Best PhD in Nursing Programs in South Carolina, Ranked (2026)
Both PhD in nursing programs in South Carolina are built around people who already have jobs. The Medical University of South Carolina runs its nursing science PhD online from Charleston. The University of South Carolina-Columbia runs a hybrid program that pulls you onto campus for part of it. Neither one is a five-day-a-week residency, and both are public, so there's no private tuition bill to weigh against a state one. Both will take you straight from a BSN, and neither asks for a GRE score.
Last updated
Programs ranked
2
Universities
2
Nursing faculty median
$79,540
Faculty jobs in SC
1,150
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in South Carolina
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.
South Carolina's 2 Nursing PhD Programs, Compared
PhD in nursing programs in South Carolina, ranked 2026
South Carolina gives you two options and they split cleanly: this one you can do from anywhere, the Columbia one you cannot. MUSC's PhD is delivered online and approved for every SARA state plus California.
Where it wins. Ten to twelve students a year, each assigned a research mentor before coursework starts, inside the state's medical university with $3.2 million of NINR funding across 11 awards. Both a BSN and an MSN get you in.
What you give up. You pay for all 67 credits. At $835 in-state part-time plus the $70 online fee that's $60,635, while Columbia covers your first 36 credits outright. Out-of-state the part-time rate climbs to $1,098.
Funding. No guaranteed funding package; scholarships are mostly need-based and require a FAFSA. Full-time in-state tuition is $8,116 per semester ($10,642 out-of-state) plus a $560 program fee; part-time in-state tuition is $835 per credit hour ($1,098 out-of-state).
Research. health systems, patient outcomes, health equity, interdisciplinary inquiry, behavioral health, implementation science.
Every published detail for MUSC
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Online
School
MUSC College of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
GRE
Not required
Applications close
May 1 (applications open August 15)
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
On-campus intensives, alongside virtual events and research colloquia, at no fixed interval.
Tuition is covered for your first 36 pre-dissertation credits, which at $572.25 a credit is about $20,600 you don't pay. That's the largest guaranteed cost break of the two South Carolina programs, and it comes with a monthly weekend in Columbia.
Where it wins. More federal nursing research money sits here than at MUSC, $5.7 million across 12 NINR awards against $3.2 million across 11, and the executive weekend format means you keep your job. It takes BSN, MSN and post-master's applicants.
What you give up. The PhD is the small program in this college: 26 DNPs awarded against one PhD in the same year. And the monthly campus weekends rule out doing this from outside driving range of Columbia, which MUSC's online version doesn't.
Funding. Full tuition funding for the first 36 credit hours of pre-dissertation coursework, plus scholarships and assistantships; no stipend guarantee stated.
Research. cancer survivorship, chronic care outcomes, perinatal, pediatric and family research.
Every published detail for University of South Carolina-Columbia
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in South Carolina
South Carolina's postsecondary nursing instructors have a median wage of $79,540, which lands just under the national faculty median of $80,250. The state's registered nurses have a median of $82,360, so teaching pays less than bedside work here, though the distance between the two is smaller than it is in most states. The faculty range is wide, $60,510 at the 10th percentile and $128,210 at the 90th, so the top of the teaching scale runs past what an RN in South Carolina reaches at $106,520. About 1,150 people hold nursing faculty jobs statewide, against 49,750 working RNs.
Can You Earn a Nursing PhD in South Carolina Without Moving to Charleston or Columbia?
Neither program will make you move. The Medical University of South Carolina delivers its nursing science PhD online, so Charleston is where the degree is registered rather than where you have to live. The University of South Carolina-Columbia is hybrid, which means some scheduled time on campus in Columbia and the rest of it wherever you already are. If you're three hours from both cities and holding a full-time RN job, that combination is the reason a South Carolina nursing PhD is workable at all.
The trade is that only one of the two programs lists a part-time track. The other expects full-time enrollment, which is a different conversation with your employer than online delivery alone suggests. The median load across the two is 67 credits and about 3.5 years.
Both admit from a BSN without a master's in between, and neither requires the GRE, so the application itself is lighter than it used to be. South Carolina's schools award about 118 nursing doctorates a year, and NIH nursing research awards to the state totalled $8,938,055 from FY2021 through FY2025.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in South Carolina
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in South Carolina?
2, at 2 universities. 1 is campus-based and 1 runs online.
Do South Carolina nursing PhD programs require the GRE?
No. Both South Carolina programs, at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and the University of South Carolina-Columbia, admit without a GRE score.
Can I start a nursing PhD in South Carolina with only a BSN?
Yes. Both programs admit directly from a BSN, with a median load of 67 credits over about 3.5 years, so you don't need to finish a master's first.
What do nursing professors earn in South Carolina?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in South Carolina earn a $79,540 median. The bottom 10% earn $60,510 and the top 10% clear $128,210, across 1,150 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in South Carolina without moving?
1 of the 2 programs in South Carolina 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.