Florida's Best Nursing Schools for 2020

Seminole State College of Florida is located in Sanford, Florida.  They offer a generic RN program.  They also offer a concurrent ASN-BSN program with University of Central Florida, which allows the student to complete both ASN and BSN requirements simultaneously.

State College of Florida – Manatee – Sarasota has campuses in Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and Venice, Florida.  It is the region’s first and largest public college.  They offer multiple nursing programs, from an ADN program, to a BSN program to an ADN to RN and an RN to BSN program.

Tallahassee Community College is located in Tallahassee, Florida.  Tallahassee offers a variety of nursing programs; they offer a traditional ASN program and a BSN program.  They also offer an RN to BSN program and a Health Profession to RN program.  The Health Profession to RN program is designed for LPNs and paramedics to achieve their RN license.

Valencia College is located in Orlando, Florida.  Valencia College offers a couple different bridge programs – an RN to BSN program and an “Advanced Standing Track”.  Their Advanced Standing Track is a unique program; it allows LPNs, paramedics, registered invasive cardiovascular specialists, and registered respiratory therapists to enter the program and become an RN.

Northwest Florida State College is located in Niceville, Florida.  Their nursing program appeals to nursing students of various education levels, from LPN to RN, RN to BSN and an ADN program.  Having all of these programs under one umbrella allows the nursing student to easily achieve their education goals.

Polk State College is located in Winter Haven, Florida.  Their RN program has a generic option (the ASN degree), a transition option (LPNs, paramedics and registered respiratory therapists seeking an RN degree) and an RN to BSN option.  The multitude of options allows the nurse to pursue their education, no matter what their education goals.

Broward College is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Broward College offers a variety of nursing programs; they offer an RN program, an LPN-RN transition program and an RN-BSN program.  The variety of programs allows the nurse to achieve his or her education goals, whatever they may be.

College of Central Florida is located in Ocala, Florida.  They offer an RN program, a bridge program (an LPN to RN program) and an RN to BSN program.  The bridge program is designed for the nurse who holds an LPN license and the RN to BSN program is designed for the nurse who already holds an RN license.

North Florida Community College is located in Madison, Florida.  They offer an RN program and two LPN to RN programs.  One is an LPN to RN “articulation” program and one is an LPN to RN “bridge” program.  The articulation program is five semesters whereas the bridge program is four semesters, making it an accelerated program.

Indian River State College is located in Fort Pierce, Florida.  Their nursing program is unique in that it uses a “guided pathway” program.  Students may opt to begin as a nursing assistant, eventually becoming an LPN, then progressing towards their RN.  Finally, the BSN is available for students that have completed their RN at IRSC.

Saint Johns River State College is located in St. Augustine, Florida.  Their nursing department offers an ASN program and an LPN Bridge to ASN.  Their programs are labeled as “limited access” programs, meaning they are exclusive and only offer a limited amount of spots into their programs.

Florida Keys Community College is located in Key West, Florida.  Florida Keys Community College is the southernmost institution in the Florida College System.  They offer an ASN program and accept LPNs and EMTs on a case-by-case basis into their program.

Daytona State College is located in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Their college offers $15,000 in scholarships to its nursing and allied health students.  Nursing programs available are a practical nursing program, a transition into professional nursing (an LPN to RN program), an ADN program and a BSN program, which is actually an RN to BSN program and limited specifically to those already holding an RN license.

Santa Fe College is located in Gainesville, Florida.  They offer an RN program, a nursing bridge program and a BSN program.  Their bridge program is designed for LPNs and paramedics to achieve their ASN degree, while their BSN program is “limited access” and is designed specifically for nurses who already have their ASN degree.

Florida SouthWestern State College has multiple campuses – Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Naples, and LaBelle, Florida.  They do not have a separate ASN and LPN to ASN program; however, LPNs enrolled in their ASN program are exempt from a selection of courses.  In addition, they offer a BSN program that is specifically designed for students already holding an RN license.

