The School of Nursing delivers learner-centered education and practice experiences that prepare outstanding scientists and excellent practitioners committed to developing sensible models of care that holistically approach complex problems. The school offers two pre-licensure options, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Master of Nursing programs, and two graduate options, the Doctor of Nursing Practice and PhD programs.
DNP program No. 8 in latest U.S. News rankings
U.S. News & World Report placed the University of Minnesota School of Nursing No. 8 in its 2024- 2025 ranking of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs. The School of Nursing is tied for eighth with the University of Maryland–Baltimore and University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and is fourth among public institutions.
Nurse-midwifery ranked No. 3
The school’s nurse-midwifery DNP specialty is ranked the third best midwifery program by U.S. News & World Report. The nurse-midwifery program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, was the first accredited midwifery program in the United States to transition to the DNP degree in 2009.
University of Minnesota rated nation’s No. 16 BSN program
The University of Minnesota placed No. 16 out of more than 650 accredited nursing schools in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Programs ranking. The School of Nursing was tied for 10th among public universities in the annual survey of top academics and officials at nursing schools or departments.
Indigenous enrollment in DNP program leads the nation
The University of Minnesota School of Nursing enrolled the largest number of American Indian/ Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in a Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the country. Fourteen new AI/AN students joined two previously enrolled students, for a total of 16 AI/AN students. The achievement is due to the nursing workforce grant Pathway to Graduate Nursing Degree for American Indian/Alaska Native Nurses that the school was award by the Health Resources and Services Administration and is led by Misty Wilkie, PhD, RN, FAAN, citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
BSN seniors experience VR in the classroom
Seniors in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses participated in five immersive virtual reality simulation modules. The sessions are part of the Big 10 Practice-Ready Nursing Initiative led by Assistant Professor Cynthia Bradley, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, ANEF, who received a $1.3 million grant from the American Nurses Foundation. Watch a video from the classroom at z.umn.edu/NursingVR.
Mayo Clinic, U of M announce pathway for training nurse-midwives
Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing collaborated to create a new academic pathway for nurse-midwives that will expand the nurse-midwifery workforce in the Upper Midwest. The collaboration creates a pathway for students admitted to the University of Minnesota School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program to complete the approximately 1,000 hours of required clinical training at Mayo Clinic hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
First-of-its-kind course examines sexual, gender affirming health care
After a more than year of planning, Sexual and Gender Affirming Healthcare: An Interprofessional Approach, taught by Clinical Associate Professor Maria Ruud, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, and Assistant Professor Camille Brown, PhD, RN, was offered for the first time. The course aims to reduce health equity gap experienced by 2SLGBTQI+ people. Creating a pathway for rural providers to improve American Indian care
Students at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing now have the opportunity to have clinical experiences at Indian Health Service clinics and hospitals after a collaborative agreement was established between the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. The agreement facilitates the clinical learning experiences in 21 Indian Health Service Units and Tribal managed Service Units in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa for nursing students in the Bachelor of Science in the Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. The school also established new agreements with Oklahoma City Area IHS, Phoenix Area IHS, Navajo Area IHS and Albuquerque Area IHS.
Students encouraged to ‘evolve into the type of nurse you want to be’ at Welcome to Nursing Profession ceremony
Sophomore students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and first-year Master of Nursing students were welcomed into the nursing profession at a ceremony on Sept. 8. Sakeena Futrell Carter, a nurse-midwife, advocate and First Lady of St. Paul, delivered the keynote address.
Health commissioner encourages grads to trust inner voice, accelerate change
The School of Nursing celebrated the graduation of 135 Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, 118 Doctor of Nursing Practice students and six PhD in Nursing students at a ceremony May 10. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham, PhD, MD, delivered the commencement address, encouraging graduates to have the courage to trust their inner voices to accelerate change. Caroline Njau, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services at Children’s Minnesota, delivered the fall commencement address, where students in the Master of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice and PhD programs graduated.
School names 38 Bentson Scholars
The school named 38 new Bentson Scholars, bringing the total number of Bentson Scholars in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program to 122 students.
DEED awards grant to launch Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship pilot program
The Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence (CNEE), which was launched through a partnership between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State, was awarded a $740,000 grant from the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s to launch a Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship pilot program. The program will support 48 nurse apprentices