Nursing Schools and Programs in The United States, viewing 101-178 of 178 total results
Piedmont Technical College
Vocational school Greenwood, The United States In an official register
Piedmont Technical College (PTC) is a comprehensive two-year college in South Carolina, United States, founded in 1966 and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It has locations in each of the seven counties it serves…
Pima Medical Institute
Higher education centre Albuquerque, The United States In an official register
Pima Medical Institute is a healthcare career college in the United States, focused solely on healthcare education. It first opened in Tucson, Arizona, in 1972 and is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Today it has 16 campuses…
Purdue University
University West Lafayette, The United States In an official register
Purdue University is a public land-grant university with its main campus at 610 Purdue Mall in West Lafayette, Indiana, and a second campus in Indianapolis. Its roots go back to the Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862, and it has more than 150 years of history. According…
Redlands Community College
Vocational school El Reno, The United States In an official register
Redlands Community College is a fully accredited two-year college in El Reno, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, and part of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. It was founded in 1938 within the El Reno public schools and took its current name in 1991. The main campus…
Regis College
University Weston, The United States In an official register
Regis College is a private, non-profit, co-educational college in Weston, Massachusetts, 12 miles west of Boston. It was founded in 1927 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston and is rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition. According to the college, it has about 2,700…
Richard Bland College
Higher education centre South Prince George, The United States In an official register
Richard Bland College (RBC) is a two-year college in Virginia, in the United States, with its campus at 11301 Johnson Road, South Prince George. It offers a liberal arts education in the tradition of William & Mary and awards associate degrees that cover the first two years…
Roxbury Community College
Vocational school Roxbury Crossing, The United States In an official register
Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a community college serving Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It awards associate degrees; graduates and students quoted on the college website hold or are completing an AS in Biotechnology, an AS in Early Childhood Education, an…
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
University New Brunswick, The United States In an official register
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public research university in the US state of New Jersey. Its history begins in 1766, and its main locations are New Brunswick (the flagship, home to the main administration at 57 US Highway 1), Newark and Camden, together…
Saint Louis University, St. Louis
University St. Louis, The United States In an official register
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a Catholic, Jesuit university in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, founded in 1818. It also has an international campus in Madrid, Spain, which educates nearly 1,200 students and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes as…
Saint Mary’s College of California
University Moraga, The United States In an official register
Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC) is an independent Catholic college in Moraga, in the hills of the San Francisco Bay Area, 23 miles east of San Francisco. It is run in the Lasallian tradition of the Christian Brothers and receives no operating support from public…
San Diego State University
University San Diego, The United States In an official register
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, and one of 23 universities in the California State University (CSU) system. SDSU describes itself as an R1 institution and states that it has been rooted in the San Diego region for…
San Juan College
Higher education centre Farmington, The United States In an official register
San Juan College began an auxiliary branch of the New Mexico State University and it has grown to become one of the biggest two-year community colleges. It is situated in Farmington New Mexico and it is a regional leader in the education sector. It has four main campuses in…
Schiller International University, Florida
University Tampa, The United States In an official register
Schiller International University is a private U.S.-based university with an international scope, accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). It has four campuses: Tampa, Florida, in the United States, and Madrid, Paris and Heidelberg in…
Snow College International Center
University Ephraim, The United States In an official register
Snow College is a college in Utah with two campuses: the main campus in Ephraim, which has a traditional college feel, and the Richfield campus, with smaller class sizes and specialised programmes. Teaching is based on hands-on learning and personal attention from faculty…
Somerset Community College
Vocational school Somerset, KY, The United States In an official register
Somerset Community College (SCC) is a community college in Somerset, Kentucky, and part of the KCTCS college system. It has two main campuses, in Pulaski and Laurel County, and six centres in Somerset, Casey, Clinton, McCreary, Russell and Manchester. The main address is 808…
South University
University Montgomery, The United States In an official register
South University is a US university whose history goes back to 1899. It teaches at 11 campus locations in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and Texas, and also offers fully online programmes. The Montgomery, Alabama campus was established in 1996…
St. Ambrose University
University Davenport, The United States In an official register
St. Ambrose University (SAU) is a Catholic, diocesan university in Davenport, Iowa, with links to the Diocese of Davenport. It has welcomed students for more than 140 years and has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1927. Students of all faiths are…
