As a Hartwick nursing student, you’ll start taking nursing classes during your very first semester. Most other programs make you wait until the sophomore or junior year. You’ll spend four hours each week in our newly-expanded nursing lab, gaining the skills you’ll need for your career at Hartwick—and beyond. Toward the end of the semester, you will have the chance to practice these skills in a clinical setting.
Because of high demand from other collegiate nursing programs, students should be prepared for clinical experiences that are scheduled on weekends.
The nursing curriculum ensures that Hartwick’s nursing students are well prepared for the realities of entry-level positions in any area of professional nursing practice, and in any setting.
As leaders in the field, the majority of Hartwick nursing graduates pursue advanced degrees in leadership, practice, teaching, and research.
Hartwick graduates pursue careers as registered nurses and can earn a median salary of $71,730. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of registered nurses employed from 2016 to 2026 is expected to grow by 15%. This means there will be over 438,000 new jobs open in the nursing field in the next decade.
Pursuing a nursing degree at Hartwick is an excellent career choice and there are ample job opportunities available in the field.
Hartwick nurses can be found delivering exceptional care in diverse healthcare settings the world over. Many pursue advanced degrees as nurse administrators, nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, nurse educators, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners.
Hartwick alumni work for:
Hartwick graduates have been accepted at:
Regional clinical affiliates for Hartwick undergraduates include:
Hartwick offers a wide variety of January Term courses. The Nursing Department offers a January Term course in Transcultural Nursing in Jamaica, West Indies. Junior nursing students in this course learn firsthand about the impact of culture, politics, economics, and globalization on healthcare and healing. Through their work, students are able to recognize the health-related beliefs of the culture, and how those beliefs affect the health of the people. In addition to course work, there also is time for sightseeing, and learning about the local culture. Enrollment in this course is limited and selection is competitive.
Senior nursing students are engaged in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Community Health, Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing, and Leadership courses, among others. In their final semester, the Independent Practicum gives seniors the opportunity to narrow their focus on an area of interest—such as pediatrics, ICU, or labor and delivery—and to shadow a nurse preceptor for five weeks. This hands-on experience prepares our nursing students for the realities of nursing practice—and many return from their practicum with a job offer.
Hartwick’s nursing curriculum, like the profession, is demanding. The professional nursing component is based upon a strong foundation in the arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and physical and life sciences. That’s what helps educate a nurse who has the heart and skilled know-how of a professional. That’s what makes Hartwick-educated nurses stand out.
Students applying to the nursing program immediately following high school should have a strong background in the sciences (preferably with four years of high school math and science) and with a high school average of 87 or higher. Nursing applicants are required to submit SAT or ACT scores; successful candidates will have minimum scores of 1080 (SAT) or 24 (ACT).
Successful transfer applicants will have a strong background in the sciences and a GPA of 3.0 or higher at their previous institution, depending on the intended program.
Hartwick’s expert nursing faculty are future-focused. They work side-by-side with students who will make a difference. Hartwick students.
Ready to move faster? Get the full Hartwick nursing experience in three-quarters the time at three-quarters the cost. Learn more about the three-year program.
