Texas is the second most populous state in the country, with an estimated 31.7 million residents as of July 2025, and it added more people than any other state that year. That growth is the backdrop to everything about nursing here: a large, still-expanding population spread across a huge geography needs a correspondingly large nursing workforce, and Texas has built one of the biggest nursing education systems in the country to supply it.
Texas registered nurses earned a median of $95,970 a year as of May 2025, close to the national RN median of $97,550. The spread matters more than the midpoint when you are choosing where to work: the bottom 10% of Texas RNs earned about $67,120 and the top 10% about $127,950, a gap driven mostly by metro area, specialty, and years of experience rather than by which degree you started with.
Nursing education in Texas
Texas offers nursing education at every level, from vocational nursing certificates through associate and bachelor’s degrees to master’s, DNP, and PhD programs. The Texas Board of Nursing approves and lists every pre-licensure program in the state, and that list – not a school’s marketing copy – is the authoritative record of whether a program’s graduates can sit for the NCLEX.
Two things to check before you commit to any Texas program. First, Board approval and national accreditation are separate things. Board of Nursing approval is what makes you eligible for licensure in Texas; national accreditation by ACEN or CCNE is what makes your credits transferable and your degree acceptable to graduate programs and to employers who require an accredited degree. A program can hold one without the other. Second, national accreditor names get confused constantly, including on school websites. ACEN is the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and it accredits practical, associate, and some baccalaureate and graduate programs. CCNE is the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and it accredits baccalaureate and graduate programs only. A handful of Texas schools hold both, for different programs or different campuses.
Featured programs
1. Austin Community College
ACC runs both a vocational nursing program and an associate degree nursing (RN) program, and both are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and approved by the Texas Board of Nursing. The vocational program is one of only two in Texas holding ACEN accreditation, which matters if you expect to bridge into an RN or BSN program later, since ACEN-accredited coursework transfers more predictably. The Texas Board of Nursing lists Austin Community College’s nursing program as a Texas Approved LVN Education Program. The public college allows anyone to apply and you might even be able to transfer credits from other community colleges or degrees then submit the supporting documents, including your immunization records. Graduates of the program qualify for the practical nursing license and can work in many healthcare settings, including school health offices, clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
Austin Community College5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.Austin, Texas 78752-4390Phone: 512-223-4ACC(4222)
2. Central Texas College at Killeen
The Department of Nursing & Allied Health offers several online nursing degree programs. The Nursing Prospective ADN Student Program includes anatomy, pharmacology, microbiology, and other introductory-level nursing courses. The more advanced Prospective Articulating Student Program is also an entry-level online nursing program that includes integrated nursing skills II. You can also choose the Nursing Associate Degree in Applied Science. Completing this program qualifies you to take and pass the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN).
6200 W Central Texas Expy,Killeen, TX 76549, USAPhone: 254-526-7161
3. Galen College of Nursing, San Antonio Campus
Galen’s San Antonio campus offers a vocational nursing (PN/VN) program, an associate degree in nursing, an LVN-to-ADN bridge, and a bachelor of science in nursing, plus an online RN to BSN completion track. The vocational program runs as little as 12 months full time and prepares you for the NCLEX-PN; the LVN-to-ADN bridge is structured as six quarters over roughly 18 months, with 720 didactic hours, 216 lab hours, and 360 clinical hours. The associate nursing program at the San Antonio campus, and at its off-campus instructional sites in Austin, Richardson, and Houston, is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, with a most recent decision of continuing accreditation. Program lengths at for-profit colleges change more often than at public institutions, so confirm the current timeline and total cost with the campus directly before enrolling.
7411 John Smith Dr #1400,San Antonio, TX 78229, USAPhone: 210-733-3056
4. Houston Community College
If you have your heart set on living in the largest city in Texas, check out Houston Community College. The school offers a vocational nursing program that focuses on disease prevention, health promotion, treatment, and rehabilitation. Graduates of the program can work under the supervision of registered nurses in a variety of healthcare settings. Apply for the associates of applied science degree with an Allied Health/ Vocational Nursing track (AAS), a 4-semester plus capstone course program, or choose a Licensed Vocational Nursing Certificate, Level I track. The nursing certificate takes less than 4 semesters to complete and includes a capstone course.
5. The University of Texas at Austin
The university offers several undergraduate and graduate programs to students with or without a background in nursing. To earn a bachelor of science in nursing, apply to the university and then to the School of Nursing program. An Alternate Entry Masters of Science in Nursing program lets you use a BA degree from any other field of study to complete a master of science in nursing. This saves you from having to enroll in the bachelor of science in nursing program in nursing to earn a second BA first. Go on to earn a doctor of philosophy degree in your choice of nursing areas or a doctor of nursing practice.
110 Inner Campus DriveAustin, TX 78705Phone: 512-471-3434
Texas Board of Nursing approved schools
A note on the three Abilene schools below. From 1981 they taught nursing jointly through a consortium, the Abilene Intercollegiate School of Nursing, later renamed the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing. That arrangement has since unwound. Abilene Christian University left in the mid-2010s and now runs its own CCNE-accredited School of Nursing. Hardin-Simmons University left in spring 2025 and earned its own initial CCNE accreditation retroactive to September 2025, following a site visit in September of that year. McMurry University took full ownership of PHSSN in 2025 and operates it as its nursing school. If you are reading older directories or catalogs, expect them to still show all three under the consortium name.
Abilene Christian University School of Nursing Location: Abilene, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: N/A Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.acu.edu
Angelo State University School of Nursing Location: San Angelo, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: 1928 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.angelo.edu
Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing Location: Dallas, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: 1845 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.baylor.edu
East Texas Baptist University School of Nursing Location: Marshall, Texas Programs: BSN Founded: 1912 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.etbu.edu
Hardin-Simmons University School of Nursing Location: Abilene, Texas Programs: BSN, RN-to-BSN Founded: nursing taught since 1942; independent school since 2025 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (initial accreditation retroactive to September 2025) Website: http://www.hsutx.edu
Houston Christian University, Linda R. Dunham School of Nursing Location: Houston, Texas Programs: BSN Founded: 1960 (university renamed from Houston Baptist University in 2022) Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: https://hc.edu
Lamar University School of Nursing Location: Beaumont, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: 1923 Accreditation: ACEN – Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing Website: http://www.lamar.edu
Lubbock Christian University School of Nursing Location: Lubbock, Texas Programs: BSN Founded: 1957 Accreditation: ACEN – Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing Website: http://www.lcu.edu
McMurry University, Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing Location: Abilene, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: 1981 as the Abilene Intercollegiate School of Nursing; wholly owned by McMurry since 2025 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.mcm.edu
Midwestern State University School of Nursing Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Programs: BSN, MSN Founded: 1922 Accreditation: CCNE – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Website: http://www.mwsu.edu
Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing Location: Prairie View, Texas, with instructional sites at the Houston Texas Medical Center and the Northwest Houston Center Programs: BSN, MSN, DNP Founded: 1878 Accreditation: CCNE and ACEN – dually accredited; ACEN accreditation dates to 1973 and remains current, with the next scheduled evaluation visit in fall 2029 Website: http://www.pvamu.edu
Southwestern Adventist University School of Nursing Location: Keene, Texas Programs: BSN Founded: 1894 Accreditation: ACEN – Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing Website: http://www.swau.edu
Related guide
For admissions requirements, program costs, and how to choose the right program, read our full guide to Nursing schools in Texas: programs, costs, and how to choose.