Sullivan County Community College
Higher education centre Loch Sheldrake, The United States In an official register
Sullivan County Community College is a public learning institution located in Loch Sheldrake in New York. The total number of students enrolled at the school is roughly 1,585. The school’s academic year is semester-based and an associate degree is the highest degree that one…
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
University Utica, The United States In an official register
SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is a public polytechnic in Utica, New York, in the United States. It describes itself as New York's only public polytechnic. It has four colleges, around 2,200 undergraduate students and a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1, according to…
Tacoma Community College
University Tacoma, The United States In an official register
Tacoma Community College (TCC) is a community college in Tacoma, Washington, in the United States. It has served students since 1965 and teaches on its Tacoma and Gig Harbor campuses and online. According to the college, 12,018 students currently attend TCC. TCC groups its…
Temple University
University Philadelphia, The United States In an official register
Temple University is a public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded as a night school by Russell Conwell in 1884 and today has more than 33,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Temple is classified as an R1…
Texas Tech University
University Lubbock, The United States In an official register
Texas Tech University is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, in the United States. It is one of 94 public universities with the Carnegie classification of very high research activity. Its main campus covers 1,839 acres and has more than 40,000 students, 10…
The Pennsylvania State University, Penn State
University University Park, The United States In an official register
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is the largest public university in Pennsylvania and the state's only land-grant institution. Its main campus is at University Park, and it also teaches at other campuses across Pennsylvania and online through Penn State World…
The University of Alabama
University Tuscaloosa, The United States In an official register
The University of Alabama is a student-centered research university and an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians. Founded in 1831 as Alabama's first public college, The University of Alabama is dedicated to excellence…
The University of Arizona
University Tucson, The United States In an official register
Located in the city of Tucson, the University of Arizona (UA) is a place without limits, a place where teaching, research, service and innovation merge to improve lives in Arizona and beyond. Back in 1885, establishing Arizona's first university in the middle of the Sonoran…
The University of California Los Angeles
University Los Angeles, The United States In an official register
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a campus of the University of California (UC) system in Los Angeles. Its undergraduate admission office accepts applications from first-year students, transfer students and international students, all through the common UC…
The University of Texas at Austin
University Austin, The United States In an official register
The University of Texas at Austin was founded in 1883. It is one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the world and hosts some 51,000 students.The University of Texas is a public research university, which campus is located only 0.25 km away from the Texas…
The University of Toledo
University Toledo, The United States In an official register
The University of Toledo (UToledo) is a public research university with an academic medical centre in Toledo, in northwest Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1872 as the Toledo University of Arts and Trades, on land donated by newspaper editor Jesup Wakeman Scott. In…
Towson University
University Towson, The United States In an official register
Towson University (TU) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, a suburb about eight miles north of Baltimore and less than an hour's drive from Washington, D.C. It opened in 1866 as the Maryland State Normal School, a teacher training school, and took its current name in…
Troy University
University Troy, The United States In an official register
Troy University (TROY) is a public university in Alabama with a network of campuses in the state and programmes worldwide. It was founded on 26 February 1887 as Troy State Normal School to train teachers for Alabama's schools. Its historic main campus is in the town of Troy…
Union College of Union County, NJ (UCNJ)
Vocational school Cranford, The United States In an official register
UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ is a comprehensive community college in New Jersey, with its admissions office at 1033 Springfield Avenue in Cranford and further campuses in Elizabeth and Plainfield. It offers career programmes, transfer pathways, developmental…
University of Alabama - Birmingham
University Birmingham, The United States In an official register
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public university and academic medical center in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Its roots go back to the founding of the Medical College of Alabama in 1859 and the opening of the University of Alabama's Birmingham Extension…
University of Alabama, Huntsville
University Huntsville, AL, The United States In an official register
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public university in Huntsville, Alabama, in the United States. According to the university, it has 8,362 students from 49 U.S. states and 56 countries. Its campus of nearly 500 acres at 301 Sparkman Drive includes 16…
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
University San Francisco, The United States In an official register
UC San Francisco is a prestigious University, founded in 1864, which is entirely devoted to the health areas.
