Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing Earns Accreditation from Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Accreditation recognizes the school’s commitment to academic excellence, student success, and innovation in nursing education
The Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing (PSON) has earned accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). The accreditation recognizes the school’s continued excellence in nursing education, strong student outcomes, and commitment to preparing the next generation of nurses.
The accreditation follows a comprehensive self-study and peer review that evaluated the school’s mission, academic programs, student support, governance, planning, and institutional effectiveness. Accreditation from MSCHE is an important marker of educational quality and demonstrates that the school continues to meet rigorous national standards. The MSCHE granted Candidate Status to PSON in March 2023.
"This accreditation is a testament to the extraordinary dedication of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and clinical partners, who work every day to advance excellence in nursing education,” said Kimberly Glassman, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Dean of the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. “At PSON, we are proud to prepare compassionate, highly skilled nurses who are ready to lead, innovate, and improve the health of the communities they serve. As the need for outstanding nurses continues to grow, this recognition reinforces Mount Sinai's commitment to educating the next generation of nursing professionals whose knowledge and leadership will shape the future of health care across New York and beyond."
A campuswide self-study effort supported the accreditation. It was led by Steering Committee tri-chairs Vivian Lien, PhD, RN, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Well-being; Pennie Sessler Branden, PhD, RN, Clinical Professor at the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing; and Bernice Pass-Stern, MS, MEd, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and institutional leaders also participated in the comprehensive self-study and on-site evaluation visit by Commission representatives to the main campus in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood in March 2026. The next evaluation cycle is scheduled for 2033-2034.
"This accreditation reflects the exceptional work happening every day at the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing," said Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. "As the demand for highly skilled nurses continues to grow, Mount Sinai remains committed to preparing the next generation of nursing leaders—professionals who will deliver compassionate care, advance nursing education and research, and help shape the future of health care.”
During its review, the peer evaluation team identified several strengths of the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing, including:
- A highly collaborative faculty whose work embodies the school's mission
- The innovative Pre-Entry Immersion Program (PIP), which prepares students with foundational nursing skills before they enter the curriculum
- A dedicated Student Retention Specialist, whose work has helped improve student success and persistence
- The NCLEX Mentor Program, which provides individualized coaching and remediation to help graduates successfully pass the national nursing licensure examination
"At Mount Sinai, our academic mission is to educate the next generation of health professionals who will lead the future of health care and improve the lives of patients,” said Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We are very proud of the Phillips School of Nursing’s unshakable commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and preparing nursing graduates to meet the evolving needs of patients and their communities."
To learn more about the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing, visit https://icahn.mssm.edu/education/nursing.
About the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing
Founded in 1904, the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing is dedicated to the professional education of undergraduate nurses. The school offers Accelerated BSN programs. The school has designed a variety of innovative curricula responding to the special needs of working adults interested in entering the nursing profession, nurses interested in advancing their careers, and foreign-educated physicians and nurses who wish to pursue nursing practice in the United States. Located in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, convenient to public transportation, the school currently enrolls more than 400 students. The school has specialty accreditation in nursing from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. PSON has received institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) www.msche.org.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.