Use the Jonas/AACN program to build your faculty and executive pipeline
A nurse can be clinically superb for 20 years and never move into a faculty or executive role. The difference is rarely ability; it is sponsorship. Nationally, the pipeline is thin: AACN reported 1,588 full-time nurse faculty vacancies in 2025 and a vacancy rate of 7.9% in October 2026.
Jonas Scholars addresses this by pairing $6,000 per year for two years with a dollar-for-dollar school match, plus mentoring and leadership development. Because individuals cannot apply directly, the administrator's role is to identify a high-potential bedside clinician early, match them to a DNP or PhD pathway, and partner with a school on the nomination.
The result is not just tuition support; it is a structured succession strategy for faculty and executive roles.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) data puts the pressure plainly: 1,588 full-time nurse faculty vacancies were reported in 2025, and an October 2026 AACN update places the national vacancy rate at 7.9%, up slightly from 7.2% the prior year. Even more relevant for administrators, 80.9% of those vacant roles required or preferred a doctoral degree. AACN's fact sheet also notes schools identified a need for 150 additional faculty positions to keep up with student demand. The fact sheet does not currently report a national figure for students turned away, so treat that gap as demand pressure rather than a precise count.
National workforce surveys do not currently offer one consistent percentage for CNOs and nurse executives with doctorates. Instead, the faculty vacancy pattern itself is the succession warning: if most faculty openings want doctoral preparation, your next director, CNO, or educator likely needs that same credential for nurse executive roles and responsibilities. The risk is not an abstract shortage. It is a bench problem. Administrators should: - Identify two or three high-potential clinicians now and open a conversation about DNP nursing leadership or PhD timing. - Treat a Jonas Scholars nomination as a formal sponsorship step, not a one-off award. - Map a five-year faculty or executive pipeline around structured doctoral funding and mentorship.
Doctoral nursing education, including nursing administration and leadership programs, has shifted from a largely self-funded path to a structured scholarship pipeline, and the Jonas Scholars Program is one of the clearest recent examples. Jonas Nursing, the initiative of Jonas Philanthropies, partners with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to support doctoral students preparing for faculty roles and non-bedside nursing leadership careers. The 2026-2028 cohort includes 80 scholars from 57 schools, with both PhD and DNP candidates represented.
Each Jonas Scholar receives $6,000 per year for two years toward tuition from Jonas Nursing. That funding is paired with leadership development, mentorship, and networking opportunities. If a Scholar completes the program and accepts a faculty position, an additional $6,000 may follow; that award is tied to faculty placement, not an automatic grant. Some descriptions cite a larger total package because the Jonas contribution is expected to be matched by the scholar's school; the dependable combined tuition figure is $12,000 per year.1
Students do not apply directly. AACN-invited schools of nursing run an internal selection process and may nominate no more than two specific students. For the 2026-2028 cohort, the national application deadline was June 26, 2026, but internal deadlines can be earlier, so candidates should check with their institution. Priority focus areas for the 2026-2028 cycle include mental health, pediatrics, and veterans' health.
A clinician who already teaches is your strongest Jonas Scholar candidate. Azusa Pacific University's newsroom release about a DNP cardiovascular nurse practitioner who became a Jonas Scholar shows why.1
The signals were visible long before the award. The scholar brought eight years of bedside and advanced practice cardiovascular experience, had served as adjunct faculty for prelicensure nursing students since 2019, and had two faculty mentors guiding her through the DNP. That combination of clinical depth, teaching reps, and faculty sponsorship is precisely what Jonas Nursing and AACN rewarded in a national cohort of 80 doctoral students. APU has placed a scholar in every Jonas cohort since 2016, which is a reminder that school relationships compound over time.
The same national cohort reflects research interests in pediatrics, mental health, and veterans' health. That breadth means nurse administrators in almost any service line can find a future faculty or executive leader worth sponsoring.
Choosing between a DNP and a PhD is a pipeline decision, not just a personal preference. The pathway you endorse shapes whether your future leader manages systems or builds the evidence base.
A DNP prepares nurses to lead quality improvement, translate research into clinical operations, and move into roles through nurse executive programs, such as chief nursing officer, director of professional practice, or health system administrator. Time to degree tends to be shorter, and the program is applied, with a capstone project rather than a dissertation.
A PhD prepares nurses to design studies, secure research funding, and teach in research-intensive or tenure-track academic roles. This is the pathway for building the nurse scientist and permanent faculty pipeline, though it typically takes longer because of dissertation research.
The 2024-2026 Jonas Scholars cohort included 63 scholars: 52 PhD and 11 DNP students, drawn from 45 schools in 25 states.1 The 2026-2028 cohort grew to 80 scholars: 59 PhD and 21 DNP students, drawn from 57 schools in 30 states. PhD remains the larger share, but the DNP presence is increasing: from 11 of 63 to 21 of 80 in just two cycles.
For administrators advising staff, the sharp rule is: steer a clinician toward the DNP if the goal is executive or systems leadership, a path that often includes Nurse Executive Certification, and toward the PhD if the goal is a faculty-scientist or research-intensive academic role. What many nurse leaders still call the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars program now operates as the Jonas Nursing and AACN Scholars program, with leadership development, mentorship, and a post-graduation faculty service incentive built in.
This distinction points directly to DNP versus PhD. A nurse who thrives on implementing practice change and managing teams will likely find the DNP more useful, while a future researcher needs PhD training.