University of Colorado at Denver
University Denver, The United States In an official register
The University of Colorado at Denver is a prestigious University in the USA. Its academic offer is more than 130 programs of study in 13 schools and colleges.
University of Connecticut
University Storrs, The United States In an official register
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is the flagship public research university of the US state of Connecticut and a land and sea grant institution. Its main campus is in Storrs, and it also has campuses and sites at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford and Waterbury, as well as…
University of Florida
University Gainesville, The United States In an official register
The University of Florida (UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. Its roots go back to 19th-century predecessors such as the East Florida Seminary (from 1853) and the Florida Agricultural College; the present university took shape after the…
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University Urbana, The United States In an official register
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public research university in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois, in the United States. It was founded in 1867, has a land-grant mission and describes itself as the state's flagship public-serving university. In the 2024-25…
University of Kentucky
University Lexington, KY, The United States In an official register
The University of Kentucky (UK) is a university in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the university, it is one of only eight institutions in the United States with liberal arts, engineering, professional, agricultural and medical colleges all on one contiguous campus. It is…
University of Maine
University Orono, The United States In an official register
The University of Maine (UMaine) is Maine's land-grant university and describes itself as the state's R1 research university. Its flagship campus is in Orono, about 15 minutes by car from Bangor International Airport, and it has a regional campus in Machias on Maine's Bold…
University of Miami
University Miami, The United States In an official register
The University of Miami (UM) is a private research university based on a 239-acre campus in Coral Gables, Florida, in the Miami area of the United States. It was established in 1925, when Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick gave 160 acres and nearly $5 million to start it…
University of Michigan
University Ann Arbor, The United States In an official register
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is considered one of the most prestigious in the world. Programs of study are over a hundred degrees and around 27 postgraduates. The number of students are some 8,600 and 381 teachers. The university was established in 1817, which was…
University of Minnesota
University Minneapolis, The United States In an official register
The University of Minnesota is a prestigious institution, founded in 1851, and considered among the best in the world.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
University Pembroke, The United States In an official register
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC Pembroke, UNCP) is a public university in Pembroke, North Carolina, part of the UNC System, located between the state's beaches and the Sandhills. It was founded in 1887 to serve American Indian students. Today it has more…
University of North Carolina Wilmington
University Wilmington, The United States In an official register
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) is a public doctoral university in Wilmington, on the coast of North Carolina, and one of 17 institutions in the UNC System. Its 650-acre campus is a few minutes from the beach. In its 79th year, UNCW enrolled more than…
University of Northern Colorado
University Greeley, The United States In an official register
p>The University of Northern Colorado is a public institution of higher learning, located in Greely, Colorado. It was established in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado, and has a very strong background of providing teacher education. Undergraduate degrees are usually…
University of Pennsylvania
University Philadelphia, The United States In an official register
The University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1750. It welcomes about 10,000 students, who come from USA and other countries of the world. It has a great reputation and is considered one of the best in the world.
