Michigan
Best RN to BSN Programs in Michigan, Ranked (2026)
Michigan's Cheapest RN to BSN Programs and Its Best-Graduating Ones Are Two Different Lists
Sort Michigan's 6 ranked programs by price and the 4 public ones take the top 4 places. Sort them by institutional graduation rate and the order flips exactly: both private programs land above every public one. Andrews University posts the highest rate at 72%, and the strongest public figure is 58%. The bottom of the graduation range is 48%.
So there is no program here that wins on both counts, and the ranking you are looking at is, in Michigan, close to a straight cost sort. That is a deliberate choice and it is worth defending rather than hiding. Tuition is weighted at 55% and graduation rate at 45% because the IPEDS graduation rate measures first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates — and an RN transferring in an ADN and taking two courses a term is none of those three. The tuition number is measured on you. The graduation rate is measured on the eighteen-year-olds down the hall, and it is a signal about the institution, not a completion rate for the track you would actually enroll in.
What you would pay for the better institutional number is concrete. Saginaw Valley State University charges $12,930 a year and Andrews University charges $33,696 — 2.6 times as much. The clearest version of the trade sits inside one city: Wayne State University and University of Detroit Mercy are both in Detroit, and they are the first and last entries on this list, at $14,274 against $32,946 a year.
Nothing on the pay side breaks the tie. Michigan's median RN wage is $94,300 against $97,550 nationally, which puts the state 25th of 51 — dead center, and $3,250 short. A Michigan RN-to-BSN does not pay for itself faster here than it would anywhere else, so the more you spend on it, the longer it takes to make sense.
One thing this state does not have is a single dominant provider. Wayne State University confers the most nursing bachelor's degrees at 181 a year, but Saginaw Valley State University and University of Detroit Mercy are not far behind at 159 and 139 — three institutions accounting for 479 of the 633 these six confer between them. Two of those three are public and sit in the top three here; the third is the second most expensive program on the list.
The 6 RN to BSN Programs in Michigan, Ranked
Scored on in-state tuition (55%) and institutional graduation rate (45%). How we rank.
- 1st in Michigan
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI · Public Hybrid $14,274 annual in-state tuition 58% institutional graduation rate 181 degrees a year 65.2 scoreWayne State grants 33 credits of NCLEX equivalency toward the 121-credit BSN and runs the nursing sequence as a two-year fall-entry cohort, but the page states the program is on moratorium effective Fall 2027.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Wayne State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Wayne State's College of Nursing built this pathway for nurses holding an associate degree or a hospital-based diploma. A current RN license is required before coursework begins, though the program sets no work requirement. The BSN takes 121 credits in total: 30 credits of professional nursing coursework that must be taken at Wayne State, 33 credits granted as NCLEX equivalency, and 58 credits of general education that may be completed at a community college or at WSU. The nursing sequence runs 15 credits per year over two years, covering evidence-based practice and research, nursing informatics, writing in health care, transcultural health, public community health nursing, leadership and management, and a capstone (NUR 4135) flagged as carrying a clinical component. Students add a three-credit cognate, with options including disaster preparedness, complementary and integrative medicine, and gerontological nursing.
Classes are offered online and in a hybrid format, and the hybrid courses meet synchronously online rather than on the student's own schedule. The program also draws on on-campus lectures, research in Wayne State laboratories, and clinical experiences at locations throughout the Detroit area. Students are admitted annually and each cohort starts in the fall. How long the degree takes depends on how many credits transfer in, but it is designed to be finished in two years, and each applicant's prior coursework is evaluated for transfer credit against an individualized Plan of Work developed with an academic services officer. Anyone weighing this program should read the notice at the top of the page first: the RN to BSN program is on moratorium effective Fall 2027.
- On moratorium effective Fall 2027
- Current RN license required
- 121 total credits; 30 taken at WSU
- 33 credits for NCLEX equivalency
- Online and synchronous hybrid
- 2nd in Michigan
Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI · Public Fully online $13,374 annual in-state tuition 52% institutional graduation rate 95 degrees a year 63.3 scoreAn active, unencumbered RN license earns 47 credits of advanced placement, cutting the remaining nursing requirement to a 16-credit core that NMU suggests pairing with an optional leadership certificate or minor at a discounted tuition rate.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Northern Michigan University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Northern Michigan University runs its RN to BSN online only through NMU Global Campus, for nurses who already hold a license but have not finished a baccalaureate degree. The degree totals 120 credits, and an active, unencumbered RN license brings 47 of them as advanced placement. What remains is a 16-credit nursing core covering nursing research and evidence-based practice, nursing care of populations, a populations clinical for the practicing nurse, a nursing issues seminar, leadership and management, and professional nursing practice, alongside 30-40 credits of general education. Students must earn a minimum of 30 credits from NMU to graduate, and the program encourages filling the credits beyond the nursing core with either an optional 16-credit leadership certificate or a 20-credit leadership minor; NU and LDR courses are offered at a discounted tuition rate. Nursing and leadership courses are delivered in 7-8 week accelerated blocks.
