For those looking to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree, the University of Pennsylvania is once again the top place to do so, .
The University of Pennsylvania remained atop the 2022-2023 list after winning first place in last year's inaugural BSN rankings. Emory University took the number two spot this year, up from a three-way tie for fourth place last year. And Duke University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor tied for third place after placing second and sharing the number four spot, respectively, last year.
U.S. News said that these rankings are based solely on the judgement of deans and senior faculty members of nursing schools and departments at institutions across the country.
To have received the survey and be ranked, an institution's nursing school or department that offers the BSN degree must be accredited at the bachelor's degree level by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and be a regionally accredited institution that awarded at least 40 BSN degrees according to 2019-2020 data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
U.S. News surveyed deans and senior faculty members at each of the 681 programs that met the criteria in the spring and summer of 2022. Survey respondents were asked to rate the academic quality of peer institutions' BSN programs on a 5-point scale: outstanding (5), strong (4), good (3), adequate (2), or marginal (1). Respondents who were unfamiliar with a particular program were asked to select "don't know."
The inaugural BSN rankings debuted last year as demand for nurses reached unprecedented highs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Nursing is a very popular and important health field and it's one of the largest undergraduate majors," Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News told in an email at the time. "Nurses play many key roles in the healthcare system and have been indispensable during the coronavirus pandemic."
Here are the schools on this year's Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs list:
1. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
- Overall score: 4.5/5.0
- Tuition:
- Enrollment:
2. Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Overall score: 4.4/5.0
- Tuition: (per semester)
- Enrollment: (total pre-licensure students)
3. Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) -- tie
- Overall score: 4.3/5.0
- Tuition: (per semester)
- Requirements: For Duke's accelerated bachelor of science in nursing (ABSN), a bachelor's degree from an accredited college in any major, as well as a minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA is required, . Prerequisites also include a certain number of credits in human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, basic statistics, and human growth and development or developmental psychology
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor -- tie
- Overall score: 4.3/5.0
- Tuition: (full term 2022-2023)
- Requirements: Traditional BSN program requirements have included three units of math and four units of science, as well as social science and foreign language units
5. Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) -- tie
- Overall score: 4.2/5.0
- Tuition: (university's estimated costs of attendance for 2022-2023)
- Program: Clinical placements start the first month of students' first year,
5. The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) -- tie
- Overall score: 4.2/5.0
- Tuition: (university's estimated tuition for incoming students for 2022-2023; tuition and fees vary depending on the mode of instruction and the program of study)
- Requirements: BSN applicants must meet minimum eligibility requirements, including a 3.2 cumulative GPA and the completion of seven prerequisite courses (biology, chemistry, human anatomy, human physiology, English composition, psychology, and sociology) with a C+ or higher,
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- tie
- Overall score: 4.2/5.0
- Tuition: (total cost of program)
- Acceptance: UNC's School of Nursing receives approximately 300-400 applications for the traditional BSN program each year, and admits 104 students each fall,
5. University of Washington (Seattle) -- tie
- Overall score: 4.2/5.0
- Tuition: (quarterly)
- Requirements: Prerequisites include a minimum college-level cumulative GPA of 2.0, as well as three natural world prerequisite courses (general chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, nutrition) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, or four natural world prerequisite courses with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8,