Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Rhode Island, Ranked (2026)
Rhode Island's only nursing PhD isn't in Providence. It's at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, and that's the whole list of PhD in nursing programs in Rhode Island. For a state this small, the drive is the least of your problems. What one campus really means is one faculty roster and one set of research interests. If the question you want to spend years on isn't one somebody at URI is already asking, distance isn't your obstacle, fit is.
Last updated
Programs ranked
1
Universities
1
Nursing faculty median
$78,340
Faculty jobs in RI
260
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Rhode Island
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.
At $951 a credit across 49 credits, the whole degree prices at $46,599 before any assistantship touches it. Classes run days and evenings at the Nursing Education Center in Providence rather than down in Kingston, which changes who can realistically commute.
Where it wins. Two funding routes, and they aren't equal. A graduate assistantship pays tuition, health benefits and a stipend for two years. The Barcott-Kim Fellowship pays the same across three years at ten hours a week, which against a three-to-four year program is the one that reaches the end.
What you give up. You need a master's, there's no route in from a BSN. And Rhode Island's 260 nursing faculty earn a median $78,340 against $100,640 for the state's RNs, so the job this trains you for pays $22,300 under the one you have.
Funding. Qualified full-time Ph.D. students who obtain a graduate assistantship/teaching assistantship receive full-time tuition, health benefits and a stipend for two years; Barcott-Kim Fellowships add a 10-hour/week teaching assistantship covering tuition, health benefits and a stipend over three years.
Research. Health equity and disparities, Health promotion, Infants and families, Adolescent and emerging adult health and risk behaviors, Telehealth, Implementation science.
Every published detail for University of Rhode Island
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Rhode Island
This is where Rhode Island gets uncomfortable. Nursing instructors earn a median of $78,340 while registered nurses in the state earn $100,640, so moving from the bedside to the classroom costs about $22,300 a year. The squeeze comes from both directions: Rhode Island RN pay runs $3,090 above the national RN median of $97,550, and faculty pay runs $1,910 below the national faculty median of $80,250. Only 260 people work as postsecondary nursing instructors here, and a base that thin means the median can swing year to year on a handful of hires. The faculty range, $50,890 to $106,220, tells you more than the midpoint does.
Three. That's how many nursing doctorates Rhode Island awards in a typical year. You're not joining a cohort at the University of Rhode Island, you're joining a faculty, and that difference matters more than any ranking does.
The program is built on the shorter side, about 49 credits over roughly 3.5 years, with part-time enrollment available and no GRE requirement. It isn't a BSN entry program, so plan on holding a master's before you apply. Behind it sits $1.6 million in NIH nursing research awards from FY2021 through FY2025.
At that scale, one thing decides whether the degree works: whether a specific person in Kingston studies what you want to study and has room to take you on. Email them before you apply, with a paragraph on the question you want to work on rather than a résumé. If nobody answers, that's information, and it's better to have it in September than in April.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Rhode Island
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Rhode Island?
1, at 1 university. 1 is campus-based and 0 run online.
Where is Rhode Island's nursing PhD program?
Kingston. The University of Rhode Island runs the state's only nursing PhD there, on campus, and there's no online version of it.
How long does the URI nursing PhD take?
About 3.5 years across roughly 49 credits. Part-time enrollment is available, which lengthens that, and the GRE isn't required. You'll need a master's going in, since it isn't a BSN entry program.
What do nursing professors earn in Rhode Island?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Rhode Island earn a $78,340 median. The bottom 10% earn $50,890 and the top 10% clear $106,220, across 260 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Rhode Island without moving?
Every nursing PhD program in Rhode Island is campus-based, so studying in state means commuting or moving. The alternative is an online program based elsewhere, and those are ranked here.