Best Nursing Schools in Denver Colorado in 2024 (On-Campus & Online)

If you’re looking for a nursing school in Colorado, you’re in luck. The services of skilled, ambitious, and motivated nurses are in high demand in Denver, Colorado. For this reason, there are many organizations, institutions, and foundations dedicated to providing ample opportunity for driven and talented nursing students to obtain the resources they need to achieve their goals. Have you asked yourself, “Can I start nursing school online in Denver, Colorado?” There are plenty of traditional and online options for you to choose from. There are 8 schools for nursing in Denver, Colorado. Here, we will rank them and discuss their merits in order to help you decide which is the best nursing program to suit your needs. Whether you’re looking for a BSN school in Colorado or another nursing program, you’ll be sure to find an option here.

The Top Nursing Schools in Denver, Colorado in 2024

1. University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (UCDA) is one of the best accredited nursing schools in Denver, Colorado. It makes the top of our list for good reason: it is a four-year university that is expressly oriented toward instructing students pursuing careers in the medical profession. As a medical-oriented school, its nursing programs are treated as more vocational courses than other courses—which means there are more fast-track courses available for nursing students. That is a great feature for students who want to attend a prestigious school, but who also are not interested in wasting time with the trappings of academia. UCDA serves more than 24,000 students each academic year with class sizes approaching 17 to 1.

• Available Nursing Programs: BSN, Accelerated BSN, RN to BSN, Family Nurse Practitioner
• NCLEX Pass Rate: Not listed
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

2. Denver College of Nursing

As one of just four for-profit four-year colleges in the state of Colorado, the Denver College of Nursing (DCN) is located near an urban residential center of the city of Denver. Owing to its urban locality, DCN makes no small effort to accommodate the needs of urban-dwelling students. Courses are designed to orient the student toward vocational modes of thinking. Students who wish to follow an administrative aspect of the nursing profession or academic pursuits are encouraged to use DCN as a springboard to a university better suited to those academic goals. According to the NCES report from 2017, DCN serves an average of just under 800 students each academic year. DCN boasts the second-lowest student to teacher ratio on our list at 16 students to 1 instructor.

• Available Nursing Programs: ADN, BSN, LPN to ADN
• NCLEX Pass Rate: 90.8%
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

3. Community College of Denver

Another trade-oriented school, the Community College of Denver (CCD) is a great choice for students who either need to bring their grade point averages up or are constrained to taking college classes while working a day job. Though it is called a community college, this is in name only as it is a true to form four-year school. CCD serves more than 8,500 students each academic year according to the 2017 NCES report. It is located in a large city setting, making it an even more practical choice. Though it has a high student to teacher ratio at 22:1, it has been praised for taking a clear stance in working to prepare nursing students for work in the medical field with the expressed intent of serving the greater good.

• Available Nursing Programs: LPN, ADN, LPN to ADN
• NCLEX Pass Rate: Not listed
• Cost to Attend: $3,470 per year and $439 in administration fees

4. College America-Denver

College America Denver (CAD) is one of those rare schools that really shines forth for its small class sizes. Research has shown that smaller class sizes really do make a tremendous amount of difference in terms of the volume of information that students are able to commit to memory and skills that can be mastered. So while CAD may be passed over for its lack of prestige and its extremely low enrollment numbers—it is not to be overlooked. That’s why it makes number four on our list of the best nursing schools in Denver, ahead even of a great school like Aspen University. CAD serves an average of 139 students and has an outstanding student to teacher ratio of 9 students to one instructor.

• Available Nursing Programs: ADN
• NCLEX Pass Rate: Not listed
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

5. Aspen University

As one of the top 19 private non-profit colleges in the state of Colorado, Aspen University (AU) is a popular institution that many students both in the Denver area and beyond strive to qualify for. According to the NCES report from the academic year of 2017, just under 5,000 students attend this school each year, and 25% of every graduating class complete their coursework and graduate in 150% of the estimated completion time or better. This school is located in the heart of a large city setting, earning its marks for logistical convenience. But it ranks low on the student to teacher ratio score with 20 students to every one teacher. Still, this is a good student to teacher ratio by national standards, but among its Colorado-based competition, it’s high.

• Available Nursing Programs: BSN, RN to BSN, MSN, RN to MSN, DNP
• NCLEX Pass Rate: Not listed
• Cost to Attend: $4,050 per academic year and $180 in administration fees

6. Emily Griffith Technical College

The Emily Griffith Technical College (EGTG) is an excellent choice for students who wish to forgo the politics and formalities of larger universities, and simply learn the skills necessary to become a qualified professional nurse. Founded in 1916, EGTG has gone through many changes during its century-long lifetime. There is a wide list of healthcare-related course options available to the aspiring nurse. As a technical school, its healthcare courses of study are among its most popular and best-funded programs. EGTG offers a number of certificates to high performing students that will help them to earn more as they begin their careers. The school’s nursing programs focus heavily on moving students through the path to becoming LPN certified.

• Available Nursing Programs: LPN, CNA
• NCLEX Pass Rate: 91.9%
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

7. Regis University

A Roman Catholic university founded in the late 1800s, Regis University (RU) is a member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. RU is separated into five different colleges across the state and serves major and minor courses of study for undergraduates. Serving just over 8,000 students on average each year, RU has one of the best student to teacher ratios of all the nursing schools in Denver, coming in at 13 students to every one teacher. This school was ranked 23rd among the best regional universities in the western third of the United States by US News & World Report.

This school’s core BSN course of study includes 756 hours of practical clinical experience to be completed at nearby and local healthcare facilities. RU offers a wide variety of options and programs for students seeking tuition assistance including scholarships and grants. For students who are already working in healthcare, RU offers the BSN CHOICE program which enables students to keep their jobs while furthering their education.

• Available Nursing Programs: ADN, BSN, Accelerated BSN, RN to BSN, MSN, RN to MSN, DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner
• NCLEX Pass Rate: RN: 89.4%
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

8. Metropolitan State University of Denver

The Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSUD) is a nursing school in Colorado, Denver area. It was founded more than half a century ago in 1965 and offers a wide array of graduate programs, including its nursing courses. The college was created with the intention of providing access to education to the widest range of students possible. The campus is in an old neighborhood called Auraria but has since expanded into multiple facilities throughout the nearby area. The campus is located in the center of Denver’s business district, providing ready access for the students to nearby amenities, places to eat, and other valuable resources. The student to teacher ratio is 17 to 1 and the school serves just over 20,000 students each year. MSUD offers three BSN programs, including a four-year program, a BRNCO program, and an accelerated BSN program. Nursing students will be afforded the opportunity to avail themselves of a number of practical learning experiences in local medical facilities and other interoperable learning environments.

• Available Nursing Programs: BSN, Accelerated BSN, RN to BSN
• NCLEX Pass Rate: RN: 89.6%
• Cost to Attend: Not listed

Methodology

Our list of the best nursing schools in Denver has been ranked in order from least amenable to aspiring and developing nurses to most amenable. The considerations taken into account are interconnectivity to the Denver area medical community, student to teacher ratios, and the quality of the curriculum.

When choosing the best school for you, it is always best to consider schools that cater to your specific needs such as proximity, tuition assistance, whether or not programs that suit your educational goals are offered, and the demand among employers for students who graduate at the school in question. Choosing the right school is always a personal choice with far more to consider than we can account for here. To learn more, and for more help in choosing the right nursing school in Denver, reach out to us through our contact page. We look forward to answering all of your questions.

For more programs check out our BSN programs page.