Nursing (B.S.)
ABOUT
Grounded in a foundation based upon caring, leadership, knowledge and community service, Clemson University’s nursing program is the perfect fit for compassionate minds looking to help others and save lives. Nurses are an essential part of the health care system, and our nursing program aims to fill health care facilities with graduates who are understanding and smart, and independent critical thinkers who are hardworking and honest. To make sure you're gaining relevant, hands-on experience, we have clinical sites in four major hospital systems with numerous community partnerships. In addition, clinicals provide our students with real-life experience similar to what you’ll face in medical facilities. Research with human patient simulators allows you to practice events that aren’t as likely to happen in clinicals — guaranteeing that program graduates will go on to become some of the most qualified nurses in the field.
FAST FACTS
- Incoming students receive direct admission into our nursing program.
- Our graduates have a nearly 100 percent job placement rate within three months of graduation.
- The School of Nursing program NCLEX (nursing board examination) pass rates are above the national average.
- Clemson's School of Nursing is among only 69 nursing programs nationwide to be recognized since 2004 as a Center of Excellence designation in Nursing Education Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development by the National League for Nursing.
- The baccalaureate degree in nursing, the master's degree in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at Clemson University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
WHAT YOU'LL STUDY
Clemson’s nursing school provides students with the communication, computer, leadership and critical-thinking skills that are vital in today’s complex health care environment. As a nursing major, your first two years at Clemson will be spent developing a well-rounded education. With a foundation and emphasis in liberal arts and basic science, you'll focus on classes such as biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology and writing.
Once you reach your junior year you’ll be honing your nursing skills in our Clinical Learning and Research Center. These centers offer high-tech human patient simulators that prepare you for “low-occurrence, high-risk” situations such as treating a person who sustained a neck injury in an automobile accident. You’ll also get hospital-based experience during clinical rotations.
Your junior and senior years will be spent immersed in nursing courses and clinicals. Clinicals provide a chance to practice critical thinking and hands-on skills in medical settings. Clinical rotations occur in a variety of settings in the local area including medical centers, regional hospitals and community hospitals. In your sophomore year, you’ll be placed into one of our two cohorts — The B.S. Traditional housed in Edwards Hall on Clemson’s main campus or the B.S. Accelerated housed at the Clemson University Nursing building on the Prisma Health-Upstate main campus — and will start one of the paths in your junior year. Throughout your time as a Clemson nursing student, you’ll learn everything needed to be successful in the nursing field, and you’ll be prepared to become some of the most qualified professionals and leaders in our field.
Global Health Certificate: An optional global health certificate will give students a hands-on nursing experience structured around classroom and field experiences. To receive the certificate, you’ll take three additional courses followed by a capstone experience abroad in a low-resource, Spanish-speaking country.
RN to B.S. Program: Already a registered nurse, but want to go back to school? Clemson’s RN/BS Completion Program is offered in a fully online format that allows getting your Bachelor of Science degree to fit into your busy schedule. Students enjoy the ease and convenience of online learning while maintaining contact with faculty and peers through various technologies, including virtual meetings, email, and phone contact. The online format provides both the flexibility and support needed by working nurses to continue their education.
Accelerated Second Degree Nursing Program: Designed for individuals who already have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, this program is a full-time, 16-month program based at our University Center in Greenville, S.C. Students begin in a fall semester and finish the following December. Students must also have completed several prerequisite courses and apply in the fall semester prior to their intended enrollment.
Popular Minors
- Modern Languages (Spanish)
- Psychology
- Sociology
EXPERIENCES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Choosing to enter Clemson’s nursing program is choosing to help those in need. With a hands-on learning approach, students will engage in “real-life” nursing exercises by doing community service, logging clinic hours and even studying abroad.







AFTER GRADUATION
Your college decision isn't really about the next four years. We get it. It's about what doors are opened by your degree and whether those opportunities are what you had envisioned for yourself. Here's a snapshot of what life after graduation looks like for some of our most recent students.
WHERE OUR RECENT GRADUATES HAVE GONE
KEY
- 41-100%
- 21-40%
- 11-20%
- 0-10%
RECENT EMPLOYERS
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Registered Nurse (Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive Care Unit)
The John Hopkins Hospital
-
Registered Nurse (Surgical ICU)
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
-
Registered Nurse (Critical Care)
Prisma Health-Upstate
-
Registered Nurse
Medical University of South Carolina
-
Registered Nurse
Duke University Hospital
RECENT POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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M.S. Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner)
Drexel University
-
M.S. Nursing (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Practitioner)
UNC Charlotte
-
M.S. Nursing (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner)
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
-
M.S. Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner)
University of Alabama at Birmingham
-
M.S. Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner)
St. Francis University
COMMON CAREER AREAS
- Work Setting or Type of Treatment
- Perioperative (operating rooms)
- Emergency / Trauma
- Critical Care
- Ambulatory Care
- Home Health Care
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Occupational Health
- Radiology
- Psychiatric-Mental Health
- Specific Health Conditions
- Oncology
- Diabetes Management
- Addictions Treatment
- HIV/AIDS Care
- Neonatology
- Pediatrics
- Adults
- Geriatrics
- Advanced Practice Nursing
- Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Nurse Anesthesiology
- Nurse Midwifery
- Nurse Practitioner
- Community and Public Health
- International Health
Used with permission from the University of Tennessee.
FIND OUT MORE
Have more questions or want more information? Fill out the form below, which goes directly to the following department contact. If you’d also like to receive general University information from Clemson’s admissions office, please follow the link to the right and sign up to join our mailing list.
Nachelle Roddy
Academic Adviser
nroddy@clemson.edu