Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart is a private university in Fairfield, Connecticut, with nursing housed in the Davis and Henley College of Nursing. Pathways span prelicensure and post-licensure options, including the on-campus BSN and 15-month Second Degree Accelerated BSN, plus online RN to BSN (including an accelerated option that can be completed in as few as 10 months with 90 transfer credits). At the graduate level, the university offers an MSN with tracks such as Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Education, and Nursing Management and Executive Leadership, as well as an RN to MSN option and a hybrid DNP Family Nurse Practitioner pathway.

Expect a mix of in-person and online learning depending on the track. The accelerated BSN format runs in a tight, full-time sequence from May through the following summer and focuses primarily on nursing coursework. Online graduate programs are designed with multiple start dates per year, and for some students clinical or practicum requirements can be completed near where they live, with faculty support in identifying an appropriate site.

Clinical education at Sacred Heart University is centered on placements across southwestern Connecticut, with student rotation examples that include St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Yale New Haven Hospital, Stamford Hospital, and St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury. On campus, nursing skills development is supported by five nursing labs and eight simulation rooms, and associate degree nursing courses are taught in dedicated skills and simulation labs on the Park Avenue campus.

Cost: the online MSN is listed at $695–$955 per credit hour (36–42 credits; estimated total tuition $25,020–$40,110). Sacred Heart also lists the online MSN in Nursing Education at $695 per credit (39 credits). Some BSN students may be eligible for up to $10,000 in tuition assistance through the Connecticut Health Horizons Grant initiative, and DNP-FNP students may have access to HRSA ANEW APNURSE project funding (amounts vary by full-time or part-time enrollment).

NCLEX: On NCLEX-RN outcomes reported to the state, Sacred Heart University’s average weighted RN pass rate is 99.8%, compared with Connecticut’s 2024 state average of 91.7%. Sacred Heart is Catholic-affiliated and welcomes students from all faith backgrounds.

The main campus address is 5151 Park Avenue in Fairfield, in the greater Bridgeport area of coastal Connecticut. Students commuting by car often use the Merritt Parkway (CT-15) and I-95 corridor for travel between Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stamford, and New Haven, which can influence clinical-day logistics.