U.S. News & World Report released its 2026 rankings of the nation’s best graduate nursing programs April 7, with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Emory University in Atlanta topping the lists for Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, respectively.
The rankings are part of U.S. News‘ broader Best Graduate Schools rankings, which evaluate programs across disciplines including business, education, law, engineering, medicine and nursing using a combination of statistical indicators and peer assessments.
For nursing, the rankings evaluated in-person, hybrid and flexible MSN and DNP programs using data submitted in late 2025 and early 2026 from 682 accredited institutions. Of those, 147 MSN and 154 DNP programs met eligibility criteria, including accreditation and minimum enrollment thresholds.
The methodology incorporates 15 indicators across areas such as faculty resources, research activity, program size, student selectivity and peer and professional assessments. Weighting for these indicators remains unchanged from recent editions.
Across all graduate disciplines, U.S. News bases rankings on a mix of expert opinion and quantitative measures of academic quality and outcomes, including inputs such as student qualifications and outputs such as graduate success.
The full methodology can be found here.
Note: The lists include ties.
The 10 top nursing schools for master’s degrees:
1. Emory University Woodruff (Atlanta)
2. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
3. Duke University (Durham, N.C.)
3. Ohio State University (Columbus)
5. Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.)
6. University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
7. New York University—Meyers (New York City)
8. University of Alabama at Birmingham
8. University of California, Los Angeles
8. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
The 10 best nursing schools for DNPs:
1. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
2. Emory University Woodruff (Atlanta)
3. Rush University (Chicago)
4. Duke University (Durham, N.C.)
4. University of California, San Francisco
4. University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
4. University of Washington (Seattle)
8. University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Minneapolis)
9. University of Alabama at Birmingham
9. University of Pittsburgh
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