Five Campuses. One College. Serving Montana.
The In-State Advantage?
Direct Entry into the College of Nursing!
Direct entry to the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing's BSN program will be granted to Montana high school graduates. This means students who graduate Montana high schools will be guaranteed a seat in the College of Nursing if they complete thier pre-nursing courses at MSU Bozeman with an average GPA of 3.0 or higher and no grades below a C-. See below for more details.
Why Choose Nursing?
High wages:
$86,070 - The median annual wage for registered nurses as of May 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employment in Montana or Nationwide:
About 190,000 openings for registered nurses are projected each year. This spans rural and urban centers across Montana and the country. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Fulfilling work:
When you choose nursing as a major you are not only preparing yourself for a successful career path but you are also giving back to your community and helping those in need.
Your path to becoming a Registered Nurse
- Enroll in MSU as an Undergraduate freshman (applying is free)
- Take required nursing prerequisites class with sufficient grades for direct entry
- Apply to the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing via NursingCAS
- Complete upper level nursing classes and clinicals
- Graduate & be prepared to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam
Hear from our students:
"As a nursing student at MSU, I've had the opportunity to work everywhere from houseless shelters to facilities for people with disabilities. It exposes you to a lot of different opportunities to find out what your meaning and purpose is and what your goals are."
— Joshua, Cascade, MT. Class of 2024
More Details about:
Direct entry to the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing will be granted to Montana high school graduates. Direct entry to the nursing program first requires admission to MSU, apply now as a prenursing major. Applying to MSU is free for Montana residents!
Direct entry guarantees eligible students a spot in the MRJCON BSN nursing program. To maintain direct entry eligibility to the nursing BSN program students will need to:
- Continue enrollment at Montana State University
- Achieve a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the required prenursing prerequisite courses
- Earn grades of a C- or better in all prenursing prerequisite courses
Chances are there's a campus location close to home! The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing operates five campus locations across the state of Montana to accommodate more students with clinical placements. Pre-Nursing courses are only offered in Bozeman. While completing the Nursing CAS application, students are asked to rank the campuses in order of their preference. Campus locations are Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell, & Missoula. Preferences are honored in descending order by holistic rank and students selecting
In 2021 Mark and Robyn Jones made a $101 million philanthropic investment to MSU’s nursing college, which now bears thier name. This gift has allowed us to begin construction on new building on each of our five campus locations. Each building will be two stories and house multiple classrooms and simulation laboratories, as well as break and study areas for students. The buildings will also allow for us to accommodate for more students in coming years.
Billings
Bozeman
Great Falls
Kalispell
Missoula
MSU Premier Scholarship:
Merit-based scholarship with awards up to $16,000. Students are automatically considered with an application to MSU.
Treasure State Scholarship:
First-generation college students may qualify for awards up to $6,000. To be considered, self-report your first-generation status on your MSU application.
Hilleman Program Scholarship:
Based on financial need and leadership potential. Awards are up to $16,000. Students are invited to apply based on Pell Grant eligibility.
Be sure to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov, which is required for need-based scholarships and financial aid awards.
The following prerequisite requirements must be met prior to applying to the nursing program.
- You must have a calculated GPA of 3.0 or higher in prerequisite courses
- You must be on track to complete all prerequisites prior to placement start date, with a grade of C- or better (prerequisites must have been completed within the last 15 years). In addition, you may have no more than two retakes of prerequisite coursework (a grade of “W” counts as a repeat). If you are interested in appealing this policy, please contact an advisor.
- You must complete at least 3 of the 5 required natural science courses with a grade
of C- or better to apply to the nursing program. Those courses are: BIOH 201**, BIOH
211, BIOM 250 (with lab), CHMY 121 (with lab) and CHMY 123 (with lab).
**BIOH 201 (Anatomy and Physiology I) MUST be one of the three completed science courses in order to apply.
- BIOH 201- Anatomy and Physiology I with a lab
- BIOH 211- Anatomy and Physiology II with a lab
- BIOM 250/251- Microbiology for Health Sciences with a lab
- CHMY 121IN/122IN- Introduction to General Chemistry with a lab
- CHMY 123/124- Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry Principles with a lab
- COMX 111US- Introduction to Public Speaking
- HDFS 101IS-Individual and Family Development & Well-Being –Across the Lifespan - OR - PSYX 230 Developmental Psychology
- M 121Q- College Algebra - OR -M 140 - College Math for Health Care
- NRSG 116- Introduction to Professional Nursing (can be taken in the first semester of upper-division coursework)
- NUTR 221CS- Human Nutrition
- PSYX 100IS- Introduction to Psychology - OR - SOCI 101IS- Introduction to Sociology
- STAT 216Q- Introduction to Statistics
- WRIT 101W– College Writing I *Not required for students who already have a bachelor’s degree
- WRIT 201- College Writing II
