Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Ohio, Ranked (2026)
Every nursing PhD in Ohio is taught on campus. All three PhD in nursing programs in Ohio, at Ohio State in Columbus, the University of Cincinnati, and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, expect you in the building, with no online or hybrid version to fall back on. That's a hard constraint if you're in Toledo or Athens and can't relocate, and it's the thing to settle before you compare anything else. The softer news is that all three take part-time students, so what they require is your presence in one of three cities, not your full-time availability.
Last updated
Programs ranked
4
Universities
4
Nursing faculty median
$76,700
Faculty jobs in OH
4,290
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Ohio
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.
Ohio State graduates 48 nursing PhDs a year out of the 59 the whole state produces. Case Western holds more federal research money, but if you want a cohort around you rather than being the only one, Columbus is where they are.
Where it wins. Every student submits at least one external grant application before finishing, with grant-writing taught in year one, and submissions have hit a 65 percent funding rate over three years. That's the skill an academic career actually turns on.
What you give up. The PhD Scholars award covers up to three years of tuition, stipend and insurance, and the program takes three to five, so the last stretch can land on you. It also carries a 20-hour weekly work requirement.
Funding. College of Nursing PhD Scholars awards cover "up to three years of tuition and instructional fees, stipend, and health insurance contingent on satisfactory academic progress and performance as a Graduate Research/Teaching Associate," with a 20-hour weekly work requirement; faculty also nominate applicants for University Fellowships. Awards are competitive rather than automatic.
Research. Center for Healthy Aging, Self-Management and Complex Care, Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth, Translational Biosciences Laboratory, Stress Science Laboratory.
Every published detail for Ohio State University
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
The Ohio State University College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, post-master's
GRE
Not required
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
November 3
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Regular on-campus attendance - roughly two days a week full-time, one day a week part-time, plus cognate courses scheduled by other Ohio State departments.
Three years is the fastest route to a nursing PhD in Ohio, against four at Kent State and three to five at Ohio State. If time out of full-time earnings is what you're counting, that's the whole comparison.
Where it wins. Candidacy is a portfolio rather than a written exam, which suits people who write steadily better than people who cram, and you can stack a Nurse Educator Certificate onto the degree. At $836 a credit it also undercuts Ohio State, if only by $18.63.
What you give up. Price isn't what separates the two Ohio publics; scale is. Cincinnati holds about a fifth of the state's federal nursing research money against Ohio State's third and Case Western's half, and it graduates eight nursing doctorates a year against Ohio State's 48.
Research. opioid epidemic, nurse violence.
Every published detail for University of Cincinnati
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
University of Cincinnati College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
GRE
Not required
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
December 15 priority deadline for fall entry (final materials May 15)
Nearly half of Ohio's federal nursing research money runs through this one Cleveland school, $13.3 million of the state's $27.3 million, more than either Ohio State or Cincinnati. It has been running research doctorates since 1972.
Where it wins. Legacy Fellows covers full tuition for up to four years, as much as $200,000, plus a $6,000 yearly allowance and a research assistantship. Five entry points too, including 48 credits for DNP holders and a 63-credit fast track from a BSN.
What you give up. Legacy Fellows is competitive and restricted to US citizens and permanent residents. Without it, 57 credits at $2,384 lists near $136,000 against roughly $51,000 for Ohio State's 60, and Case awards three nursing doctorates a year.
Funding. The Legacy Fellows Program awards "Full tuition support for up to four years, up to $200,000, with an optional extension of one additional year with approval" plus a "$6,000 educational allowance per academic year" and a 20-hour-per-week research assistantship, but it is a competitive fellowship restricted to U.S. citizens/permanent residents rather than a package guaranteed to every admitted student.
Research. Symptom Science, Family/Community Care, Aging Across the Lifespan, Self-Management of Health and Illness, Neuroscience.
