Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Michigan, Ranked (2026)
Every nursing PhD in Michigan is at a public university. The four PhD in nursing programs in Michigan run out of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan State in East Lansing, and Wayne State in Detroit, with no private option anywhere in the state. That makes in-state residency the biggest cost variable you control, so read each program's residency rules early if you're applying from out of state. All four also cluster in the southern part of Michigan, which makes a round of campus visits a day of driving rather than a week.
Last updated
Programs ranked
4
Universities
4
Nursing faculty median
$78,870
Faculty jobs in MI
1,740
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Michigan
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.
Michigan's choice comes down to this program or your own wallet. Ann Arbor runs the only funded nursing PhD in the state, and the other three cost somewhere between roughly $46,000 and $93,000 in tuition.
Where it wins. The package is published in actual numbers: stipends of $38,640 to $41,010 a year, and three-year support projected at $231,950 to $297,820. The school also holds $23.3 million of Michigan's $26.1 million in NINR funding.
What you give up. The apprenticeship is 20 hours a week across nine terms, enrolment runs three terms a year, and part-time isn't available, so you're living in Ann Arbor or commuting to it and not working elsewhere while you do.
Funding. Both the three-year accelerated and four-year traditional plans are listed as 'Fully funded'; the published packages of tuition support, stipend and benefits are projected at $231,950 (in-state) to $297,820 (out-of-state) over three years, and $292,960 to $363,960 over four years, with stipends of $38,640-$41,010 per year.
Every published detail for U-M Ann Arbor
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
University of Michigan School of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, post-master's
Part-time study
Full time only
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Apprenticeship of 20 hours per week over 9 terms (accelerated plan) or the equivalent spread over 12 terms (traditional plan); enrollment required in three terms per year
MSU designed its part-time route as a six-year plan on purpose, so the job survives the PhD. It graduates 4 nursing PhDs a year, half of everything Michigan produces across all four programs.
Where it wins. Hybrid delivery with some coursework online, a December 1 early deadline and an April 1 final one so you get two chances at a cycle, and the second largest research base among Michigan nursing schools at about $1.7 million across four NINR awards.
What you give up. Six part-time years at $978.25 a credit means carrying roughly $64,600 in tuition with no guaranteed package behind it. College scholarships open in January and close March 1, and that's the mechanism on offer.
Funding. College of Nursing scholarship applications open in January and close March 1. There is no program-wide tuition-plus-stipend guarantee.
Research. Health Promotion and Illness Prevention, Symptom Science and Management, Health Services Research.
Every published detail for Michigan State University
Oakland charges out-of-state students Michigan in-state rates, which is unusual for a public doctorate. Put that with online coursework and a single three-day immersion week each year and geography mostly stops mattering.
Where it wins. For a DNP holder it's the cheapest paid route to a nursing PhD in Michigan: 48 credits at $951.50 comes to about $45,670, against $57,090 entering from an MSN and about $64,600 for MSU's 66 credits.
What you give up. From a BSN it's 80 credits, about $76,120, a very different proposition from the one DNP entrants get. The school holds zero NINR awards and graduates two doctorates a year.
Funding. "Oakland University offers in-state tuition rates for out-of-state Ph.D. in Nursing students and Graduate Research Assistantships."
Research. health care quality, health outcomes with a global perspective.
Wayne State's answer to a life that doesn't fit a PhD is five separate pathways: BSN and MSN entry, full or part time, plus DNP entry, with up to 32 internal or 30 external DNP credits transferring in.
Where it wins. The August 1 deadline for fall enrolment means you can apply the same summer you'd start, and DNP transfer credit takes a real bite out of the requirement before you enrol, which is the point of the five-pathway structure.
What you give up. From a BSN it's 79 credits at $1,181.47, about $93,300, the most expensive route in Michigan, and it lists five years to completion, a year longer than MSU's full-time plan.
Funding. Graduate teaching assistant positions, Graduate School scholarships, College of Nursing grants, Graduate Professional Scholarship, Rumble Fellowships, ANEW Grant and Impact Grant are listed. Funding is not guaranteed.
Research. Theoretical and philosophical foundations of nursing science, Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, Advanced statistical analysis for health research, Development and evaluation of health interventions, Investigating health disparities and social determinants of health.
Every published detail for Wayne State University
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
Wayne State University College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD, post-master's
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
August 1 (fall enrollment)
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Residency courses are built into the plan of study; the number of on-campus residencies varies by pathway.
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Michigan
Michigan pays its nursing faculty a median of $78,870, under the national faculty median of $80,250, while the state's registered nurses earn a median of $94,300. That $15,430 gap is the number to weigh against whatever the degree opens up. The faculty range is extreme at both ends. The tenth percentile is $36,400, less than half the $77,260 Michigan RNs earn at that percentile, so the bottom of the academic ladder here is genuinely poorly paid. The ninetieth percentile is $124,460, which does clear the RN ninetieth of $116,710. About 1,740 people hold these instructor jobs statewide against roughly 104,950 RN jobs.
Do Michigan Nursing PhD Programs Still Require the GRE?
They do. All four Michigan programs still ask for a GRE score, which puts a test on your to-do list that applicants in a lot of other places have stopped taking. Book it early, because scores take time to arrive and fall-cohort deadlines usually land the winter before.
The other number to plan around is time. The median Michigan program runs 63 credits and about five years full time, which is a long commitment. Two of the four take part-time students, which means the other two are asking you to organize half a decade of your life around full-time doctoral study.
Format narrows the choice quickly. Michigan-Ann Arbor and Wayne State in Detroit are on campus. Michigan State in East Lansing is hybrid. Oakland University in Rochester Hills runs its PhD online, and it's the one option that doesn't require you to live within driving distance of a campus.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Michigan
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Michigan?
4, at 4 universities. 3 are campus-based and 1 runs online.
Is there an online PhD in nursing in Michigan?
One. Oakland University in Rochester Hills delivers its PhD in nursing online. Michigan State in East Lansing is hybrid, and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Wayne State University in Detroit are both on campus.
Are any Michigan nursing PhD programs at private universities?
All four are public: Michigan-Ann Arbor, Oakland, Michigan State, and Wayne State. In-state tuition is what keeps the price down here, so check each program's residency requirements if you're moving in for the degree.
What do nursing professors earn in Michigan?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Michigan earn a $78,870 median. The bottom 10% earn $36,400 and the top 10% clear $124,460, across 1,740 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Michigan without moving?
1 of the 4 programs in Michigan runs 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.