Florida Gateway College is located in Lake City, Florida.  They have a variety of nursing program options, beginning with a practical nursing option.  They also have an ADN program and an LPN to ADN program.  They also have a BSN program, which is available specifically to the ADN graduate.

The University of Tampa is located in Tampa, Florida.  University of Tampa offers a BSN program and a MSN program.  Their BSN program is highly competitive and students are accepted for fall, spring and summer semesters.  Their program is designed for students without nursing credits.

Florida Atlantic University is located in Boca Raton, Florida.  Their nursing department offers a BSN program, an RN to BSN program and a freshmen direct admit program, which allows high school seniors to apply for the nursing program and gain entrance into the nursing program their freshmen year of college.

University of Miami is located in Coral Gables, Florida.  Their post-graduate programs for nursing are highly awarded by US News & World Report – their doctorate of nursing program is rated #38, while their master’s of nursing is rated #40 in their respective divisions.  For a bachelor’s level of education, they offer a traditional BSN program, an accelerated BSN program, and an RN to BSN program.

Florida Gulf Coast University is located in Fort Myers, Florida.  FGCU offers a BSN program.  At this time, they do not offer an RN to BSN program.  RNs may enroll in their program but they must attend the full program along with all other BSN students.  They do offer BSN to DNP , MSN to DNP, Nurse Anesthesia, Nurse Educator, and Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner programs.

Jacksonville University is located in Jacksonville, Florida.  Their BSN program is unique and offers some unique options that not a lot of other university BSN programs offer.  They offer a freshman acceptance program, where the nursing student is accepted in their senior year of high school.  They also offer a traditional BSN program, an online RN to BSN program, an on-campus RN to BSN program, and a BSN program that is designed specifically for veterans of the armed forces.

Florida State University is located in Tallahassee, Florida.  Their nursing department offers a BSN program, an accelerated BSN program for students already holding a bachelor’s degree, and a veterans BSN program, which targets corspmen and medics who seek to earn their BSN degree.

The University of West Florida is located in Pensacola, Florida.  They offer a BSN program and an RN to BSN program.  Their RN to BSN program is open to students who hold an RN license and have either an ASN degree or a diploma RN.

University of North Florida is located in Jacksonville, Florida.  Their nursing department offers multiple options; they have a prelicensure BSN, for students without a nursing degree, an accelerated prelicensure BSN, for students without a nursing degree but with a prior bachelor’s degree, and an RN to BSN degree, for students holding an RN with an ASN degree.

Palm Beach Atlantic University is located in West Palm Beach, Florida.  They offer a BSN progam and an online RN to BSN program.  They also recently launched a program where high school seniors can be pre-accepted into the nursing program.

University of Central Florida is located in Orlando, Florida.  UCF has a traditional BSN program, an RN to BSN program and a Concurrent ASN to BSN Program.  The Concurrent ASN to BSN program allows ASN students from selects colleges simultaneously attend school for both their ASN and BSN degrees; this allows the student to first complete their ASN degree, but get their BSN degree shortly after.

University of South Florida (Main Campus) is located in Tampa, Florida.  Their nursing program offers a variety of options for its students.  They offer a traditional BSN program, an online RN to BSN program, an on-campus RN to BSN program, a second degree sequence, which is designed for students already holding a bachelor’s degree, and a veteran to BSN, which is designed for military medics or corpsmen to become BSNs.

University of Florida is located in Gainesville, Florida.  UF graduates the largest amount of nursing students in Florida each year.  They also had the first master’s and doctorate of nursing programs in the state of Florida.  Their College of Nursing offers a traditional BSN program, an RN to BSN program, and an accelerated program, designed for students holding a non-nursing bachelor’s degree.

Florida National University is located in Hialeah, Florida.  They offer a BSN program and an RN to BSN program.  They also offer a program designed for physicians who have graduated from a medical college in another country who are now seeking a nursing license in the US.