic route.
What do nursing professors earn in Louisiana?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Louisiana earn a $79,960 median. The bottom 10% earn $49,370 and the top 10% clear $127,910, across 440 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Louisiana without moving?
Every nursing PhD program in Louisiana is campus-based, so studying in state means commuting or moving. The alternative is an online program based elsewhere, and those are ranked here.