10 Best Nursing Schools in Missouri – 2024 Rankings
Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH
The nursing shortage in Missouri is at an all-time high. More than 15 percent of staff nursing positions in Missouri hospitals are vacant, leaving plenty of employment opportunities for newly licensed RNs who’ve just graduated from accredited nursing schools in Missouri. Many hospitals have begun implementing incentive programs offering perks like signing bonuses and tuition forgiveness in an effort to fill those vacancies. The nursing shortage in the Show-Me State will probably get worse before it gets better, though, since more than one-third of all nurses working in Missouri are over the age of 55 and nearing retirement. Rural communities are particularly hard hit by the nursing shortage, which severely limits health care access for people living in these communities.
WHAT ARE THE BEST ACCREDITED NURSING SCHOOLS IN MISSOURI?
(After closely assessing all nursing schools approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing, based on our Ranking Methodology, the following are the best accredited nursing schools in Missouri offering BSN programs.)
1. Saint Louis University, St Louis
The nursing school is housed in a building located within SLU’s medical center. The Clarke Learning Laboratory features simulated hospital environments that are designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Here, students participate in clinical scenarios using high-fidelity manikins that have been programmed to mimic the symptoms and chronic conditions that students will encounter when they begin practicing. Clinical rotations take place at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Mercy Hospital St. Lewis, the John Cochran VA Medical Center, and other health care facilities throughout the greater St. Louis area.
Financial Aid: Saint Louis University is one of only two nursing schools in MO that receives federal funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. The total amount of this funding comes to more than $2 million. SLU students may also be eligible for additional nursing scholarship opportunities from external sources. Completing and submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form can establish eligibility for federal and state grants and loans.
2. University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia
The third floor of the nursing school building is dedicated to environments where experiential learning takes place. The Essig Clinical Simulation Learning Center is a seven-bed virtual hospital environment, containing wall equipment such as oxygen outlets and suctioning apparatus, and beds occupied by computerized manikins. Students learn safe practices in basic nursing procedures as well as critical thinking skills by participating in planned clinical scenarios that are staged in the Essig facility. Students follow these learning experiences up with clinical rotations at health care facilities throughout Columbia and other parts of central Missouri.
Financial Aid: Generous endowments have enabled Sinclair to offer its nursing students a number of scholarships. You’ll have to log on to the MyZou site to review these opportunities and to fill out the applications. The University of Missouri is a Title IV participant, so you may be eligible for state and local grants and loans if your FAFSA form indicates sufficient need.
3. Missouri State University, Springfield
The nursing school shares space in the O’Reilly Clinical Health Building with the Physician Assistant Studies Department and the Department of Occupational Therapy. A cutting-edge simulation lab featuring high-tech manikins that embody every stage of life enables students to participate in the types of clinical scenarios they’ll be encountering when they begin their professional practice. Once they’re confident in their bedside skills, students pursue clinical rotations at medical facilities and community agencies throughout Springfield and other southwest Missouri communities. One of their clinical rotations will be a weeklong stint at Camp Barnabas, a summer camp for special needs adults and children.
Financial Aid: Missouri State University administers 13 scholarships expressly for nursing students. The university maintains a roster of external nursing award opportunities, too. Students may also qualify for state and local financial aid as determined by the information they enter on their FAFSA forms.
4. Graceland University, Independence
Graceland includes clinical simulations as part of its curriculum in order to provide students with interactive, practice-based instruction that will help them perfect their critical thinking skills. Clinical labs also give Graceland students the opportunity to practice basic techniques like starting IVs and performing blood draws. Clinical rotations are scheduled at medical facilities throughout Independence and the nearby Kansas City region. Online nursing students participate in practicums with Graceland clinical associates in their own communities.
Financial Aid: Graceland’s nursing school doesn’t offer any scholarships specifically for nursing students. The university does offer a number of competitive scholarships as well as faith-based aid, which nursing students are welcome to apply for. The university also disburses Title IV aid from federal and state sources; to apply for these, you’ll have to fill out a FAFSA form.
5. Maryville University of St. Louis, St Louis
Nursing undergraduates are assigned life coaches with whom they work closely in order to learn how to leverage strengths and overcome challenges. Nursing classes are rigorous, but the average class size is small so that students have the opportunity to form close relationships with their instructors. A 70,000-square-foot clinical teaching environment in Walker Hall, the nursing school’s headquarters, offers virtual hospital environments as well as lifelike adult and child manikins that can be programmed to simulate a number of physiological symptoms and chronic conditions. Clinical rotations are a key part of the McAuley nursing experience, and they take place at St. Louis Children's Hospital and other leading health care facilities throughout the St. Louis area.
