BSN programs in Arkansas
13 BSN programs compared on what happens after graduation: first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates, what a year costs, what graduates owe and what they earn.
- 88.2%
- of first-time test-takers from Arkansas BSN programs passed the NCLEX-RN, 2026 (national BSN rate: 87.6%, 2025)
- 13
- programs with at least 20 first-time test-takers over three years, so their pass rate is ranked
- $78,940
- median yearly pay for registered nurses in Arkansas, May 2025 (BLS)
What the data shows
- Spread between programs. Among the 13 programs with at least 20 first-time test-takers, three-year pass rates run from 48.8% (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) to 98.9% (Southern Arkansas University Main Campus), a gap of 50.1 points.
- Against the national rate. BSN graduates in Arkansas beat the national first-time rate of 87.6% by 0.6 points. Programs here passed 88.2% of 939 first-time test-takers in the latest year each reported (2026).
- Lowest net price with an above-average pass rate. University of Arkansas-Fort Smith has the lowest average net price ($9,653 a year) of the 8 ranked programs that were at or above the state's pooled pass rate of 90.7%.
- Direction of travel. 8 of 13 programs reported a lower first-time pass rate in their latest year than in their earliest of the three years shown (2024 to 2026 for most).
13 BSN programs ranked by first-time pass rate
Ordered by the pass rate pooled over the program's last three reporting years. The dots show each year, newest in blue; the vertical line marks the Arkansas average for the latest year.
| Program | First-time NCLEX-RN pass rate | Test-takers | Net price a year | Median loan debt | Pay 1 year out | Graduation rate | Accredited by | Online option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Arkansas University Main CampusMagnolia, Public | 98.9%2024: 96.8% · 2025: 100.0% · 2026: 100.0% | 89 | $16,015 | $21,500 | $69,942 | 47% | ACEN (conditions) | No |
| Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville, Public | 97.4%2024: 100.0% · 2025: 100.0% · 2026: 93.0% | 191 | $11,332 | $19,590 | $71,890 | 47% | ACEN | Partly |
| University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith, Public | 96.0%2024: 94.5% · 2025: 97.5% · 2026: 95.8% | 226 | $9,653 | $20,500 | $71,652 | 40% | CCNE | No |
| Ouachita Baptist UniversityArkadelphia, Private | 95.3%2024: 92.0% · 2025: 100.0% · 2026: 94.7% | 64 | $25,343 | $20,000 | – | 64% | ACEN | Partly |
| University of Arkansas at MonticelloMonticello, Public | 93.5%2024: 92.3% · 2025: 90.0% · 2026: 100.0% | 31 | $15,990 | – | – | 50% | – | No |
| Harding UniversitySearcy, Private | 92.5%2024: 100.0% · 2025: 93.7% · 2026: 88.2% | 186 | $19,786 | $27,000 | $73,395 | 70% | CCNE | No |
| University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesLittle Rock, Public | 91.7%2024: 96.7% · 2025: 89.5% · 2026: 89.7% | 313 | – | $16,500 | $73,909 | – | CCNE | No |
| Arkansas State UniversityJonesboro, Public | 91.2%2024: 100.0% · 2025: 93.5% · 2026: 82.8% | 352 | $15,441 | $20,320 | $78,857 | 56% | ACEN | No |
| University of ArkansasFayetteville, Public | 89.9%2024: 93.1% · 2025: 86.9% · 2026: 90.2% | 899 | $17,571 | $23,791 | $76,529 | 71% | CCNE | Yes |
| University of Central ArkansasConway, Public | 87.6%2024: 92.4% · 2025: 88.7% · 2026: 82.0% | 331 | $16,423 | $19,500 | $72,654 | 54% | CCNE | No |
| John Brown UniversitySiloam Springs, Private | 85.9%2024: 80.0% · 2025: 91.3% · 2026: 88.9% | 71 | $22,476 | $27,000 | $72,179 | 74% | CCNE | No |
| Henderson State UniversityArkadelphia, Public | 82.4%2024: 89.7% · 2025: 73.1% · 2026: 84.2% | 74 | $21,843 | $14,234 | $79,891 | 37% | CCNE | Yes |
| University of Arkansas at Pine BluffPine Bluff, Public | 48.8%2024: 60.0% · 2025: 53.3% · 2026: 27.3% | 41 | $11,528 | $23,385 | $70,166 | 40% | – | No |
