Best Nursing Schools in Connecticut

1. Fairfield University, Fairfield

Fairfield University’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies offers one of the best nursing programs in Connecticut.

Fairfield University is a Jesuit institution that non-Catholics can attend, the nursing school is however committed to values like compassion and giving back. Egan has made it to the list of the top nursing colleges in the U.S., this is proof that Egan is a great nursing school after all.

Fairfield University’s Robin Kanarek Learning Resource Center provides students with a simulated hospital environment, this helps students to learn nursing skills and rehearse their responses to real-life scenarios.

After students have mastered bedside skills, they can pursue clinical rotations at community agencies and healthcare facilities like Bridgeport, Yale, New Haven, and Silver Hill Hospitals. They can also work at the Fairfield School District and VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Nursing students are also given the opportunity to explore international nursing programs in places like Australia, Nicaragua, and Ireland.

Fairfield offers about 13 endowed scholarships, when students submit a FAFSA form, the university’s Office of Financial Aid will automatically try and match them with a scholarship opportunity, provided they meet the donor’s criteria.

2. University of Connecticut – Storrs

The University of Connecticut is the only public research university in all of New England,  so it is without a doubt that its School of Nursing is one of the best in Connecticut. UC is well known for its research and the excellent education it imparts to aspiring nurses.

The University of Connecticut offers innovative research initiatives like the Center for Advancement in Managing Pain, the Center for Nursing Scholarship, the Center for Correctional Health Networks, and GOT Care! Geriatric Outreach and Training with Care.

The Widmer Wing houses clinical laboratories that include state-of-the-art simulation technology. This simulation centre makes use of hospital equipments and computerized manikins that mimic a wide range of real-life physiological responses. The simulation centres help students to acquire hands-on nursing skills that they will need on a daily basis when they become professionals.

The university partners with hospitals like the UConn Health Center as well as with schools, daycare centers, housing for the elderly, extended care facilities, community health agencies, ambulatory centers and clinics throughout Hartford and the northern Connecticut area to give students the opportunity to experience clinical rotations.

The School of Nursing offers about 40 scholarships and fellowships. The criteria for eligibility and application deadlines vary by award. Nursing students may apply for need-based federal and state funding depending on the information they submit in their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms.

3. Sacred Heart University, Fairfield

Sacred Heart University is a Catholic university and since its established has been staffed by the laity, the university is open to students from all religious backgrounds.

The university keeps its student-to-faculty ratios deliberately low to allow students can benefit from mentoring relationships with their instructors. Sacred Heart focuses on global issues are a particular focus of the university.  The university is also focused on Social justice and the importance of healthcare access in disadvantaged communities both in the U.S. and abroad.

The University’s Simulation Lab offers a high degree of realism for students that are pursuing point-of-care learning experiences. At the simulation centres, students get to practice skills like starting IVs, administering medications, and responding to emergencies like strokes or heart attacks making use of sophisticated, wireless manikins.

Clinical rotations take place at medical facilities and community agencies throughout the New Haven region.

Sacred Heart University’s College of Nursing is well-known for the excellence of its global nursing educational programs; students are given the opportunity to take classes or pursue fieldwork in locations like Ireland, Australia, Guatemala, and Ghana.

Sacred Heart University doesn’t offer any nursing-specific scholarships but it maintains an extensive database of external nursing scholarships and encourages students to apply for them. Nursing students may also qualify for other institutional awards as well as for federal and state aid as determined by their FAFSA form submissions.

4. Quinnipiac University, Hamden

Quinnipiac University’s School of Nursing offers a nursing program that is focused on promoting wellness rather than simply fighting disease, if you are interested in any of these, then the School of Nursing at Quinnipiac University has a lot to offer you.

Quinnipiac University’s undergraduate and graduate programs are the only nursing programs in Connecticut that have received endorsement from the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation.

Quinnipiac University’s nursing program is grounded in holistic nursing values, this system views patient symptoms not only as manifestations of illness but also as maladaptive coping mechanisms to complex and often difficult environments.

Clinical rotation partners include Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, Middlesex Hospital Homecare, Midstate Medical Center, and Trinity Health New England as well as schools and community agencies throughout the New Haven metropolitan region.

The Center for Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences boasts a state-of-the-art simulation facility set up with high-tech manikins and hospital equipment. Nursing students divide their time between Quinnipiac’s Hamden and North Haven campuses.

Nursing students study side-by-side with colleagues from the School of Medicine, this collaboration which promotes the spirit of interprofessional collaboration from the very start.

Quinnipiac does not offer scholarship awards specifically for nursing students, the admissions office automatically reviews incoming students for other institutional scholarship eligibility. Financial assistance is available through federal and state sources, this depends on the information students submit in their FAFSA form.

5. University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford

The University of St. Joseph was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1932, it was the first liberal arts college for women in the Hartford area. St. Joseph recently started admitting male students in 2018.

The nursing department’s educational philosophy is based on the belief that a firm foundation in liberal arts and sciences is the best preparation for a professional career. The Nursing Learning Center and Simulation Lab located in McDonough Hall makes use of task trainers and life-like manikins.

Students learn fundamental nursing techniques like blood draws and IV insertions and get to practice their assessment and intervention skills at the simulation center.

Nursing students pursue clinical rotations throughout the greater Hartford area at healthcare facilities and community agencies like Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford Hospital, Hospital of Central Connecticut, and Jefferson House once they have mastered their bedside skills.

St Joseph awards about 6 scholarships specifically to nursing students and nursing students may also be eligible for one of the university’s other endowed scholarships.

6. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury

Western Connecticut State University is a public university, WCSUoffers a Nursing that is committed to remedying nursing shortages in Danbury and the communities in the state along the border between Connecticut and New York.

Nursing students are prepared to be competent nurse generalists who have proficient skills and excellent critical thinking abilities. Nursing students are given the opportunity to role-play acute and critical care scenarios using high-tech computerized manikins through a simulation center.

After mastering bed-side skills, students can go on to pursue clinical rotations at hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers throughout greater Danbury, Waterbury, and New Haven.

Western Connecticut State University offers about nine endowed scholarships awarded specifically for Nursing students.