Current teaching and improvement roles signal readiness for a faculty or executive pathway and strengthen the nomination. If none exists, help the nurse start a small teaching or project role before applying.
Many nursing scholarships carry a service or faculty expectation. Confirm that a post-degree position exists and that the candidate understands any required teaching commitment before you nominate them.
The $12,000 Jonas Scholarship is only half of the standard package: for the 2026-2028 cohort, every award requires a dollar-for-dollar institutional match.
Jonas Nursing pays $12,000 per Scholar over two years in two $6,000 installments. The institution matches with another $12,000 in four $3,000 installments across the same period. The combined package is $24,000 per Scholar over two years, or $12,000 per year when the Jonas and school portions are added.
Funds are disbursed through the school. The Jonas portion goes to the student's tuition account rather than directly to the student, except where a reimbursement process applies. Allowable uses center on tuition and academic costs. Jonas funds cannot cover indirect or overhead expenses, while the institutional match may be applied to tuition or other academic costs. Schools must also cover Scholar travel and hotel costs for the Jonas Scholar Conference and AACN Student Policy Summit in Washington, DC, in March 2027; the match may pay those expenses, but Jonas funds cannot.
A separate incentive exists for completers who accept qualifying faculty positions for at least one year after graduation: an additional $6,000. That faculty-role award is not part of the standard $24,000 package, so administrators should describe it separately rather than folding it into the base award.
School-level figures vary because some pages cite only the Jonas contribution ($12,000), others report the combined Jonas-plus-match total ($24,000), and a few annualize the combined amount as $12,000 per year. Older pages may still show $10,000 or $20,000 from prior funding structures,1 or a $40,000 figure that covered multiple Scholars in an earlier cohort. Without the cohort year and wording, those numbers cannot be reliably compared to the current 2026-2028 structure.
Ask the partner school for its specific match obligation and total package in writing for the current cohort. That one document resolves most confusion about what a nominee will actually receive.
Which bedside clinicians are most likely to succeed in a DNP or PhD program and eventually step into faculty roles or nurse administrator roles?
Spot the pattern. In your unit or department, look for registered nurses who already teach as adjuncts or preceptors, lead a quality or evidence-based practice project, ask "why" about outcomes, and carry informal influence with peers even when they do not hold a formal title. Those four signals, teaching instinct, project ownership, research curiosity, and unit-level credibility, predict a smoother transition into doctoral work.
Start with a development conversation in which the nurse names their five-year goal and you note the formal preparation that goal requires. Then assign one stretch project that forces them to collect data, present to leadership, or revise a unit protocol. Finally, introduce them to a nursing school in your region that participates in Jonas Scholarship nominations so the path becomes concrete before the application season.
Pair promising clinicians with a doctoral-prepared executive mentor early and document readiness in a brief internal note: leadership potential, teaching experience, projects led, and an estimated timeline for doctoral entry. But do not stop at the most visible candidates. Quiet nurses who precept new grads, lead committees, or bring a new lens to patient flow often have stronger faculty potential than those who seek the spotlight. Ask unit managers to name two people who make the team smarter, not just louder, and meet those nurses next.
The school, not the student, submits the Jonas Scholars nomination, so your role is to help a strong clinician become a well-prepared nominee and to open the school relationship early.
The Jonas Scholarship raises a set of predictable questions: who can apply, which degrees qualify, what the faculty commitment means, and whether the money stacks with other aid. The short answers below reflect the 2026-2028 program cycle.
A designated faculty advisor is matched to each scholar's research or clinical area. Scholars participate in mentoring, leadership development, policy, and teaching activities. Plan for the March 2027 Scholar Conference; the school covers travel and lodging, often from the required university match. Annual reports are expected from the university, scholar, and faculty advisor.
The strongest caveat is the faculty commitment. A later $6,000 award is possible if the scholar serves in a faculty role for at least one year after the program. Official wording varies on when the role must begin and how it is documented, so treat this as conditional and confirm details before relying on it.
The current materials do not explicitly state whether Jonas funds may be combined with employer tuition assistance, scholarships, grants, or loans. Ask your employer and the program directly before assuming coordination. Scholarship funds used for qualified tuition and fees may have different tax treatment than funds used for other academic costs, so a tax advisor can be useful.
Retention usually comes down to two levers: a pay-back agreement that keeps a nurse on payroll by contract, or a role redesign that gives that nurse a reason to stay. The first prevents a departure. The second prevents the disengagement that makes a departure likely.
Employer education benefits are tax-free only up to $5,250 per employee per calendar year under IRS Section 127. Amounts above that cap are generally taxable unless another exclusion applies, so a written, nondiscriminatory plan matters for both the employer and the nurse. Standard reimbursement often runs $3,000 to $5,000 a year, while stronger system programs may cover $5,000 to $25,000 annually in exchange for a two-to-four-year post-graduation service commitment. For the $12,000 Jonas award, scholarship tax treatment depends on how funds are used and the student's circumstances; doctoral candidates should confirm the tax impact with a qualified advisor.
Employers that leave a doctoral-prepared nurse in an unchanged role after graduation are more likely to lose that nurse to faculty, quality, or executive positions elsewhere. Role redesign, protected time, and a named succession path are the levers that most reliably convert a completed doctorate into retained leadership capacity.
This quarter, map your next two to three succession gaps to specific high-potential clinicians and start a conversation about doctoral sponsorship.
