Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Wisconsin, Ranked (2026)
The three PhD in nursing programs in Wisconsin score within about three points of each other, 61.8 at Marquette University, 59.4 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and 58.7 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That's close enough that the ranking order shouldn't decide anything for you. Two of the three are in Milwaukee and one is in Madison, one is private and two are public, and all three take part-time students. Pick on format, location and the faculty you want to work with, because the scores aren't going to separate them.
Last updated
Programs ranked
3
Universities
3
Nursing faculty median
$84,700
Faculty jobs in WI
1,760
How We Ranked the Best PhD in Nursing Programs in Wisconsin
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.
It carries the most research money in Wisconsin and charges less than half Marquette's rate per credit, a combination that usually splits across two different schools. At $670.47 a credit, 58 credits lists around $38,900.
Where it wins. A graduate assistantship brings 100% tuition remission plus a monthly stipend, and full-time PhD students get priority for them. Six named research areas and two to five students per faculty mentor, with the school reporting 84% of graduates leaving with a postdoc or faculty post.
What you give up. Delivery is in person in Madison, with none of Milwaukee's one-day-a-week clustering, so this is the hardest of the three to run alongside a job. Four years is the earliest anyone finishes here, where Milwaukee publishes a three-year plan.
Funding. 100% tuition remission with a graduate assistantship (not including segregated fees); most graduate assistantships cover tuition and provide a monthly stipend, and full-time PhD students receive priority for School of Nursing teaching and research assistantships, but funding is not guaranteed.
Research. Aging & Care for Older Adults, Health Systems & Public Health, Children, Families & Reproductive Health, Mental Health & Substance Use, Health Equity, Symptom Science & Palliative Care.
Every published detail for University of Wisconsin-Madison
Required doctoral courses meet on a single weekday, making this the Wisconsin PhD you can commute to while holding a clinical job. It also graduates ten nurses a year, against five at Madison and four at Marquette.
Where it wins. Three plans of study are published up front, full-time in three years, full-time in four, or part-time in five, so you can see before you apply how the degree fits around shift work. Over $500,000 in nursing scholarship money is awarded each year.
What you give up. Milwaukee holds $441,000 of Wisconsin's NINR funding across two awards, well behind Madison's $1.55 million across six, so there's less grant-funded work to attach a dissertation to. The 3.2 GPA floor and a statistics course taken within five years both gate entry.
Funding. Over $500,000 in nursing scholarships and funding awarded annually, plus loans, grants, student employment, fellowships and military education benefits. Funding is not guaranteed.
Every published detail for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Coursework is online and campus days come once a year, in May, so this is the Wisconsin PhD you can do from Green Bay or Eau Claire. You pay for that reach: $1,450 a credit against Madison's $670.47.
Where it wins. The Nurse Faculty Loan Program repays 85% of what you spend here after four years teaching in a school of nursing, which changes the arithmetic entirely if faculty work is the plan. Assistantships and the Agnes Reinders Scholarship sit on top of that.
What you give up. The 57-credit figure is the post-master's route. Coming in from a BSN adds 18 credits, so 75 in total, and at $1,450 each that's over $108,000 at list price. The 3.4 GPA floor is the highest of the three.
Funding. Teaching and research assistantships are available to full-time students along with tuition scholarships, the Agnes Reinders Scholarship, and Nurse Faculty Loan Program funding that repays 85% of program costs after four years teaching in a school of nursing.
What Nursing Faculty and Nurse Researchers Earn in Wisconsin
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Wisconsin have a median wage of $84,700, $4,450 above the national median of $80,250. Registered nurses in the state have a median of $95,530, which is $2,020 under the national RN median of $97,550. The gap between the two comes to $10,830, and it's narrow because Wisconsin RN pay is soft, not because faculty pay is strong. About 1,760 instructors work statewide. The tenth percentile sits at $53,760 and the ninetieth at $114,440, so the risk in a Wisconsin faculty career is the bottom of that range rather than the top.
One of the three. Marquette University's Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing is delivered online from Milwaukee and scores 61.8, first in the state. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Madison both run their PhDs on campus, in Milwaukee and Madison, so those two ask you to be in the room.
That matters more than it looks. All three programs accept part-time students, which reads like flexibility until you work out what part-time on campus actually means: four years of driving into Milwaukee or Madison on weekday evenings while holding a nursing job. Online part-time and on-campus part-time are not the same commitment, and the ranked list won't tell you which one you can survive.
The rest of the picture is consistent across the three. All three admit BSN holders directly, so a master's isn't a prerequisite anywhere in Wisconsin. One of the three drops the GRE. The median program runs 57.5 credits and about 4.25 years. Wisconsin awards roughly 19 nursing doctorates a year and holds $2,288,429 in NIH nursing research awards from FY2021 through FY2025, so if grant-funded research is the point of the degree for you, ask each school directly what it has running now.
Questions About Nursing PhD Programs in Wisconsin
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Wisconsin?
3, at 3 universities. 2 are campus-based and 1 runs online.
How many PhD in nursing programs are there in Wisconsin?
Three. Marquette University in Milwaukee offers an online Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offers an on-campus PhD in Nursing, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers an on-campus Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD). Two are public and one is private.
Can you work while doing a nursing PhD in Wisconsin?
All three Wisconsin programs accept part-time students, and one of the three is fully online. The median program runs 57.5 credits over about 4.25 years, and all three admit BSN holders directly, so you don't need a master's first.
What do nursing professors earn in Wisconsin?
Postsecondary nursing instructors in Wisconsin earn a $84,700 median. The bottom 10% earn $53,760 and the top 10% clear $114,440, across 1,760 jobs in the state. The national median is $80,250.
Can you do a nursing PhD in Wisconsin without moving?
1 of the 3 programs in Wisconsin 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.