Indiana
Best RN to BSN Programs in Indiana, Ranked (2026)
Indiana Scores as Two Tight Clusters, Not a List of 7
Read the ranking below as a list of 7 positions and you will over-read it. The top 4 programs sit inside 4.3 points of each other. The bottom 3 sit inside 5.9. Between the two groups the score drops 20.8 points at once. Almost all of the information in this ranking is in which group a program lands in, and almost none of it is in the order inside a group.
The canyon is tuition doing what the methodology says it does. Cost carries 55% of the score, every program in the top group is public and charges $7,536 to $10,080 a year, and every program below the canyon is private and starts at $34,000. There is nothing priced in between, so there is nothing scored in between either.
What that leaves inside the top group is worth seeing plainly. Indiana University-Kokomo and Indiana University-Northwest bracket it — first and 4th — and they charge the identical $7,717. The entire 4.3-point spread across Indiana's leading group is one number: a 9-point difference in institutional graduation rate, 46% against 37%. That figure is worth having and worth discounting in the same breath, because IPEDS measures graduation for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates and an RN-to-BSN student is none of those three. It says something about the institution. It does not measure the completion cohort, and that is exactly why it is weighted below cost here.
The same caution applies further down: Bethel University and University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne are separated by 0.4 of a point. Nobody should choose a two-year commitment on 0.4 of a point. If two Indiana programs are in the same cluster, the ranking has told you everything it can and the decision moves to ground the score does not cover — whether classes are asynchronous or held at a fixed hour, whether the program wants precepted clinical hours you have to arrange yourself, how much of your ADN transfers, and how many start dates there are a year. Fully-online status is stated on 4 of these 7 program pages, so those answers come from asking.
Two more things cut across the groups. Purdue University Global confers 147 nursing bachelor's degrees a year — about 22% of the 673 across all 7 ranked programs, and more than any other program on this list — while ranking 2nd rather than first, so the most-used option in the state is not automatically the best-scoring one. And it charges $13,356 out-of-state against $10,080 in-state, a much narrower spread than the other public programs carry, which matters if you hold an Indiana license and live somewhere else.
The 7 RN to BSN Programs in Indiana, Ranked
Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.
- 1st in Indiana
Indiana University-Kokomo
Kokomo, IN · Public Online option $7,717 annual in-state tuition 46% institutional graduation rate 92 degrees a year 66.5 scoreAlongside a fully online option, IU Kokomo runs a hybrid RN to BSN cohort that meets one day a week in late afternoon or evening classes held either on campus or at a local hospital.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Indiana University-Kokomo's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Indiana University Kokomo's RN to BSN Completion Track is built for licensed registered nurses who finished an associate degree or diploma program. The school offers it two ways: a fully online RN-BSN and a hybrid track. The hybrid track is partially online but adds weekly course meetings, with students moving through the curriculum together as a cohort. Those classes run one day per week in the late afternoon to evening and may be held at IU Kokomo or at a local hospital, and each week pairs online work with one live class session. The curriculum is the same across both tracks, and the plan of study allows students to finish the BSN in two years.
The nursing core runs 33 credits: nine required three-credit courses plus six credits of nursing electives. NURS-B 331 Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing Practice must be taken first regardless of track, and NURS-R 470 Clinical Nursing Practice Capstone must be taken in the final semester. Students do have clinical requirements. Applicants need an unencumbered Indiana RN license and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher from their regionally accredited pre-licensure nursing program. Admission to the hybrid track is rolling and stays open until the cohort fills or the deadline passes, whichever comes first: July 1 for fall, November 1 for spring. Applying takes two separate steps, the university admission application to IU Kokomo and the School of Nursing's own RN-BSN application. Students either complete the statewide general education core before admission or complete IU Kokomo's general education core.
