Facts and Figures

Students 

Numbers 

• 14,961 graduates since 1892  
• 756 students currently enrolled in degree programs (MS, DNP, PhD)* 
• 106 students currently enrolled in the non-degree OPEN (Online Prerequisites for Entry to Nursing) program*

* As of July 15, 2026

Demographics (for enrolled degree and non-degree students) 

• Average age of enrolled students: 30*
• Age range: 20-67*
• States represented: 31*
• Countries represented: 28 (plus 6 U.S. nonresident aliens)*
• Students who identify as men: 13%*
• Students who identify as Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and/or Pacific Islander: 51%* 
• Students of unknown racial identity: 22%*

* As of July 21, 2026

Admissions 

• Average undergraduate GPA: 3.6
• Top careers of entrants into the Masters Direct Entry program: health care, sciences and research, education, social services, financial services
• Students who receive financial aid: 71%

Faculty and Staff 

Dean 

• Lorraine Frazier, PhD, RN, FAAN 

Numbers 

• 73 full-time faculty members 
• 20 attending faculty members 
• 312 part-time faculty members  
• 387 clinical faculty members (preceptors)  

Demographics 

• 31% of full-time and part-time faculty identify as Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and/or Pacific Islander 
• 14% of full-time and part-time faculty identify as male
• 52% of staff identify as Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander *

Honors

• 26 faculty are Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing^†
• 21 faculty are Fellows of the New York Academy of Medicine^†
• 3 faculty are members of the National Academy of Medicine
• 3 faculty are U.S. Fulbright Scholar alumni^†
• 10 faculty are Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame inductees†
• 4 faculty are Fellows of the American College of Medical Informatics
• 5 faculty are Fellows of the American Heart Association^†
• 4 faculty have been named Living Legends of the American Academy of Nursing^† 

* Does not include multiracial staff or those who choose not to disclose their race 
† Through 2026 

Academics 

• Degrees offered: MS, DNP, PhD  

• Non-degree, certificate, and subspecialty programs 

  • Non-degree OPEN (Online Prerequisites for Entry to Nursing) program 

  • Certificate of Professional Achievement in Palliative Care Throughout the Lifespan for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs)  

  • Subspecialty programs in Oncology and Women’s Health 

• Class size  

  • Masters Direct Entry program: didactic classes, 40; clinical simulation classes, 8; clinical placement integration, 1:1 

  • DNP – Direct Care program and DNP – Systems Leadership program: 28

  • PhD program: 7 

• National licensure and certification exam pass rates 

  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program (AACN): 86% (overall pass rate), 83% (first-time pass rate)*

  • Family Nurse Practitioner program (ANCC): 100% (overall pass rate), 100% (first-time pass rate)* 

  • Masters Direct Entry program NCLEX-RN (NCSBN): 93%* 

  • Midwifery program (American Midwifery Certification Board): 67% (overall pass rate), 69% (first-time pass rate)†  

  • Nurse Anesthesia program (National Certification Examination): 81% (master’s program pass rate)

  • Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program (PNCB): 94%* 

  • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program (ANCC): 97% (overall pass rate), 97% (first-time pass rate)* 

• Job placement upon graduation: 90% 

• Alumni serve in leadership positions across hospitals, academia, federal agencies, professional organizations, and state and local government 

* Test taken in calendar year 2025 
† The calculation of this pass rate for the 2025 graduating class is based on ACME accreditation standards

Clinical Care

• One of only eight nursing schools in the nation associated with a major academic medical center (Columbia University Irving Medical Center)  

• All clinical faculty maintain a faculty practice 

• Faculty practice through the ColumbiaDoctors Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Group   

• 178 clinical partnership practice sites throughout New York City  

• 9 global clinical integration sites in 9 countries on four continents* 

• Home to the 14-room, two-story, 16,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center

• Among the first nursing schools in the country to use Pediatric HAL, the world’s most advanced pediatric patient simulator

* This is the number of active clinical integration sites in 2025-26; a few are on pause

Research  

• #2 among U.S. schools of nursing in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for federal fiscal year 2025* 

• Over $27 million in federal and nonfederal funds awarded in fiscal year 2026† 

• Over 60 active grants in fiscal year 2026† 

* October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025 
† July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 

Nationwide Firsts 

• First U.S. nursing school to establish a graduate university-based midwifery program (1955)

• First U.S. nursing school to award a master’s degree in a clinical nursing specialty (1956)

• First U.S. nursing school to offer a doctorate in clinical nursing practice (DNP) (2004)

• Only U.S. nursing school designated a Collaborating Center for Advanced Practice Nursing by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) 

• First U.S. nursing school to require all faculty to establish either a clinical practice or research program (1988). This clinical requirement led to the 1994 establishment of the Center for Advanced Practice (CAP), eventually called Columbia Advanced Practice Nursing Associates (CAPNA), the first independent primary care practice run by nurse practitioners. Today, Columbia Nursing’s faculty practice is known as ColumbiaDoctors Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Group.