Nursing · Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania colleges that awarded Nursing credentials

72 colleges in Pennsylvania reported conferring Nursing credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2023-24, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 71 awarded a degree, and 1 awarded only a certificate. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.

Colleges and what they awarded

Largest first by credentials conferred in 2023-24. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.

Colleges in Pennsylvania that conferred Nursing credentials in 2023-24, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Drexel University696Degree
Thomas Jefferson University521Degree
Harrisburg Area Community College465Degree
Wilkes University438Degree
Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences374Degree
Holy Family University366Degree
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus272Degree
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania256Degree
University of Pennsylvania243Degree
Pennsylvania Western University241Degree
Villanova University228Degree
West Chester University of Pennsylvania219Degree
Community College of Allegheny County218Degree
Widener University198Degree
Gwynedd Mercy University194Degree
Lehigh Carbon Community College163Degree
York College of Pennsylvania150Degree
La Salle University142Degree
Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus136Degree
Community College of Philadelphia135Degree
Montgomery County Community College128Degree
Temple University121Degree
Pennsylvania College of Technology113Degree
Luzerne County Community College111Degree
Mount Aloysius College111Degree
Butler County Community College97Degree
Delaware County Community College94Degree
DeSales University90Degree
Westmoreland County Community College88Degree
Carlow University86Degree
Chatham University85Degree
Robert Morris University85Degree
Immaculata University78Degree
La Roche University78Degree
University of Scranton78Degree
Misericordia University75Degree
Alvernia University70Degree
Moravian University70Degree
Northampton County Area Community College69Degree
Cedar Crest College67Degree
Gannon University65Degree
Waynesburg University61Degree
Bucks County Community College56Degree
Saint Francis University54Degree
Community College of Beaver County52Degree
Mercyhurst University50Degree
Messiah University43Degree
Reading Area Community College43Degree
Eastern University40Degree
Laurel Business Institute38Degree
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania34Degree
Wilson College33Degree
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine29Degree
Lackawanna College27Degree
Marywood University25Degree
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania25Degree
Pennsylvania State University-World Campus21Degree
Seton Hill University21Degree
Harcum College17Degree
Millersville University of Pennsylvania14Certificate only

Showing the 60 largest of 72.

Looking for Nursing programs in Pennsylvania? This page lists every college that reported awarding Nursing credentials to the federal government in 2023-24 — 72 of them — with the credential level each one awarded. That is a record of credentials conferred, not a confirmation that a college is currently admitting students, so confirm current availability with the college before it changes where you apply.

How much of this field is in Pennsylvania

Credentials awarded
8,265
Share of U.S. total
3.3%
Colleges awarding it
72
Awarding a degree
71

Pennsylvania colleges conferred 8,265 Nursing credentials in 2023-24, which is 3.3% of the 250,183 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 72 colleges here, 71 awarded a degree and 1 awarded only a certificate. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.

What level those credentials were

  • Certificates<1%14
  • Associate29%2,367
  • Bachelor's55%4,523
  • Graduate16%1,361

Most Nursing credentials awarded in Pennsylvania were bachelor's degrees. The mix here is close to the national pattern for this field. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.

We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?

How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 8% of Pennsylvania’s Nursing credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these Pennsylvania colleges cost

Median net price across the 69 of these 72 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a Nursing program specifically, and not a quote for any family.

0-30k
$16,808
30-48k
$15,580
48-75k
$18,988
75-110k
$23,150
110k+
$26,278

By the kind of college

The figure above averages very different institutions together. Split by federal sector, for a family earning under $30,000:

Median net price for a family earning under $30,000, by kind of college, among Pennsylvania colleges that reported awarding Nursingcredentials.
Kind of collegeCollegesMedian net price
Public two-year13$6,941
Public four-year16$13,692
Private40$19,375

Sector is the federal classification (IPEDS ICLEVEL and CONTROL). Private covers both nonprofit and for-profit colleges, which CampusPin does not split here because the for-profit sample in a single state is usually too small to publish a median. Each row needs at least five colleges reporting net price, so a sector with fewer is left out rather than estimated.

A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $16,808 at these colleges, against $26,278 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every Pennsylvania college by income band.

What this evidence does and does not prove

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

How this list was built

From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.

This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in Pennsylvania — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?

What Nursing graduates go on to do

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Nursing, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.

Occupations associated with Nursing, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, and the education most entrants hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrMost entrants hold
Registered Nurses$93,600189,100Bachelor's degree
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary$79,9408,600Doctoral or professional degree

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

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