The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. (NLNAC) offers a national database of accredited nursing programs that may be narrowed down by state and program type (BSN, ADN, LPN, MSN, Ph.D., diploma). NLNAC is an organization that is responsible for overseeing the accreditation of specialized nursing graduate, undergraduate and vocational programs. The organization receives national recognition as an nursing accreditation authority from the U.S. Department of Education, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, State Boards of Nurse Examiners and the Department of Health and Human Services, to name a few of the organizations. NLNAC also publishes an annual directory of the accredited nursing programs in the country. In addition, they publish a standards and criteria manual for all accredited schools.
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc.
3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 500
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
404-975-5000
nlnac.org/Forms/directory_search.htm
One of the preeminent ranking authorities, U.S. News and World Report, published a list of the best graduate nursing programs in the country and ranked them after taking into consideration a variety factors, including: expert opinion on the quality of education and statistical calculations regarding the students, faculty and research. The statistical calculations from each category were summed to find the overall score and from there the schools were ranked in descending order.
The top ten list of graduate nursing programs is as follows: UWashington, UC-San Francisco, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, UMichigan-Ann Arbor, UNC-Chapel Hill, Oregon Health and Science, UIL-Chicago, UMaryland-Baltimore, UPittsburgh and Yale. The highest score received by a school (UWashington) was a 4.9 out of a possible 5 points and the lowest calculated score was a 2.5. Many nursing schools chose not to submit information and were left without a rank.
U.S. News World and Report
1050 Thomas Jefferson Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-955-2000
grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/rankings/
The nursing fields of specialization that require completion of a certification examination generally provide a directory for accredited nursing schools that offer programs within their particular field of study. For example, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists provides a directory of accredited nursing schools which offer graduate nurse anesthesiology programs. The state boards of nursing in most states offer an online directory of the accredited nursing programs within the state. Nevada is one such state board that provides a directory for the state.
Council on Accreditation Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program
222 South Prospect Avenue
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068-4001
847-692-7050
aana.com/councilaccreditation.aspx
Nevada State Board of Nursing
6375 West Charleston Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89146
702-651-5684
nursingboard.state.nv.us/edu/apprschl.htm