- Unencumbered Indiana RN license required
- Hybrid or fully online track
- Two-year plan of study
- 2.0 minimum GPA from pre-licensure program
- Cohort classes one day per week
- 2nd in Indiana
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN · Public Online $10,080 annual in-state tuition 50% institutional graduation rate 147 degrees a year 65.9 scoreEvery active RN licensee is awarded 119 articulation credits on entry, which reduces the 180-quarter-credit degree to 12 remaining courses that Purdue Global puts at five terms, or 13 months, full time.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Purdue University Global's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Purdue Global's online RN-to-BSN is built for nurses who are already licensed. Admission requires a current, unencumbered license to practice as a registered nurse, an official transcript of an associate degree, diploma, or certificate in nursing, a criminal background check, and completion of orientation before classes begin; the FAQ adds that the license must be from at least one U.S. state, or a comparable license from the nation, province, or region where the applicant works as a nurse. Active RN licensees receive 119 articulation credits: 90 for the prior ASN or ADN, 15 toward arts, humanities, and social science core requirements, and 14 toward open and nursing electives. That leaves 12 courses, 3 core and 9 major, out of the 180 quarter credits the degree requires, and students with comparable prior coursework can transfer up to 16 additional general education credits. Purdue Global lists tuition at $315 per credit and puts weekly course effort at 15 to 18 hours.
Coursework runs online with no mandatory log-in times, seminars, or commuting, and the school states that students can complete coursework around a working nursing schedule. The degree still carries fieldwork: students complete a series of practicum experiences, ending in a Four Spheres BSN Capstone Practicum, at a time and location of their own choosing, and pay a $350 practicum fee per course for NU497 and NU498. Curriculum is aligned to the AACN Essentials, with courses including Evidence-Based Nursing, Health Assessment for the Nursing Professional, and Public Health Nursing: Evidence for Practice. The nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and Purdue Global holds institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission. Two eligibility limits apply: residents of Tennessee may not enroll, and international students are not eligible. Students who want to continue on can bridge toward Purdue Global's MSN by completing one graduate-level course during the BSN, and new undergraduates can test the program through a three-week trial at no cost.
- 119 credits awarded for RN licensure
- 12 courses remaining
- 13 months full-time
- No mandatory log-in times
- $315 per credit
- 3rd in Indiana
Purdue University Northwest
Hammond, IN · Public Fully online $7,536 annual in-state tuition 43% institutional graduation rate 132 degrees a year 65.3 scorePurdue Northwest runs the completion track on two timelines — a 10-month PowerPath option open only to students who finish every non-nursing requirement first, and a 16-month standard track — with the same 34 nursing credits and the same tuition either way.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Purdue University Northwest's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Purdue University Northwest's College of Nursing delivers its RN-to-BSN entirely online in five-week course blocks, built for nurses who keep working while they study. The degree totals 120 credits: 34 nursing credits taken at PNW, 30 nursing credits transferred in for an ASN or ADN, and 56 non-nursing credits, 32 of which are completed before admission. Students can transfer in up to 86 credits, 70% of the degree. Tuition runs $408.32 per credit hour, putting the 34 nursing credits at $13,882.88; new students employed by one of PNW's partner hospitals in Indiana, Illinois or Wisconsin, or attending one of its partner community colleges, may receive scholarships that bring that to $10,604.88, or $311.91 per credit. A $304-per-semester instructional materials access fee is charged separately. The program advises budgeting 3 to 4 hours of work per week for every credit hour.
There are two ways to finish. The standard track takes as few as 16 months; the accelerated PowerPath track takes as few as 10, but enrolls only students who have completed all non-nursing requirements first, and anyone who cannot continue on PowerPath moves to the 16-month track and may not switch back. Twelve nursing courses are required, taken one at a time across each five-week block except NUR 39100 and NUR 39401, which run concurrently; coursework covers pathophysiology, health promotion and education, nursing care of the aged, disabled and chronically ill, nursing leadership and management, and community and public health nursing. Clinical requirements are satisfied in several ways: students assess virtual patients with Shadow Health in NUR 38801, evaluate a simulated community using Sentinel City in NUR 48300, and complete the NUR 49800 capstone by carrying out an evidence-based project addressing a local community need they identify. The baccalaureate program at the Hammond and Westville campuses holds continuing accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.