University of Pittsburgh
University Pittsburgh, The United States In an official register
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public research university in Pennsylvania with more than 230 years of history. It is a member of the Association of American Universities. Its main campus is in Pittsburgh, where the 42-storey Cathedral of Learning stands at the…
University of Scranton
University Scranton, The United States In an official register
The University of Scranton is a Catholic and Jesuit university in Scranton, in the Pocono Northeast region of Pennsylvania, about two hours' drive from New York City and Philadelphia. It was founded in 1888 as Saint Thomas College, became a university in 1938 and was…
University of Southern Maine
University Portland, ME, The United States In an official register
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university in southern Maine, in the United States. Its main campus is in Portland, Maine's largest city; the Gorham campus, 11 miles away, is the residential centre of undergraduate life and houses athletics and the visual…
University of Tennessee at Martin/TIEP
University Martin, The United States In an official register
The University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) is a campus in the University of Tennessee system, established in 1900. UTM is rurally located, for which reason, it has been mostly specializing in undergraduate studies in education and agriculture. Still, other courses are…
University of Washington
University Seattle, The United States In an official register
The University of Washington (UW) is a public research university founded in 1861, with three campuses in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma, Washington. The main Seattle campus is at 1410 NE Campus Parkway. Its colleges and schools include the College of Arts and Sciences, with 38…
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University Madison, The United States In an official register
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison) is a public land-grant university and major research institution founded in 1848. Its lakeside campus is in Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin, and it belongs to the Universities of Wisconsin, a system of 13 universities…
Virginia Western Community College
Vocational school Roanoke, The United States In an official register
Virginia Western Community College is a public institution, which services the area of Roanoke, Salem, Roanoke County, Craig County, southern Botetourt County, and northern Franklin County. It is a two-year college, offering day, evening, and weekend classes on its main…
Walden University
Online and distance learning Baltimore, The United States In an official register
Walden University is a fully online university in the United States, founded in 1970 for adult learners and working professionals. It has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an agency recognised by the U.S. Department of Education, since 1990, and several…
Wayne State University
University Detroit, The United States In an official register
Wayne State University (WSU) is a research university in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, which traces its history back to 1868. The university describes itself as a tier 1 research university. Its international students come from about 80 countries. International students and…
West Virginia Northern Community College
Vocational school Wheeling, The United States In an official register
West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC, also called Northern) is a comprehensive community college in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, United States. It was created by the West Virginia Board of Regents on 9 May 1972 and has campuses in Wheeling (1704 Market…
West Virginia University
University Morgantown, The United States In an official register
This is a public learning institution located in Morgantown city along the Monongahela River and it was established in 1867. West Virginia University offers over 200 undergraduate, graduate, doctorate and professional programs across its 15 colleges. Some of the graduate…
Western Nevada College
Vocational school Carson City, The United States In an official register
Western Nevada College (WNC) is a college in Carson City, Nevada, with campuses in Carson City, Fallon and Douglas. Its main address is 2201 West College Parkway, Carson City, and the Carson City campus opened in 1971. WNC has an open-door admissions policy, and any adult may…
Western Wyoming Community College
Vocational school Rock Springs, The United States In an official register
Western Wyoming College is a public, two-year, coeducational college in Rock Springs, Wyoming (United States), accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Its campus lies at the foot of White Mountain in the Red…
Williston State College
Higher education centre Williston, The United States In an official register
Williston State College (WSC) is a comprehensive community college in Williston, North Dakota, established in 1961. It is a member of the North Dakota University System and is located at 1410 University Avenue, Williston. Students can choose from a range of programmes…
Yale University
University New Haven, The United States In an official register
Yale University was founded in 1701 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut. Undergraduates study at Yale College, which teaches the liberal arts and sciences; master's and doctoral degrees are offered by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and specialised degrees by 13…
Chemeketa Community College
University Salem, The United States In an official register
Chemeketa Community College is a 2 year public school in the West Coast of the United States. We offer Intensive English studies and over 120 majors. We serve over 175 International Students coming from over 43 different countries around the world. Chemeketa's education is…
