Nursing

What you'll do in college

Nursing majors spend their first two years mastering anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology, and nutrition before moving into intensive clinical rotations in hospitals, community clinics, and specialty units. You'll practice skills on mannequins first—starting IVs, reading monitors, performing assessments—then transition to caring for real patients under the supervision of experienced nurses and faculty. Programs are rigorous and highly structured, with strict attendance policies and competency checkpoints every semester. Expect early morning clinical shifts, mountains of reading, and a tight-knit cohort that studies and stresses together.

What you'll do after college

After passing the NCLEX-RN licensing exam, graduates become registered nurses with immediate job prospects in hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, home health agencies, and public health departments. Demand for nurses is among the strongest of any profession, and geographic flexibility is excellent—you can work almost anywhere. Many RNs specialize within a few years, moving into intensive care, emergency, oncology, labor and delivery, or pediatrics. Others pursue advanced degrees to become nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, or clinical nurse specialists, roles that come with significantly higher pay and greater autonomy. Nursing also opens doors to healthcare administration, education, research, and health policy.

Famous graduates

• Clara Barton — Founder of the American Red Cross; self-taught nurse who organized care during the Civil War
• Mary Eliza Mahoney — First professionally trained African American nurse in the United States; graduated from the New England Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses
• Virginia Henderson — Influential nursing theorist known as the "First Lady of Nursing"; B.S. and M.A. in Nursing Education from Teachers College, Columbia University

Selectivity vs. earnings