Clinical work is project-based and organized around three areas of focus: interacting with clinicians and patients, online virtual clinical simulations, and implementing evidence into practice. Clinics are completed in the student's local area, and activities are individualized to the student's learning goals and designed to be relevant to their current workplace. Admission requires an online application to NMU, an associate of applied science degree in nursing from an accredited institution with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and a registered nursing license free of restrictions or sanctions; students in their final year of an accredited ADN program can be admitted conditionally. Once enrolled, nursing majors must maintain a 2.25 NMU cumulative grade point average and complete every nursing course with a minimum grade of C. NMU's BSN is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, with accreditation extending to December 31, 2031.
- Online only via NMU Global Campus
- 47 advanced placement credits
- 16-credit nursing core
- ADN with 2.5 GPA required
- Unrestricted RN license required
- 3rd in Michigan
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, MI · Public Online $12,930 annual in-state tuition 48% institutional graduation rate 159 degrees a year 61.8 scoreSVSU runs two entry routes into the same BSN completion track — one for nurses already holding an unencumbered license, one for students coming from an affiliated ADN program — each with its own published admissions and course requirements.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Saginaw Valley State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Saginaw Valley State University's RN to BSN track is built for nurses who already hold a license and want to finish the bachelor's degree while working. Courses run online with one exception: a single clinical course. The nursing coursework can be completed in as few as four semesters, though the department states students may take longer and move at their own pace, and that any remaining general education and graduation requirements are on top of the RN to BSN program requirements. There are two ways in (one for nurses holding an unencumbered nursing license, and one for students from an affiliated ADN program) and SVSU publishes separate admissions and course requirements for each.
Admission calls for an associate degree GPA of 2.5 or higher, a statistics course passed with a C or better, and a current Michigan RN license; the department explains the statistics requirement as preparation for the data work behind evidence-based practice. Clinical work is arranged around where the student already is, combining direct patient care at local sites, virtual experiences, and leadership experiences at a healthcare agency the student chooses, plus community health training and a quality improvement project. On cost, SVSU says the total varies with each student's individualized academic plan and offers a deferred payment plan on nursing courses so students have time to secure employer tuition reimbursement. Credits transferred in do not expire regardless of how long a student has been away, and a named RN to BSN coordinator reviews transcripts before students apply.
- Online except one clinical course
- As few as four semesters
- Michigan RN license required
- 2.5 associate degree GPA minimum
- Statistics course, C or better
- 4th in Michigan
Lake Superior State University
Sault Ste Marie, MI · Public Online, asynchronous $14,592 annual in-state tuition 51% institutional graduation rate 41 degrees a year 61.5 scoreLSSU publishes a full course-by-course plan of study for both routes through the same 30 credits, a two-semester full-time sequence at 15 credits per term and a four-semester part-time sequence at 7 to 8 credits per term, so a nurse can see the exact term-by-term load before applying.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about Lake Superior State University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Lake Superior State University's post-licensure completion program is for registered nurses originally prepared at the associate degree or diploma level. Coursework is delivered asynchronously online, and the school ties that choice directly to who enrolls: it notes that students in the program generally work 30 or more hours per week and that the asynchronous format lets them learn on their own schedule. Nurses can go part time or full time, and LSSU publishes a suggested course pattern for each. The part-time plan runs four semesters at 7 to 8 credits per term; the full-time plan runs two semesters at 15 credits each. Both cover the same 30 LSSU credits of 300- and 400-level nursing coursework across eight courses, including NURS 360 Professional Nursing Concepts, NURS 363 Individual and Family Assessment, NURS 434 Nursing Research, NURS 432 Nursing of Populations, NURS 437 Nursing Leadership and Issues, NURS 435 Management in Nursing, and a nursing elective.
Entrance requires a passed NCLEX-RN, admission to the LSSU nursing program, and 31 transferred credits of nursing courses from an associate degree program. Students admitted from a regionally accredited ADN program who meet Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or MACRAO requirements may transfer a maximum of 64 credits toward the 125 credits needed to graduate. Applicants transferring without having completed the MTA or MACRAO are held to specific general education coursework instead: ENGL 110, ENGL 111, COMM 101, MATH 207, 7 to 8 humanities credits, PSYC 101, SOCY 101, NURS 328, BIOL 122 and CHEM 110. The school also links articulation and transfer agreements and a transfer equivalency tool for matching individual categories.
- 30 LSSU credits
- Asynchronous online
- Full-time: 2 semesters
- Part-time: 4 semesters
- Up to 64 transfer credits
- 5th in Michigan
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI · Private nonprofit Fully online $33,696 annual in-state tuition 72% institutional graduation rate 18 degrees a year 50.9 scoreAndrews awards up to 30 credits toward the degree for passing the NCLEX, part of a transfer allowance of as many as 92 credits that leaves a 32-credit nursing core to finish online.Nursing accreditation on file: ACEN. DAPIP, . Learn more about Andrews University's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Andrews University's School of Nursing offers the RN-to-BSN as a fully online completion program for registered nurses who already hold an associate degree in nursing. The nursing core is 32 credits, and the school transfers in as many as 92 credits from prior coursework, including up to 30 credits awarded for passing the NCLEX. What remains after a transcript evaluation varies by student, since general education requirements are set from the individual transcript. Courses run asynchronously, one or two at a time, generally in eight-week segments with short breaks between them, so nurses can keep working while they enroll. Students finish in as few as three semesters or spread the work across six, which the school describes as 12, 16, or 24 months. Admission is rolling, with entry points in August, January, and May.