Every published detail for Case Western Reserve
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
On campus
School
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD, post-master's
Applications close
February 1 for fall enrollment (August 15 for spring); January 1 for Legacy Fellows applicants
If you're not leaving your nursing job, this is the Ohio program built on that assumption. Classes are live online, the only campus obligation is three Doctoral Days a year, and Kent says outright it offers no assistantships because most students' employers pay.
Where it wins. The core is unusually methods-heavy for a program aimed at working nurses: two semesters of advanced statistics, advanced qualitative and quantitative methods, and a dedicated data science course. Post-master's entrants need 73 credits rather than 90, with up to 12 transferable.
What you give up. No stipend and no tuition waiver, so unless an employer covers you this is the Ohio program you fully self-fund. The federal nursing research money in this state sits in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Funding. Explicitly not a funded program. The college states that 'As the majority of students in this program work full- or part-time as practicing nurses or nurse educators and have some or all of their tuition costs covered by their employer, we do not offer graduate assistantships.' Instead of stipends or tuition waivers the program points students toward employer tuition benefits and toward federal loan forgiveness programs for nurse educators.
Research. Self-management across the lifespan, Social and cultural health disparities, Health systems, leadership and quality, Serious illness and end of life, Mental health and trauma, Nursing education and transition to practice.
Every published detail for Kent State University at Kent
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Hybrid
School
College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD, post-master's
GRE
Not required
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
Fall semester entry only: March 1 for domestic applicants, November 15 for international applicants
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Ph.D. students must come to the Kent campus for 'Doctoral Days' every academic year. In years one and two these fall at the beginning of the fall semester and run the first three days of the semester; in year three they are held at the end of the spring semester, on the day before and the day of May commencement.
On the timeline
About 4 years for post-baccalaureate entrants and about 3 years for post-master's entrants on the college's recommended course sequence
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Ohio
Ohio's nursing faculty median is $76,700, under the national faculty median of $80,250, spread across about 4,290 instructor jobs. The bottom of that range deserves a hard look: $31,380 at the tenth percentile, against $66,980 for Ohio RNs at the same percentile. Entry-level and contingent teaching work here pays less than half what the equivalent bedside work pays. At the midpoint, registered nurses in Ohio earn $82,510 across roughly 143,730 jobs, about $5,810 above the faculty median, and both figures land below their national counterparts. The faculty ninetieth percentile of $101,340 is the realistic ceiling to plan an academic career around in this state.
How Do You Do an Ohio Nursing PhD While You're Still Working?
All three Ohio programs accept part-time students, and that's the only flexibility on offer, because none of them runs online or hybrid. You're building your week around trips to Columbus, Cincinnati, or Cleveland. Before you apply, get a specific answer about how many days per term you're expected on site and whether seminars are scheduled in blocks or spread across the week, because that one detail decides whether a clinical job survives the degree.
The median program is 58.5 credits and about 3.5 years full time. Part-time stretches that, and it's fair to ask each program what its part-time students actually finish in.
The upside of a campus-only state is access. Ohio schools drew about $27.3 million in NIH nursing research awards between FY2021 and FY2025, and being physically present in a lab with funded faculty is how doctoral students end up written into those grants. Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Case Western all sit in that pipeline.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Ohio
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Ohio?
4, at 4 universities. 4 are campus-based and 0 run online.
Can you get a PhD in nursing online in Ohio?
Ohio's three programs all meet on campus: Ohio State in Columbus, the University of Cincinnati, and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. If online delivery is a requirement, you'd be looking out of state, or at part-time enrollment on one of these three campuses.
Do Ohio nursing PhD programs require the GRE?
Two of the three admit without a GRE score. All three also accept BSN-prepared nurses directly into the PhD, so a master's isn't required before you apply.
What do nursing professors earn in Ohio?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Ohio earn a $76,700 median. The bottom 10% earn $31,380 and the top 10% clear $101,340, across 4,290 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Ohio without moving?
Every nursing PhD program in Ohio is campus-based, so studying in state means commuting or moving. The alternative is an online program based elsewhere, and those are ranked here.