Bachelor of Science in Nursing

A new vision for nursing education: Bold nurses who are passionate about improving health care for all people.

Schedule an admissions consultation with the Nursing Program Director to walk through your application and discuss costs, scholarships, and your readiness for Nursing.

• Private college myth: Our total tuition and fees are almost $9,000 lower than that of Mizzou's nursing program, and our graduates will earn higher salaries faster by graduating in three years instead of four.
• Direct Entry: Start nursing classes your freshman year and earn your B.S.N. in three years (including two summers). There's no secondary application in sophomore or junior year.
• Experience: Hands-on clinical work in the Simulation Center and with real patients at Magnet Hospital Boone Health (Stephens' neighbor, just a block east of campus). You'll complete six semesters of clinical practice. Our curriculum includes the full spectrum of health across age groups and levels of need, including experiences in a premiere hospital and other regional health care settings.
• The Stephens Advantage: We limit the program size to 24 students per cohort. The faculty know and support you and your small cohort of peers help support each other.

The Simulation Center at Boone Health

The Simulation Center is a state-of-the-art simulated nursing unit for Stephens College students. Students learn and practice in a former patient care unit converted into The Learning Center at Boone Health.

Patient Care Technician Trainee Program

Boone Health’s Patient Care Technician (PCT) Trainee Program is perfect for pre-nursing students. A PCT performs various direct patient care functions and works closely with a nurse to ensure patients receive the highest level of personal care. In this program, you’ll receive both classroom and hands-on instruction in direct patient care to prepare you to be a PCT.

About Boone Health

Boone Health, a 392-bed full-service facility, was named the top hospital in mid-Missouri by U.S. News & World Report from 2015-2019. It is designated as a Magnet® Hospital for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes superior quality in nursing care as evidenced by performance outcomes.

"The Stephens+Boone Nursing program is an exciting new approach in training our future professional nurses. Simulation training in a hospital setting coupled with a direct relationship between the school and hospital will strengthen the clinical experiences nursing students receive, providing the preparation, skill, and confidence students will need to be successful in health care." - Monica Smith, MSN, RN, NE-BC, FACHE, Vice President of Patient Care Services & Ancillary Operations and Chief Nursing Officer at Boone Health

Accreditation + Regulation

Missouri State Board of Nursing

On November 12, 2019, the Missouri State Board of Nursing granted Stephens College initial program approval. The initial approval stage continues with periodic site visits until a year following the graduation of the first class. The initial approval stage ends a year following the graduation of the first class when the program will be assessed for full approval status.

The Missouri State Board of Nursing is recognized by the U.S Department of Education as an approval agency for nursing programs. Statutory authority for the Board of Nursing to approve prelicensure nursing programs is also in place.

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)

The Nursing Program at Stephens College is pursuing initial accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Applying for accreditation does not guarantee that accreditation will be granted.

For all programs that are granted initial accreditation by CCNE and for all programs whose accreditation is continued by CCNE, the CCNE accreditation action is effective as of the first day of that program’s most recent CCNE on-site evaluation.

Our Mission + Commitment

Founded in 1833, Stephens College is an institution committed to its mission to Learn. Grow. Lead. Stephens is resilient and optimistic, faithful to her traditions, and eager to embrace the future. Focused on the health sciences, performing arts, and integrative studies, Stephens continues to prepare graduates (whether from our undergraduate residential college, co-educational graduate programs, or 90-year-strong Children’s School) for the lives that await them — lives of distinction, integrity, and service.

A Mission That Guides Us

Stephens College is proud to be the second-oldest women’s college in the country. Shaped by our Ten Ideals, we stand in service to generation after generation of Stephens students.

Our Mission:

Learn. Grow. Lead.

Our Vision:

Inspired by its tradition as an undergraduate women’s college, Stephens College engages lifelong learners in an educational experience characterized by intellectual rigor, creative expression, and professional practice, supported by accomplished faculty, talented staff, and engaged alumnae/alumni. Graduates of Stephens College are educated in the liberal arts, informed by diverse perspectives, and committed to lives of leadership, integrity, and service.

Our Values: The Ten Ideals

Inherent in the culture of Stephens College is the tradition of the Ten Ideals, which originated in 1921 and which represent the core values that enrich and inspire our lives. Each year, 10 students are selected as personifications of individual ideals.

• Respect for our own dignity and the dignity of others, embodied in a sense of social justice
• Courage and persistence
• Independence, autonomy, and self-sufficiency
• Support for others through the willingness to take and give criticism, acceptance, and love
• Sensitivity to the uniqueness and fragility of the natural world of which we are part
• Responsibility for the consequences of our choices
• Belief in our changing selves and in our right to change
• Creativity in the spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of life
• Intelligence that is informed and cultivated, critical yet tolerant
• Leadership which empowers others

Stephens College: 187 years of Innovation + Tradition

Founded in 1833, Stephens College is proud to be the second-oldest women’s college in the country and the first institution of higher education in Columbia, Missouri.

From the beginning, Stephens has developed a tradition of cutting-edge educational programs that provide young women with classroom and experiential learning opportunities like no other institution in higher education.

Stephens believes in the power of a women’s undergraduate education. We also believe in the power of education to change lives and offer co-educational graduate programs as well as children's school and youth programs that celebrate and encourage lifelong learning.

Our Commitment to Equity

Stephens College is committed to fostering a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for learning, living and working. While we have much work to do, we look forward to doing it together, and we invite all members of our community to be part of that conversation.

Our students love life at Stephens.

That’s what they told The Princeton Review. Our students say they feel at home here. They think our campus is beautiful, easy to navigate, and an ideal place to make friends. They also appreciate the College’s close relationship with the local community and value the interaction of different types of students on campus.

And that’s not all there is to love about life at Stephens. Our hometown of Columbia, Missouri, is frequently ranked one of the best college towns in America. Here, there’s always something happening, thanks to three colleges and 30,000+ college students. Columbia really has it all: big-time college sports; film, music, and arts festivals; amazing recreation; and a great downtown with lots of places to eat, shop, and check out the latest bands.

Stephens’ historic campus is just steps away from downtown Columbia, so you get the best of both worlds - brick and ivy charm, and the buzz of a happening college town. You’ll find a culture of respect and support, and a network of friends eager to take on life’s amazing adventures with you. Our residence halls are truly a home-away-from-home (you can even bring a pet from home!). We can’t wait to welcome you here.