Nursing school accreditation
Two approvals matter for a nursing program. Here is what each one does and how to look yours up.
Every nursing student should confirm two separate approvals before enrolling.
State board approval
The state board of nursing approves programs so their graduates can apply to take the NCLEX and be licensed in that state. This is the approval that decides whether you can become a nurse there. It is required for every prelicensure program. Each board lists its approved programs on its website, and our state guides link to the board.
Programmatic accreditation
Programmatic accreditation is voluntary and comes from a national peer-review body. Three bodies accredit nursing programs in the US, and all three are recognized by the US Department of Education:
- ACEN, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. It accredits programs from practical nursing through doctoral degrees.
- CCNE, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. It accredits bachelor’s, master’s and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, and post-graduate certificates.
- CNEA, the National League for Nursing’s Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation. It accredits programs at several levels and is the smallest of the three.
The two kinds of approval are independent. A program can be approved by its state board and still lack accreditation. The reverse is not possible for a prelicensure program, since graduates could not sit the exam.
Why accreditation matters
- Graduate school. Many master’s and doctoral programs, including nurse practitioner programs, require that your earlier nursing degree came from an accredited program.
- Transfer. Accredited schools are more likely to accept credits from other accredited programs.
- Employers. Some employers, the military and federal employers prefer or require graduates of accredited programs.
- Quality review. Accreditors check faculty, curriculum, clinical resources and outcomes, including NCLEX results, on a repeating cycle.
What the labels on a listing mean
Accreditors publish a status for every program. A program in candidacy is working toward accreditation and is not accredited yet. ACEN also publishes notes beside some listings, such as conditions the program must address. We quote those notes as published on our accredited programs pages and do not interpret them. Open the accreditor’s listing to read the detail.
How to check a program
- Search the school in the ACEN directory (opens in a new tab) and the CCNE directory (opens in a new tab).
- Confirm the degree level that is accredited. A school can hold accreditation for its bachelor’s program and not its associate program.
- Check the status and the date of the next review.
- Confirm board approval on the state board’s list.
Or start from our list for your state: accredited nursing programs by state.
We use accreditation as 10% of a program’s score. See how we rank programs.