University of California, Irvine
University Irvine, The United States In an official register
The University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) is a public research university in Irvine, Orange County, in Southern California, founded in 1965. More than 36,000 students were enrolled in 2024-25. According to U.S. News & World Report, UC Irvine has been ranked among the…
CT State Gateway
Vocational school New Haven, The United States
Gateway Community College is an educational institute situated in New Haven, Connecticut. The school teaches students, irrespective of their national background. It offers several Arts and Sciences courses and prepare students who wish to study in Universities or four-year…
CT State Naugatuck Valley
Vocational school Waterbury, CT, The United States
Naugatuck Valley, now officially CT State Naugatuck Valley, is a campus of Connecticut State Community College (CT State), the public community college formed on 1 July 2023 by consolidating Connecticut's 12 community colleges. CT State is accredited by NECHE through its…
Erie Community College, North Campus
Vocational school Williamsville, The United States
SUNY Erie Community College (ECC) is a community college in western New York and part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It has served students since 1946 and has three campus locations: the City Campus at 45 Oak Street, the North Campus at 6205 Main Street in…
National University
University San Diego, The United States
National University (NU) is a veteran-founded nonprofit university based in San Diego, California. Since 1971 it has focused on accessible higher education for working adults and other busy learners, and it reports more than 250,000 alumni worldwide. NU is accredited by WASC…
Shelton State in Tuscaloosa
Vocational school Tuscaloosa, The United States
Shelton State Community College (SSCC) is a two-year community college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the United States. It belongs to Alabama's state system of public colleges and is one of six HBCU (historically Black) community colleges in the state. It has two campuses in…
University of Phoenix
Online and distance learning Phoenix, The United States
University of Phoenix (UOPX) is an online university for working adults, founded in 1976 and based in Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States. It has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1978, and some of its programmes also hold programmatic…
Wright State University
University Dayton, The United States
Wright State University is a public university in Dayton, Ohio, named after the aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. It has more than 11,000 students and is made up of six colleges and a medical school, with a main campus in Dayton and a branch campus in Celina, Ohio…
Belmont Technical College
Vocational school St. Clairsville, The United States
Belmont Technical College is a two-year public college, headquartered in Ohio, USA. Established in 1971, the college has been serving the local communities for more than 30 years. The institution has made available the following degrees: Transfer Degrees; Associate of Arts…
Concordia Language Villages
Language school Bemidji, The United States
Concordia Language Villages is a language and cultural immersion programme run by Concordia College, a private liberal arts college in Moorhead, Minnesota. It began in 1961 as a two-week German programme for 72 children and today offers language and cultural programmes in 14…
Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT
University West Hartford, The United States
Saint Joseph College is a Roman Catholic comprehensive institution founded in 1932 in West Hartford, Connecticut. It is an undergraduate’s women’s college with a co-educational graduate program. The divisions of the institution include the Undergraduate Women's College, The…
SUNY, The State University of New York
University Albany, The United States
SUNY is a system of public universities in New York, USA. It was established in 1948, and represents the largest system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the world. Overall, it has 64 campuses around the state, including four University Centers…
The Ohio State University
University Columbus, The United States
Ohio State University is a public research university, and currently has the third largest university campus in the United States. Located in Columbus, Ohio, it was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university. Now the university has also established regional campuses in Lewis…
University of Colorado
University Denver, The United States
The University of Colorado is perceived as a leader in both research and higher education in the Rocky Mountain region in the USA. Its grounds were laid in Boulder, in 1876, since when the institution has grown to encompass four campuses, one of which includes the newest…
Forum-Nexus Study Abroad
Study abroad program Miami, The United States
Forum-Nexus Study Abroad runs multi-country summer study abroad programmes in Europe, in which students and professors travel together from city to city. It was founded by Dr. Hugo Hervitz, a professor of International Business in Miami, and since 1990 more than 3,650…
Nursing Studies in The United States
You can study nursing at the University of Alabama.Nursing in the United States is a regulated profession: to work as a nurse, graduates need a licence from the state where they practise. Nursing programmes therefore combine classroom science with supervised clinical experience in hospitals and other care settings, and they prepare students for the national licensing exam. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nursing programmes usually include courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, psychology and the social and behavioural sciences.
