Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Washington, Ranked (2026)
Washington holds a lot of federal nursing research money. NIH nursing research awards to the state totalled $35,083,950 across FY2021 through FY2025, and that figure should shape how you read PhD in nursing programs in Washington, because grant funding is what pays doctoral students and what supplies the work they do. Two public schools split the state between them, the University of Washington in Seattle and Washington State University in Pullman. One of the two funds its doctoral students fully.
Last updated
Programs ranked
2
Universities
2
Nursing faculty median
$81,630
Faculty jobs in WA
1,300
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Washington
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.
Washington's 2 Nursing PhD Programs, Compared
PhD in nursing programs in Washington, ranked 2026
Being paid to do this or paying for it is the whole choice in Washington. UW covers three years of tuition plus a stipend for full-time students; the state's other PhD charges $887.60 a credit across 72 credits.
Where it wins. The research money is not close. Of the $35.1 million in NINR funding across Washington, $33.2 million and 67 of the awards sit here. You'd be joining labs that are already funded rather than writing your way into one.
What you give up. You have to be in Seattle, and the funding covers full-time students, so the part-time option and the money don't overlap. December 1 also falls two months before the other Washington program's priority deadline and five before its final one.
Funding. All full-time PhD students receive a three-year funding package, including tuition and a stipend.
Research. Symptom science, Laboratory sciences, Health promotion and disease management across the lifespan, Policy analysis and advancement of cost-effective health care systems, Health equity, Innovative methodologies.
This is the Washington PhD for a nurse who isn't moving. The other one puts you in Seattle in person; this one is administered from Spokane, delivered online, and lets you flex between 10 and 18 credits a semester around a job.
Where it wins. About half the doctoral cohort is on an assistantship, 10 of roughly 20 enrolled, with 24 graduate faculty behind them. The application also stays open five months longer than the Seattle program's, with a February 1 priority date and a May 1 close.
What you give up. Tuition is real: $887.60 a credit across 72 credits is close to $63,900, and the state's only fully funded package is at the other program. The GPA floor of 3.5 is also half a point above Seattle's 3.0.
Funding. Graduate research assistantships and a graduate fellowship program are available; the WSU Graduate School program listing reports 20 graduate students in the program and 10 receiving assistantships.
Research. Health Access & Outcomes, Symptom Management & Behavioral Health, Environmental Health & Resilience, Workforce Science, Education & Policy.
Every published detail for Washington State University
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Washington
Washington's RN median of $124,200 is $26,650 above the national RN median, and it's the number that makes the faculty picture look rough. Postsecondary nursing instructors here have a median of $81,630, barely over the national faculty median of $80,250 and $42,570 below what the state's staff nurses earn. Faculty pay runs from $58,320 at the 10th percentile to $133,840 at the 90th, so even the 90th percentile of teaching only just clears the RN median. About 1,300 people teach nursing in Washington, against 69,260 working RNs.
Seattle or Pullman, and What Each Washington Nursing PhD Asks of You
The University of Washington's Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science is taught on campus in Seattle and scores 91.3, the highest of any nursing PhD in the state. That score comes with a condition attached, which is that you have to be in Seattle for it. Washington State University's PhD in Nursing is run out of Pullman and delivered online, so the eastern half of the state is an administrative detail rather than a place you relocate to.
Both admit from a BSN and both list part-time study, and one of the two drops the GRE. The median credit load across the two is 84, spread over about 3.75 years.
Washington awards about 20 nursing doctorates a year. Set 20 graduates against $35,083,950 in NIH nursing research awards and you get a small number of students moving through a well-funded research base, which is the situation you want if you plan to finish with publications and go after a research post rather than a teaching load.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Washington
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Washington?
2, at 2 universities. 1 is campus-based and 1 runs online.
Is there an online nursing PhD in Washington?
Yes. Washington State University's PhD in Nursing is based in Pullman and delivered online. The University of Washington's program in Seattle is taught on campus.
How many credits is a nursing PhD in Washington?
The median across the two Washington programs is 84 credits over about 3.75 years. Both admit students directly from a BSN and both offer part-time study.
What do nursing professors earn in Washington?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Washington earn a $81,630 median. The bottom 10% earn $58,320 and the top 10% clear $133,840, across 1,300 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Washington without moving?
1 of the 2 programs in Washington 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.