Financial Aid: Maryville University provides a number of scholarship opportunities for incoming students, and all applications are reviewed for eligibility. None of these scholarships are earmarked specifically for nursing students, however. Completing and submitting a FAFSA form may qualify you for federal and state financial aid.
6. University of Missouri - St Louis, St Louis
The Nursing Administration Building is located on the South Campus. The 8,500-square-foot Nursing Learning Resource and Simulation Lab occupies the ground floor of Seton Hall. The center is equipped with innovative technology that replicates actual health care settings with a high degree of verisimilitude, offering fully operational hospital beds, suction, oxygen, ventilators, and wheeled workstations for electronic health records. Students acquire basic nursing skills here by practicing on computerized manikins that are programmed to mimic a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. Once they’re confident in their clinical abilities, students participate in clinical rotations at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Missouri Baptist Medical Center, the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, the Shriners Hospital for Children and other hospitals, clinics, and community health agencies throughout the metropolitan St. Louis area.
Financial Aid: In order to qualify for one of UMSL’s endowed nursing scholarships, you’ll need to fill out an application and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid by April 1. Filling out a FAFSA form may also establish eligibility for state and federal Title IV aid.
7. University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kansas City
The school occupies the Health Science Building on the Health Sciences campus. Simulated hospital environments give students practical experience in critical decision making without risking patient safety. As students gain confidence in their nursing skills, they go on to pursue clinical rotation opportunities at Truman Medical Center, St. Luke’s Hospital, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Health System, VA of Kansas City and other medical facilities and community agencies throughout the greater Kansas City region.
Financial Aid: UMKC’s School of Nursing and Health Studies offers 19 scholarships specifically for nursing students. Some nursing students may also be eligible for federal and state needs-based aid as determined by the information they submit on their FAFSA forms.
8. Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau
The nursing department is housed in the Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing. Students learn bedside techniques in a simulation lab that’s equipped with lifelike manikins. Southeast Missouri State maintains clinical rotation partnerships with leading medical facilities and community agencies throughout Cape Girardeau and other parts of southeast Missouri such as Washington County Memorial Hospital, the Cape Girardeau Public Health Center, the Cape Girardeau public school system and the Gibson Recovery Center.
Financial Aid: Missouri State University has more than 25 scholarships that nursing students may qualify to receive. Nursing students may also be eligible for state and federal grants and loans if the information submitted on their FAFSA forms demonstrates sufficient need.
9. Barnes-Jewish College, St Louis
Barnes-Jewish College and the Goldfarb School share the Washington University Medical Center campus with the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the Washington University School of Medicine and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The school also operates a second campus on the grounds of the Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Goldfarb’s main Clinical Simulation Institute is a 10,500-square-foot facility that features two 10-bed med/surg unit replicas, a virtual operating room suite and more than 30 computerized manikins that can be programmed to mimic realistic physiological responses and symptoms. A second, smaller simulation lab is on the grounds of the Missouri Baptist campus. Clinical rotations take place at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Financial Aid: The Goldfarb School of Nursing makes some institutional scholarships available to students. In order to apply, you’ll need to fill out a FAFSA form and speak to a counselor at the Financial Aid Office. The information you submit on your FAFSA form may also qualify you for state and federal funding.
10. Research College of Nursing, Kansas City
Students learn hands-on skills and practice critical decision-making participating in clinical scenarios at the Seelos Simulation Center. Once they’re competent at nursing fundamentals, students participate in clinical rotations at a variety of health-related setting throughout the greater Kansas City area, including Research Medical Center, Menorah Medical Center, Centerpoint, Belton Regional Medical Center, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, and Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
Financial Aid: Research College offers nearly 20 institutional scholarships to nursing students. The college also maintains an extensive database of external nursing awards. By filling out and submitting FAFSA forms, students may qualify for various types of federal and state financial aid.
Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH
Pattie Trumble is a nurse who worked in both California and New York for many years as an emergency room nurse. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an Associate Degree in Nursing from the Samuel Merritt Hospital School of Nursing. After 10 years of providing direct care, she went back to school and earned concurrent Master’s degrees in both public policy and public health from the University of California, Berkeley. Thereafter, she worked for various public health agencies in California at both the community and state levels providing economic and legislative analysis.
Nursing Schools in Nearby States
Nursing Schools in other States
Nursing Salaries
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|