2024 Rankings Place School of Nursing’s BSN program at No. 1 in Wisconsin, and top two percent nationwide
The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) program continues to lead the way in Wisconsin, earning the nod as the top program in the state by the 2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Nationally, the School checks in at No. 16 and lands in the top two percent of all eligible undergraduate BSN programs in the country. Among public institutions nationwide, the School of Nursing sits even higher at No. 10.
“We are proud to continue to be recognized for the quality of education that is obtainable through our BSN program at the UW–Madison School of Nursing,” says Dean Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN. “The dedication and level of commitment from the faculty, staff, and students who comprise the program are reflected in these rankings, and their hard work deserves acknowledgement. We continue to be committed to our efforts to help improve health care through educating and developing nurse leaders.”
Officially released September 18, 2023, the undergraduate BSN program rankings are determined by U.S. News & World Report based on a weighted average of indicators, including quality of assessment, student selectivity, class size, faculty resources, academic expert rankings, and research activity.
Surveys are completed by deans and senior faculty members at each of the 657 eligible undergraduate BSN degree-granting nursing programs nationwide. To be included, programs must have bachelor’s-level accreditation by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. In addition, the program must be a regionally accredited institution that has recently awarded at least 40 BSN degrees. Programs are rated by their overall quality on a 1-5 scale, with average peer assessment scores for each nursing program determined by computing a trimmed mean that eliminates the two highest and two lowest scores given by respondents.
This marks the third consecutive year that U.S. News & World Report has released undergraduate BSN program rankings, with the first ranking launched in 2022 on September 13, 2021. Since the 2023 rankings, the School has risen six spots overall and seven spots among public institutions.
As an institution, The University of Wisconsin–Madison also climbed the rankings, earning its highest ranking in the last 15 years and marking the fifth year in a row that the university has climbed the ladder. This year, the university ranks No. 35 out of 437 public and private doctoral institutions, and No. 12 among public universities.
In spite of differences in emphasis and methodology, UW–Madison consistently performs well in a broad range of rankings — most recently, The Washington Monthly (11th overall; 2nd among public universities); Money Magazine (5 stars out of 5); the Center for World University Rankings (28th worldwide; 20th in the U.S.); and Princeton Review (29th best value among public universities).