- 120 credits total, 34 at PNW
- 100% online, 5-week courses
- 10-month or 16-month track
- Transfer up to 86 credits
- Clinicals met via virtual simulation
- 4th in Indiana
Indiana University-Northwest
Gary, IN · Public Fully online $7,717 annual in-state tuition 37% institutional graduation rate 45 degrees a year 62.2 scoreRegistered nurses move through the program as a cohort in condensed six-to-eight-week online modules, and those holding a national specialty certification can convert it into three credit hours through a prior-learning course, K304.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Indiana University-Northwest's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)IU Northwest's RN to BSN Degree Completion program delivers all of its classes online, with graduation options of 12, 18, or 24 months once general education requirements are finished. Nursing coursework runs in condensed six-to-eight-week learning modules so students can keep working, and no travel to campus is required for class. The program builds on what students already finished, granting credit for most general education courses completed as part of an ASN or diploma program; remaining general education can be taken through Indiana University's distance education programs or at another college near the student and transferred in. Coursework is structured so assignments can be completed at convenient times, with course material reachable through Canvas around the clock.
Applicants need an Associate of Science in Nursing or a nursing diploma from an accredited program, a cumulative GPA of 2.5, and a national criminal background check. They must hold a current, unencumbered RN license in the state where they practice or plan to meet clinical requirements, and that license must be in hand before the first nursing course. Applications are accepted at any time of year, directed to the IU campus nearest the student's residence, and the program is part of the statewide IU RN-BSN Consortium. Students progress as a cohort, which lets the school sequence coursework systematically. The curriculum concentrates on health promotion, disease prevention, health restoration, health maintenance, and managing individuals and families coping with acute and chronic illness, and prepares graduates to practice in acute and long-term care, community settings, home care, and other nontraditional settings. The school reports more than 180 clinical and community partner organizations. Students also build their own capstone nursing experience and may add academic minors or majors in areas such as business or psychology.
- Graduate in 12, 18, or 24 months
- All classes online, no campus travel
- 6-8 week condensed course modules
- 2.5 GPA and unencumbered RN license required
- Cohort-based progression
- 5th in Indiana
Bethel University
Mishawaka, IN · Private nonprofit $34,000 annual in-state tuition 53% institutional graduation rate 38 degrees a year 41.4 scoreBethel’s Indiana completion program takes approximately three to five semesters.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Bethel University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Bethel University's Indiana RN-to-BSN pathway recognizes up to 36 credits of prior lower-level nursing study with RN licensure. The full degree requires 120 credits, and the completion plan is approximately three to five semesters. Use the credit review to distinguish recognized nursing preparation from the courses still needed at Bethel.
The 2.5 GPA requirement applies both at entry and through completion. Nursing coursework must be finished within five years, and your RN license must be active and unencumbered in the state where practice experiences occur. That location requirement is worth resolving early if you live and work across a state line. Build the practice arrangements and continuing GPA requirement into the same plan as the semester schedule.
- Approximately three to five semesters
- Up to 36 prior nursing credits
- 2.5 GPA for entry and progression
- RN license where practice experiences occur
- 120-credit complete degree
- 6th in Indiana
University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit Fully online $35,210 annual in-state tuition 55% institutional graduation rate 107 degrees a year 41 scoreSaint Francis offers a fully online RN-to-BSN organized around three semesters.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Saint Francis organizes its fully online RN-to-BSN across three semesters for working nurses. The Fort Wayne university's curriculum focuses on health promotion, evidence-based nursing practice and professional communication.
Its Catholic mission and values are integrated into the program's approach to ethical, compassionate practice. Nursing study addresses individuals, families, groups and communities across the lifespan. The combination gives the completion curriculum both a professional-practice focus and a clearly stated faith-based educational setting.
