Rounds with Leadership: A Deeper Dive into the Data

Since the late 1970s, AACN has been recognized as the nation’s leading source for data on trends in academic nursing related to baccalaureate and higher degree programs. AACN’s research and data team launch a survey each year to collect data on student enrollment and graduations as well as demographics, academic characteristics, and salaries of faculty and deans. These data are critical to understanding pathways into the nursing profession and establishing key benchmarks needed to inform decision-making at the institutional level.

Earlier this month, AACN released results of its 2025-2026 annual survey, indicating that enrollment in nursing schools was up across all program types, with one exception (PhD programs were down by 3%). Applications to these nursing programs were also up across the board, with one exception (master’s programs were down by 0.9%). In this month’s column, we highlight additional data points not previously reported to provide a closer look at AACN’s data collection efforts and spark ideas for informing research, scholarship, and program assessment.

5-Year Trends: AACN typically reports two-year data comparisons to illustrate year-over-year indicators of potential trends in student enrollment. These numbers are derived by examining two points in time and are sensitive to short-term fluctuations and external conditions. In the published data report, AACN presents 5-year data graphs to depict directional trends in program enrollment, which are derived from data provided by the same set of schools (2021-2025). Findings show:

• Enrollment increases in entry-level baccalaureate (10.4%), master’s (1.0%), and Doctor of Nursing Practice or DNP (9.8%) programs.
• Enrollment decreases in RN-to-baccalaureate (21.9%) and PhD (9.3%) programs.

Men in Nursing: Males accounted for 12.6% of all baccalaureate students as well as 11.8%, 16%, and 11.5% of students enrolled in master’s, DNP, and PhD programs, respectively. Representation of males across all types of nursing programs has increased since 2024.

Enrollment by Major Area of Study: In addition to program level findings, AACN collects more granular data on nursing student enrollment by major. For example:

• Master’s Programs: Nurse Practitioner (NP) majors accounted for 66.3% of master’s enrollees, and Clinical Nurse Specialist majors comprised 0.3% of enrolled master’s students. Top major in terms of percentage of enrolled master’s students include Administration (10.3%), Education (10.2%), Generalist (6.7%), Informatics (2%), Clinical Nurse Leader (1%), Nurse Midwifery (1%), and Community/Public Health (0.7%).
• DNP Programs: For students entering DNP programs at the post-baccalaureate level, NP majors accounted for the largest percentage of enrollees (68.5%). For students enrolling in DNP programs at the post-master’s level, Leadership accounted for 39.3% of enrollees, followed by Generalist (21.4%), NP (16.5%), Advanced Practice (10.1%), and other majors (4.8%).

Post-Doctoral Programs: AACN also collects data on post-doctoral programs, which serve as an important pathway into careers in nursing science. In 2025, 42 post-doctoral programs were offered, with 117 enrolled students. Sixty-four students graduated from these programs last year.

Faculty and Dean Demographics: Reporting key characteristics of academic nursing professionals is essential to workforce development, recognizing retirement patterns, and succession planning. AACN’s latest faculty and deans’ salary surveys found the following:

• 562 deans (68.2%) are in their first deanship, with 222 serving in the role for 2 years or less.
• Schools of nursing employ 56,481 faculty, including 24,019 full-time and 32,462 part-time nurse faculty.
• Decreasing over the last 10 years, the average age for a nursing school dean was 57.4 years in 2025. Average age of doctorally prepared faculty is 60.2 for professors, 55.0 for associate professors, 48.9 for assistant professors, and 49.7 for instructors.
• 63.7% of deans were prepared in research-focused doctoral programs and 30.8% in DNP programs; 5.1% of deans are master’s prepared. More than 60% of faculty are doctoral prepared, including 22.6% with research-focused doctorates and 33.0% with a DNP.

Leveraging AACN Data for Institutional Insights

Building on the information featured in our annual survey reports, AACN offers Customized Data Reports tailored to meet institutional benchmarking and research needs. Reports can be produced using selected data across hundreds of variables, enabling comparisons on the national, state, and local levels. Custom reports are used by faculty, deans, scientists, consultants, and others to compare nursing programs, support research studies, assess market needs, and inform new initiatives.

For those interested in learning more, AACN offers sample custom reports, case studies, and  Frequently Asked Questions to showcase how schools may leverage our data for maximum impact. We encourage you to learn more about AACN’s institutional data and research services by visiting the online data hub or by contacting staff at datarequest@aacnnursing.org for guidance.