Applicants need an active RN license, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, current AHA BLS healthcare provider CPR certification, official high school and RN transcripts, a clear criminal background check and drug screen, and current immunizations. Because the program includes practicum experiences, applications are open to nurses in the states where Andrews has permission to offer them; the school publishes that list in its general licensure disclosure. Tuition is $510 per credit, with a $30 application fee, a $150 professional fee and a $172 distance fee each semester, and roughly $200 per class in textbooks. Nurses who graduated from partner institutions with an MOU, among them Lake Michigan College, Oakland Community College, and Southwestern Michigan College, pay a discounted rate if they enroll within 36 months of passing the NCLEX. The program is approved and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.
- Fully online
- 32-credit nursing core
- Up to 30 credits for passing NCLEX
- ACEN accredited
- 2.5 GPA minimum
- 6th in Michigan
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, MI · Private nonprofit Online $32,946 annual in-state tuition 67% institutional graduation rate 139 degrees a year 49.3 scoreDetroit Mercy’s 30-credit completion plan includes one in-person community clinical course.Nursing accreditation on file: CCNE. DAPIP, . Learn more about University of Detroit Mercy's RN to BSN (opens the school's own site)Detroit Mercy's completion sequence contains 30 credits across 11 courses, with classes running for seven weeks. Students admitted after winter 2026 take coursework online. The published plans allow as little as 12 months full time or 24 months part time once applicable transfer and university core requirements are met.
One course remains an in-person community clinical experience. The move to online classes therefore does not make every program activity remote. Admission requires a 2.5 overall GPA and prior nursing degree or diploma, with RN licensure needed for unconditional admission. An individual plan should account for both any remaining core courses and the community placement, rather than treating the 30-credit nursing sequence as the full requirement for every applicant.
- 30-credit, 11-course completion sequence
- Seven-week classes
- Online classes for new cohorts
- In-person community clinical experience
- 12-month full-time or 24-month part-time plans
What It Costs in Michigan, and What Changes If You Live Somewhere Else
In-state, the range is $12,930 to $33,696, and the 4 public programs are packed tightly at the bottom — $12,930 to $14,592, a spread of $1,662 across all of them. The median of $14,433 sits inside that cluster rather than anywhere near the middle of the full range, because the two private programs are not a step up in price; they are a different bracket.
Cross the state line and the list rearranges. Lake Superior State University publishes a single rate of $14,592 regardless of residency, which makes it the cheapest option in Michigan for a nurse living anywhere else, and Northern Michigan University is next at $18,996. The other two public programs behave very differently: Wayne State University moves from $14,274 to $32,765 and Saginaw Valley State University from $12,930 to $30,450 — close enough to the $32,946 University of Detroit Mercy charges every student regardless of residency that the public discount has effectively gone. If you are enrolling from outside Michigan, the order above is not the order you should read.
All of these are annual published tuition figures from IPEDS, not what the completion track costs end to end. A completion track is typically 30-odd upper-level credits, so the number that matters to you is total to degree, and it depends on how much of your ADN and general education the school accepts and how many terms you spread the rest across. Ask for that total in writing, and ask what the per-credit rate is for anything you have to repeat. Per-credit pricing is how this field keeps the real figure off the page.
Michigan RN Pay Sits Almost Exactly in the Middle
BLS puts the median at $94,300 — $45.34 an hour — for Michigan's 104,950 registered nurses. The state ranks 25th of 51, and the $3,250 shortfall against the national median of $97,550 works out at about three percent — near enough to the national picture that Michigan pay is not by itself a reason to choose the state or to leave it.
The more useful number is the spread inside the state. Michigan RNs run from $77,260 at the 10th percentile to $116,710 at the 90th, a distance of $39,450 — roughly 12 times the gap between Michigan and the national figure. Setting, specialty, shift and years of experience move your pay far more than the state line does, and that is the part a degree can act on.
The caveat that governs every wage figure on this site: BLS reports all registered nurses as one occupation and does not split pay by degree. There is no federal number for what a Michigan BSN earns against a Michigan ADN, and anyone who quotes one has produced it themselves. What the BSN is associated with is eligibility — charge and management tracks, case management, public health, hospitals that prefer it, and admission to an MSN — rather than a raise in the job you hold now. No Michigan law requires a BSN to keep your license; New York's 2017 statute is the only one of its kind in the country, and even there it reaches only nurses licensed after it took effect.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release.
Confirmed in Michigan, Outside the Ranking
This program runs a confirmed RN-to-BSN completion track, but the annual award count the federal file carries does not clear the 10-a-year floor the ranking uses to keep comparisons like for like. That is a limit on what the ranking can measure, not a mark against the school, and it is worth a call if the location works for you.
- Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant — Confers fewer than 10 degrees a year, too few to compare