Qualifications and levels
- Licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN): a state-approved programme that typically takes about one year
- Associate degree in nursing (ADN or ASN): offered mainly by community colleges; it leads to the registered nurse (RN) licence exam
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): typically four years at a college or university
- RN-to-BSN programmes for registered nurses who hold an associate degree or diploma
- Accelerated and direct-entry programmes for graduates who already hold a bachelor's degree in another field
- Master's degrees (MSN) and doctorates: the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and the research-based PhD
The BLS notes that registered nurses can qualify through a bachelor's degree, an associate degree or a diploma from an approved programme, but employers, particularly hospitals, may require a bachelor's degree. Advanced practice roles (nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners) require at least a master's degree.
Examples from the schools' own pages: Broward College in Florida offers a full-time and a part-time Nursing RN associate degree and an LPN-to-RN transition. The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing offers a BSN, a Master of Science in Nursing, a Master of Professional Nursing, a DNP and a PhD. Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, which opened in 1892, runs a 15-month, full-time Master's Direct Entry programme for graduates who are not nurses; it has 76 to 78 credits and leads to a Master of Science in Nursing and the NCLEX.
Accreditation and licensing
Nursing programmes are accredited by specialised agencies. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredits baccalaureate, graduate and residency programmes, and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) is recognised by the US Department of Education for all types of nursing programmes. A programme approved by the state board of nursing is needed to sit the licence exam.
Graduates take the NCLEX, the national licensing exam developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Registration involves the state's nursing regulatory body and the test provider Pearson VUE, and each state sets its own extra requirements, such as a criminal background check. The exam uses real-world case studies to test clinical judgement.
Admission and visa
Admission to nursing is often competitive and has prerequisites. Broward College, for example, says that its health science programmes may require prerequisite courses, admission tests such as the TEAS or HESI, or prior experience. Bachelor's programmes ask for secondary school records and English test scores; accelerated and direct-entry master's programmes require a first degree and science prerequisites.
International students must first be accepted by a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Degree programmes use the F-1 student visa; the M visa covers non-academic or vocational study, which can apply to some certificate programmes. Clinical placements and licensing rules differ by state, so students should ask the school how its programme leads to a licence.
Where to study nursing in the United States
Nursing schools are found in every state. The cities with several schools on this page include Philadelphia (Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania and others), Los Angeles (UCLA among them), Baltimore, Miami (the University of Miami and Florida International University), New York (Columbia University) and San Diego (San Diego State University). Large public universities such as the Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Washington and the University of Florida also teach nursing, as do community colleges such as Broward College, Tacoma Community College and Pasadena City College.
Careers
Registered nurses work in hospitals, doctors' offices, home healthcare, nursing care facilities, clinics and schools. According to the BLS, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year, and the median annual wage was $97,550 in May 2025. Licensed practical and vocational nurses earned a median of $64,400. Employment of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 36 percent over the same decade, with a median wage of $134,920 in May 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to become a nurse in the United States?
A practical nursing programme takes about one year, an associate degree usually two years of full-time study and a BSN typically four years. Graduates with another bachelor's degree can take an accelerated programme, such as Columbia's 15-month direct-entry master's.
What is the NCLEX?
It is the national licensing exam for nurses. Graduates of an approved programme register through the nursing regulatory body of the state where they plan to practise.
Can I work as a nurse in the US after studying there?
You need a state licence, which requires an approved programme and passing the NCLEX. Working after graduation also depends on your immigration status, which the school's international office can explain.
Is an associate degree enough to become a registered nurse?
Yes, ADN graduates can take the RN licence exam, but hospitals may prefer a bachelor's degree. Many nurses later complete an RN-to-BSN programme.