University of Nevada-Reno

University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a big public university, so the nursing school has that “state university” feel—lots of campus resources, a more structured/competitive admission process, and a curriculum that’s built to scale for a decent-sized cohort. Cost-wise, it’s the usual public-school situation: in-state tuition is way more doable than private programs, and out-of-state can jump a lot, especially once you factor in fees, books, uniforms, clinical requirements, and Reno rent. UNR itself has been around forever (late 1800s), and the Orvis School of Nursing is pretty established in Nevada, so it’s not some brand-new program finding its footing.

For clinicals, students commonly rotate through major Reno/Sparks sites like Renown Regional Medical Center and Renown South Meadows Medical Center, plus Northern Nevada Medical Center (in Sparks). Those are the big “bread and butter” facilities in town, so students get exposure to busy med-surg floors, ED flow, and a mix of patient populations. UNR also uses simulation as part of skills and clinical prep (they’ve got on-campus sim/skills labs), which is helpful before getting thrown into the hospital environment.

Location/commute: UNR’s main campus sits right by downtown Reno, up by the northern edge of the downtown area. It’s not suburban-spread-out; it’s more city campus vibes with hills. If someone’s living in Sparks, it’s usually a pretty quick drive. Coming from South Reno/South Meadows during commute hours can feel longer, especially when traffic stacks up on I-580/US-395.

Teaching-wise, it’s the typical BSN setup with a mix of lecture, lab, sim, and clinical days, and they expect students to keep up with a steady exam load plus checkoffs. On outcomes, their average RN NCLEX pass rate runs about 92.8%, which is a little above Nevada’s 2024 state average of 90.2%, so the numbers look steady for licensure.