Pass rates: Arkansas board of nursing (opens in a new tab), not stated by board. Net price is the College Scorecard's average yearly cost after grants and scholarships for first-time, full-time undergraduates who receive federal aid (in-state price at public schools), and graduation rate covers the whole school. Debt is the median federal loan balance of nursing graduates who borrowed, and pay is the median earnings of graduates who are working one year after finishing (2024 dollars). Accreditation is checked against the ACEN and CCNE directories; a dash means we could not match the program to a listing, which is not the same as being unaccredited, so check with the school. “Partly” under online option means some, but not all, of the school's programs at this level can be finished fully online, such as an RN-to-BSN track. A dash means the figure is not published, often because too few graduates received federal aid.
Other Arkansas schools that award nursing bachelor's degrees
These schools reported nursing graduates to the federal government but do not appear on the board's NCLEX list for this program type. Some offer only an RN-to-BSN completion program for nurses who already hold a license; others are new, or the board lists them under another school.
| School | City | Graduates a year | Net price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock | 137 | $16,882 |
| University of Arkansas Grantham | LIttle Rock | 3 | $9,940 |
Nursing in Arkansas: pay, accreditation and next steps
The median registered nurse in Arkansas earned $78,940 in May 2025, which ranks 47th of 51 states and the District of Columbia, 19% below the national median of $97,550. Nurse practitioners, who need a graduate degree, earned a median of $125,660. Licensed practical nurses earned $56,620. Pay is the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics figure for all employers and settings, and it does not depend on which school you attend. Compare registered nurse pay in Arkansas.
12 of the 15 Arkansas schools that award a nursing bachelor's degree hold programmatic accreditation from ACEN or CCNE (7 CCNE, 5 ACEN). Accreditation matters if you plan to continue to a master's degree, and some employers and federal programs ask for it. See accredited nursing programs in Arkansas.
Next steps: confirm that a program is approved by the Arkansas board of nursing, compare its first-time pass rate with the state figure above, then check net price and graduate debt in the table. For the full licensing process, see how to become a nurse. Programs that work with working nurses are covered in the quickest route to a BSN.
How to read this page
Arkansas lists 13 BSN programs on its board of nursing's published NCLEX results (10 public, 3 private nonprofit and 0for-profit among the 13 we could match to a federal school record). Graduates of a bachelor's degree in nursing program take the NCLEX-RN; programs typically take about 4 years.
Pass rates cover not stated by board. Boards define a reporting year differently, so compare programs within a state rather than across states. We have not combined these figures into an overall score yet: the full formula on how we rank programs needs every state's data, so for now programs are ordered by pass rate alone. All sources are listed on data sources.
See Arkansas's NCLEX pass rates by program type. See how nursing licensing works.
Common questions
What is the NCLEX pass rate for BSN programs in Arkansas?
88.2% of first-time test-takers from Arkansas BSN programs passed the NCLEX-RN in 2026, compared with 87.6% for BSN programs nationally in 2025.
How many BSN programs are there in Arkansas?
We list 13 BSN programs in Arkansas. 13 have at least 20 first-time test-takers over three years, so their pass rate is ranked.
How are these BSN programs ranked?
Programs are ordered by the first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate pooled over their last three reporting years. Programs with fewer than 20 first-time test-takers are shown but not ranked, because small cohorts swing widely from year to year.
What do registered nurses earn in Arkansas?
The median registered nurse in Arkansas earned $78,940 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.