Top Honors: UL Nursing Among Louisiana’s Best Schools

(Lafayette, Louisiana) - For years, UL Lafayette has been recognized as having one of the top nursing programs around. Over the years, the nursing program has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as having the 10th best online Master's in Nursing Program and in the top 50 for best online Bachelor's program.

National Recognition for UL Nursing

In addition, Nurse.org also lists that the nursing program has received numerous awards related to excellence in education. From 2020 through 2024, the UL Nursing program has been the recipient of the National League for Nursing Center of Excellence in Nurse Education, as well as the 2023 NSNA Stellar School by the National Student Nurses Association.

Now, UL Lafayette's Nursing program can add another accolade to their list. RegisteredNursing.org recently recognized UL's Nursing program as the #3 school in Louisiana.

Methodology for Rankings

The nursing school rankings from RegisteredNursing.org are based on how well each program prepares its students to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, which is required to become a licensed nurse. To figure this out, the site looks at one to three years of test results for each school, giving the most weight to the most recent year. The information comes from trusted sources like state nursing boards and the U.S. Department of Education. In simple terms, the higher a school’s pass rate—and the more consistent that success over time, the higher it will rank. For Louisiana, this process was used to evaluate 28 different nursing programs.

According to RegisteredNursing.org,

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette's BSN program stands out with an exceptional NCLEX pass rate, reaching 100% in 2024 and 98.45% in 2023, demonstrating outstanding student preparation. This four-year pre-licensure nursing program offers comprehensive training that combines rigorous academic theory with extensive clinical practice across diverse healthcare environments.

Why Strong Nursing Programs Matter in Louisiana

Sally Worthington, the outreach coordinator for RegisteredNursing.org, highlighted the importance of nursing programs at a time of workforce shortages and rising patient needs. Programs like UL Lafayette's Nursing Program are vital in filling the vacancies in the nursing field and helping to provide quality care for Louisiana's residents at hospitals, clinics and community health centers.

Congratulations to UL Lafayette's Nursing Program as we're all looking forward to more reasons to celebrate achievements here in Lafayette. But, if nursing isn't in your future, here are some career opportunities in Lafayette that don't require a college degree.