- Three-semester completion plan
- Fully online program
- Health-promotion coursework
- Evidence-based nursing practice
- Professional communication coursework
- 7th in Indiana
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit Fully online $46,940 annual in-state tuition 70% institutional graduation rate 112 degrees a year 35.5 scoreValparaiso’s online RN-to-BSN pairs a 16-month study plan with credit recognition for prior nursing education.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Valparaiso University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Valparaiso's online plan takes 16 months after prerequisites and does not require campus visits. Entry is for RNs with accredited prior nursing education, an active unencumbered license and a 2.5 cumulative GPA. Statistics, nutrition and laboratory sciences belong before the nursing sequence, so review those courses when deciding which start date is realistic.
The first nursing course is NUR 275, a four-credit transition into baccalaureate study. Prior nursing credits are recorded only after you complete that course and receive dean approval. That makes the credit-recognition step part of the plan, not an automatic award on application. Later courses cover research, public health, leadership and healthcare ethics.
- Online study without campus visits
- 16-month plan after prerequisites
- 2.5 cumulative GPA for RN entry
- Public health and nursing leadership coursework
- Prior nursing credit recognized after NUR 275
Additional program sources: valpoedu.atlassian.net source 1 for Valparaiso University (opens in a new tab)
What It Costs: $7,536 to $10,080, or $34,000 to $46,940
Those are the two ranges, and no Indiana program on this list falls outside them. The public tier is $2,544 wide from end to end. The private tier is $12,940 wide — more than the dearest public program charges for a whole year. Which tier you are shopping in is a bigger financial decision than anything you will decide inside one.
Inside the public tier the price differences are small enough that they should not drive the choice. $2,544 a year is small next to what a handful of credits that fail to transfer will cost you, so the transfer evaluation is the comparison worth doing, not the sticker. Inside the private tier the range is wide enough to be worth interrogating: ask what Valparaiso University at $46,940 offers that Bethel University at $34,000 does not, and expect a specific answer about cohort size, faculty access or scheduling rather than a general one about quality.
Out-of-state pricing behaves differently across the two tiers and is worth checking if you are licensed in Indiana but living elsewhere, or looking at an Indiana program from another state. The private institutions charge every student the same figure. The publics do not, and the distance between their in-state and out-of-state numbers varies a great deal from one to the next — wide at some, narrow at Purdue University Global.
All of these are annual published tuition figures from IPEDS, not the price of a completion track. Most RN-to-BSN programs run 30 or so upper-level credits, so the number you actually pay turns on how many of your ADN credits transfer, whether general education you already finished counts, and how many terms you spread the rest across. Ask each school for a total-to-degree figure in writing and ask how it treats the credits you hold. Per-credit pricing is how this field hides the number.
The National Median Sits Nearer Indiana's Top Tenth than Its Middle
BLS reports a median of $83,500 — $40.14 an hour — for Indiana's 68,980 registered nurses, running from $66,750 at the 10th percentile to $105,750 at the 90th. The national median is $97,550. That is $14,050 above where the middle of Indiana sits and only $8,200 below where the best-paid tenth of Indiana nurses sit, which places the state 36th of 51.
That shape is worth holding next to the tuition decision. Indiana's public tier makes this degree cheap enough that the maths works on almost any assumption. The private tier costs $26,464 a year more than the cheapest public option, and the pay ceiling it would have to clear is set by a state-wide wage level, not by which school issued the diploma.
The caveat that applies to every salary figure on this site: BLS reports all registered nurses as one occupation and does not break pay out by degree. There is no federal number for what an Indiana BSN earns against an Indiana ADN, and anyone quoting one has made it up. What the BSN is associated with is access to roles paying above the RN median — charge, management, case management, public health — rather than a raise in the job you are already doing.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.
The Indiana Program the Score Cannot Reach
One more Indiana institution runs a confirmed RN-to-BSN completion track and does not appear in the ranking above. The score needs all three of its inputs present — in-state tuition, institutional graduation rate, and at least ten degrees a year — and where one is absent from the federal file, scoring on the other two produces a number that cannot be set against the 7 above it. It is listed here because the program is real and you may want to look at it.
- American College of Education, Indianapolis — IPEDS carries no graduation rate for this institution