Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Texas, Ranked (2026)
Seven of the eight PhD in nursing programs in Texas are public, and six of those seven are University of Texas campuses: Houston, Galveston, Austin, Tyler, San Antonio, and Arlington. Texas Woman's University in Denton is the other public one. Texas Christian University in Fort Worth is the only private program in the state. For in-state applicants that concentration mostly helps on price, but it also means nearly every application you send goes to a campus inside one public system.
Last updated
Programs ranked
8
Universities
8
Nursing faculty median
$84,930
Faculty jobs in TX
6,830
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Texas
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.
UTMB is a health science center school, and it shows in the research menu: precision healthcare and borderlands health sit next to nursing education, so the choice of dissertation topic is wider here than at Texas's other online programs.
Where it wins. The campus obligation is four to five days each August and nothing else. Master's entrants take 60 credits over eight semesters and most go part-time at two courses a semester; at $392 a credit that's $23,520 in tuition.
What you give up. BSN entrants get no part-time option: 69 credits across nine consecutive full-time semesters. No Texas PhD guarantees funding and this one doesn't either, and the online delivery means the program can't enroll students on educational visas.
Nothing in Texas costs less. Sixty credits at $323 comes to $19,380, and TWU has awarded 19 PhDs, nearly twice UT Austin's 10 and more than any other nursing program in the state.
Where it wins. You choose the delivery: the Denton program is fully online, the Houston version is hybrid with face-to-face classes, and either can be taken full-time or part-time. The only in-person requirement is a two-day colloquium each fall.
What you give up. Entry is master's only, so a BSN-prepared nurse has to look at UTMB or UT Tyler. Admission includes an interview with PhD faculty, the February 1 deadline is fixed, and support means applying for a graduate assistantship.
Funding. Students may apply for a Graduate Assistantship if they meet the General Criteria for Appointment of Graduate Assistants.
Every published detail for Texas Woman's University
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Online
School
College of Nursing
Entry points
MSN-to-PhD, post-master's
Minimum GPA
3
Applications close
February 1
Part-time study
Available
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Annual two-day, in-person colloquium on the Denton or Houston campus during the fall semester
If you want to start soon rather than wait for a cycle, UT Tyler is the Texas program to look at. Admission is rolling with multiple start dates a year, and decisions land about two weeks before a session begins.
Where it wins. Coursework and the dissertation are both done from wherever you live, punctuated by on-campus workshops. Master's entrants take 60 credits; at $410 that's $24,600, and the faculty research sits in simulation, emotional intelligence and trauma-informed care.
What you give up. From a BSN it's 72 credits, the heaviest online load in Texas, and $410 a credit is the highest of the three public online programs. There's also a proficiency examination to clear before you can register dissertation hours.
Research. emotional intelligence, simulation-based education, cultural competence, trauma-informed care in nursing.
Every published detail for UT Tyler
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Online
School
School of Nursing
Entry points
BSN-to-PhD, MSN-to-PhD
Minimum GPA
3.2
Applications close
Rolling
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Scheduled in-person activities: on-campus workshops with classmates, faculty and potential collaborators
UT Austin is the only Texas program that puts a number on first-year money: fellowships of $7,000 to $25,000 for applicants complete by November 1, plus assistantships that carry tuition assistance.
Where it wins. Doctoral portfolio programs let you build a second field into the degree, in gerontology or Mexican American studies or women's studies. Faculty hold $4.1 million in NINR awards, and thirteen of twenty-six graduate nursing faculty are American Academy of Nursing fellows.
What you give up. The fellowship covers one year, with continuation competitive after that. Delivery is on campus in Austin with no distance option, and UTHealth Houston holds more than three times as much NINR funding, $13.9 million against $4.1 million.
Funding. One-year PhD fellowships ranging from $7,000 to $25,000 for applicants who complete the application by November 1, with competitive continuing fellowships after year one; School of Nursing scholarships usually $1,000-$2,000; RA/TA/Assistant Instructor appointments carry tuition and benefits assistance based on hours per week.
Roughly 77 cents of every NINR dollar held by a Texas nursing school sits in this building: $13.9 million of the state's $17.9 million. If you want grant-funded science around you, the choice in Texas is short.
Where it wins. Classes meet synchronously online one day a week with some in-person work at the Texas Medical Center, so you can keep a clinical job. Sixty-six credits at $378 is $24,948, and DNP holders transfer up to nine credits in.
What you give up. From a BSN it's 90 credit hours across eleven to sixteen semesters, the longest published route in Texas. The research concentration is symptom science, so faculty match matters, and the school awarded 3 PhDs against 30 DNPs.
