Morgan State Earns 100% NCLEX Pass Rate

Morgan State University’s nursing program is continuing to raise the bar in Maryland and beyond.

The University announced that its 2025 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, a milestone that places Morgan among the top-performing nursing programs in the country. The accomplishment was confirmed through the Maryland Board of Nursing’s 2026 fiscal year reporting cycle.

According to the 2025-2026 NCLEX-RN Program Report, every Morgan graduate who tested during the reporting period passed the national licensure exam on their first attempt. That performance exceeded both the statewide average of nearly 87% and the national average of approximately 86%.

The achievement also helped Morgan secure a top ranking among Maryland nursing programs for the 2025-2026 academic year. Mountain Measurement, Inc., a national leader in nursing education analytics and psychometrics, ranked Morgan in the 97th percentile among the state’s 31 pre-licensure nursing programs.

“This achievement affirms the strength, discipline and intentionality of a program that has steadily built toward this level of excellence,” said Kim Dobson Sydnor, Ph.D., dean of Morgan’s School of Community Health and Policy. “A 100 percent pass rate is not simply a measure of academic success; it reflects the readiness of our graduates to enter the profession at a critical moment for healthcare.”

University officials say the accomplishment reflects years of growth and improvement within the program. Morgan last earned a perfect NCLEX pass rate in 2018.

Department of Nursing Chair Maija Anderson, DNP, APRN, said the program remains focused on continuing that momentum.

“Our faculty and students have worked with focus and purpose to reach this level of performance, but we view it as a foundation — not a finish line,” Anderson said.

The recognition comes as the nation continues to face a major nursing shortage. Federal projections estimate the U.S. could face a shortage of more than 263,000 registered nurses by 2026, while Maryland alone is expected to need nearly 13,800 additional nurses by 2035.

Morgan leaders say the University’s nursing program is helping meet that demand by preparing students to work in diverse, high-demand healthcare settings, particularly in urban communities like Baltimore.

Beyond exam scores, Morgan’s nursing graduates also outperformed state and national averages in measures tied to clinical readiness and competency, according to University officials.

Morgan’s nursing program offers accredited bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree options, along with an accelerated online RN-to-BSN-to-MPH pathway for registered nurses looking to advance their careers.