Best Nursing Schools in Florida

Florida is one of those destinations with many nursing schools that are considered to be the best in the country. The quality of education offered by the institutions here along with the practice-based approach adopted by the schools makes it one of the best places to take a degree from. The state also offers candidates with high-paying career opportunities and plenty of career options.

Candidates who have completed their BSN program will be able to practice as an RN in the state with an average salary of around $68,000. There is also an estimated number of 7,000 available positions in this field between the years 2018 and 2022 which is likely to increase over time.

Choosing the Best Nursing School

Candidates who wish to choose a nursing school out of the many institutions that Florida has must take note of a few factors. These factors range from the reputation of the institution in the past few years to the accreditation and even the NCLEX pass rate of the institution. Candidates will be able to make a list of institutions that offer the program and specialization they require after which they will be able to shorten the list by finding the tuition rates of the institution.

Once this has been clarified, candidates will be able to go through the NCLEX pass rate of the institution. Since most institutions here have a pass rate of 90 percent and above, one should ideally opt for institutions that have the highest rate. They should also check whether the program is ACEN or CCNE accredited before applying to the institution.

Cost of Studying Nursing in Florida

The cost of studying a nursing program in Florida will be dependent on the type of institution one is attending and the level of degree one has enrolled in. Candidates who enroll in private institutions will be paying a considerably larger amount as tuition fees when compared to those in public institutions. Candidates who are in public institutions will have different fee structures based on whether they are residents or non-residents of the state.

The average cost of studying at a public institution in Florida ranges from $12,500 to $37,000.

10 Best Nursing School in Florida

Institution	Location	In-State Fee	Out-of-State Fee	NCLEX Pass Rate
University of Florida	Gainesville	$220 per credit	$950 per year	95.93%
University of Miami	Coral Gables	$1,200 per credit	$1,200 per credit	97.4%
University of South Florida	Tampa	$220 per credit	$580 per credit	91.08%
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton	$200 per credit	$720 per credit	95.9%
Florida International University	Miami	$14,500 per year	$26,500 per year	89%
Florida State University	Tallahassee	$3,500 per semester	$11,500 per semester	93%
University of Tampa	Tampa	$640 per credit	$640 per credit	100%
Nova Southeastern University	Fort Launderale	$28,000 per year	$29,000 per year	92%
Florida Southern College	Lakeland	$600 per credit	$600 per credit	94.44%
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville	$43,500 per year	$43,500 per year	94.44%

University of Florida

This university offers traditional, accelerated, online, and bridge programs in nursing at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. The BSN program here is the most popular second only to the DNP program. There is no MSN program at this university but candidates will be able to transition to a DNP program from a BSN program.

The fee per credit for residents is around $220 whereas that for non-residents is around $950.

University of Miami

This university offers traditional, online, accelerated, and bridge programs in nursing. It is a private institution and offers BSN, MSN, and DNP programs in the field with all of these programs offering different specializations. The programs are accredited by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education and are also approved by the Florida Board of Nursing. There are also programs like BSPH, BSHS, etc. offered at an undergraduate level at this institution.

The fee here is charged per credit with in-state and out-of-state students having to pay the same amount. The estimated fee is around $1,200 per credit.

University of South Florida

This university is publicly funded and it offers certificate programs, undergraduate degrees, postgraduate degrees, and doctoral degrees in nursing for all students. Students will be able to take MSN, DNP, Ph.D., etc., or certifications in nurse education, integrative pain management, advanced pain management, etc. from this institution. The concentrations offered at the MSN level include adult-gerontology primary care, adult-gerontology acute care, family health, pediatric health, etc.

The fee here is charged per credit and is around $220 per credit for in-state students and around $580 per credit for out-of-state students at an undergraduate level. At the master’s level, the fee per credit is around $440 for in-state students and around $880 for out-of-state students.

Florida Atlantic University

The College of Nursing in this institution offers traditional programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Candidates will be able to choose from a BSN, MSN, or DNP from the institution or take up a Ph.D. here. The specializations one can choose from at a master’s level from the institution include adult-gerontology, advanced holistic nursing, clinical nurse leader, family nurse practitioner, nursing administration & financial leadership, nurse educator, etc. MSN programs are only chosen by those who wish to expand their knowledge in the field and it will require them to have completed either a BSN or associate degree in the subject.

The fee here is around $200 per credit for Florida residents and around $720 per credit for non-residents.

Florida International University

This university offers traditional, online, and accelerated programs in nursing at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. The BSN program here is considered to be the best program here along with the Nurse Anesthetist program. Being one of the only public research institutes in Florida, the tuition fee charged here is also comparatively less considering the quality of education and opportunities offered here.

The fee for the program is around $14,500 per year for in-state students and around $26,200 for out-of-state students.

Florida State University

This university offers traditional programs in nursing along with online and accelerated programs in the subject. Candidates will be able to take up programs at an undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level including BSN, MSN, and DNP. The best program offered here in nursing is the accelerated BSN program with a specialization in nurse leadership. The specializations offered for DNP programs include adult-gerontology, executive health systems leadership, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, etc.

The fee for Florida residents is around $3,500 per semester, and that for out-of-state students is around $11,500 per semester.

University of Tampa

This university offers traditional and online programs in nursing including degrees for BSN, MSN, and DNP. The programs offered here are CCNE-accredited except for the DNP program. Candidates who are choosing to take an MSN degree from here will be able to learn about fields like podiatry, adult & family health, pediatrics, women’s health, etc. The DNP program has three tracks that candidates can choose from including leadership in population health, leadership in clinical & academic nursing education, and advanced practice nursing.

The fee for the program is calculated per credit with every credit being charged at $640 for all students.

Nova Southeastern University

This university offers traditional, online, and bridge programs in nursing at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. The BSN program here is well-known especially due to the extremely low tuition rates and financial assistance this university provides. The MSN programs provided here have specializations in advanced population health, executive nurse leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, adult-gerontology acute care, family nurse practitioner, etc.

The annual fee here for Florida residents is around $28,000 whereas that for non-residents is around $29,000.

Florida Southern College

This college offers accelerated nursing programs and though the institution does not offer a multitude of programs in the nursing field, its DNP program has been highly acclaimed. The college claims to have a high job placement rate since its graduates generally complete the course with over 500 hours of clinical and simulation experiences. Most graduates here also have a 90th percentile score in the NCLEX examination.

The fee here is estimated to be around $600 per credit hour.

Jacksonville University

This university offers traditional, online, accelerated, and bridged programs in nursing at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Candidates will be able to choose from a traditional program, RN-BSN program, accelerated 12-month/16-month program, etc. in their undergrad, and they will be able to choose from RN-MSN, MSN, DNP, etc. on a graduate level. The specializations offered here include adult-gerontology acute care, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, nursing informatics, etc.

The full-time tuition here per year is around $43,500.