Funding. Scholarships are awarded to PhD students based on research interests in addition to academic performance and financial need; the school describes itself as one of the most affordable PhD programs in Texas.
The School of Nursing runs this program but the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences awards the degree, so your cohort, committee and defense sit inside a biomedical graduate school rather than a nursing college.
Where it wins. Part-time study is allowed, the GRE isn't required, and the GPA bar is 3.0 against 3.5 at both TCU and UT Arlington. Three entry points are accepted, including applicants already holding a master's.
What you give up. At 81 credits this is the longest curriculum in Texas, 36 more than UT Arlington's 45, and the window runs three to six years. Admission opens once a year for a fall start, reviewed from April 1.
TCU won't consider you without a DNP already in hand, which makes it the one Texas PhD built purely as a second doctorate. Everything else in the state will take you from a BSN or a master's.
Where it wins. The bridge folds practice-doctorate coursework into the research doctorate, so a DNP-prepared nurse reaches the PhD faster than by starting over. Delivery mixes campus and online, and students are eligible for Nurse Faculty Loan Program support.
What you give up. At $2,315 a credit TCU costs seven times what Texas Woman's charges, in a state where seven of the eight programs are public. Four consecutive semesters of full-time study are required, and the first cohort only entered in 2025.
Funding. Students are eligible to participate in the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP); no tuition-plus-stipend package is described.
Every published detail for Texas Christian University
Degree awarded
PhD
Delivery
Hybrid
School
Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Entry points
post-master's
Minimum GPA
3.5
Applications close
March 1
Dissertation
Required
On campus
Minimum of four consecutive semesters of full-time graduate study at TCU, plus registration in dissertation hours
UT Arlington asks you to find your dissertation chair before you apply: a faculty member has to agree in advance to mentor you. That reverses the usual order and makes the application a research conversation.
Where it wins. At 45 credits this is the shortest curriculum in Texas, 21 fewer than UTHealth Houston's 66 and 36 fewer than UT Health San Antonio's 81. Classes are hybrid, and the research areas center on health outcomes for diverse and vulnerable populations.
What you give up. You need a 3.5 GPA and a graduate statistics course passed with a B or better before you get in. The hybrid format means being near Arlington, and the college awarded 2 PhDs against 86 DNPs.
Research. health outcomes of culturally diverse and vulnerable populations, nursing innovations for diverse populations, policy process for diverse population groups.
Every published detail for University of Texas at Arlington
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Texas
Texas nursing instructors earn a median of $84,930, above the $80,250 national median for the job. Registered nurses in Texas earn $95,970, slightly under the $97,550 national RN median, so the distance between bedside pay and faculty pay here is about $11,040 a year. That is a narrower gap than nursing faculty face in a lot of states, and it is mostly because Texas RN pay is modest rather than because faculty pay is strong. Texas employs about 6,830 nursing instructors against 271,380 registered nurses, with faculty pay running $50,760 at the tenth percentile to $137,530 at the ninetieth.
The typical Texas program runs 67.5 credits over about 4.25 years of full-time study. The credit total is high partly because six of the eight programs take students straight from a BSN, so the coursework covers ground a master's would otherwise have covered.
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth comes at it from the other end with a DNP-to-PhD bridge, aimed at nurses who already hold a practice doctorate and want the research degree on top of it. UT Health Science Center at Houston runs a hybrid PhD, UT Austin and UT Health Science Center at San Antonio run theirs on campus, and Texas Woman's University in Denton, UTMB Galveston, and UT Tyler are fully online.
Two things stretch the timeline further. Only two of the eight programs skip the GRE, so most applicants add a test to the front end. Five allow part-time study, which is the honest option if you are staying in a staff job, and it pushes the finish well past 4.25 years.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Texas
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Texas?
8, at 8 universities. 5 are campus-based and 3 run online.
Do Texas nursing PhD programs require the GRE?
Most of them do. Two of the eight programs skip it, so plan on sitting the test unless you are applying only to those two. Six of the eight will take you directly from a BSN.
Which Texas nursing PhD program ranks highest?
UT Health Science Center at Houston, at 75.7, which runs a hybrid PhD. Texas Woman's University in Denton follows at 73.4 and UT Medical Branch at Galveston at 70.2, both of them fully online.
What do nursing professors earn in Texas?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Texas earn a $84,930 median. The bottom 10% earn $50,760 and the top 10% clear $137,530, across 6,830 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Texas without moving?
3 of the 8 programs in Texas run 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.