St. Vincent's College

St. Vincent’s College is tied to a long-running nursing legacy in Bridgeport and now operates within Sacred Heart University’s Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing. For prospective students looking at the associate level, the school offers an ADN and an LPN to ADN pathway, with the associate program structured for part-time, commuter students.

Clinical education is anchored in southwestern Connecticut health systems. ADN students complete clinical rotations at St. Vincent’s Medical Center (Bridgeport), Stamford Hospital (Stamford), and St. Mary’s Hospital (Waterbury). On the academic side, nursing coursework is supported by dedicated skills and simulation labs on campus, using interactive manikins and structured simulation experiences to practice assessment, medication administration, and response to high-risk scenarios before going out to clinical sites.

The associate degree in nursing is a 72-credit program that typically takes 2 to 3 years, combining general education courses with a nursing sequence across adult medical-surgical nursing, maternal-newborn and pediatrics, pharmacology, psychiatric and mental health nursing, leadership and management, and legal-ethical content. The program outlines 700 hours of clinical experience as part of the ADN. Graduates who meet admission criteria also have an automatic admission route into Sacred Heart University’s RN-to-BSN program, which can matter if you are planning an ADN-to-bachelor’s progression early.

In terms of location, nursing labs and classes are based on Sacred Heart’s Park Avenue corridor, with the Center for Healthcare Education listed at 4000 Park Avenue in Bridgeport. That places the program near major north-south routes through Bridgeport and adjacent Fairfield, which is helpful for commuters coming from other parts of Fairfield and New Haven counties.

On first-time licensure outcomes, St. Vincent’s College’s average weighted NCLEX-RN pass rate is 90.7%, close to Connecticut’s 2024 state average of 91.7%.