Fast Facts
Loyola is the only Jesuit university in the nation with its own medical center. Loyola also has the largest Jesuit school of nursing in the U.S.
Starting base salary for B.S.N. graduates in Chicago is $44,300/year; with off-shift differentials, it is as much as $55,200/year. Tuition reimbursement of $7,500 is often available for full-time new graduates with passage of NCLEX.
Students in the undergraduate nursing program have opportunities for:
- Service experiences, internships and work/study in health-care organizations in addition to for-credit clinical nursing practicums
- Participation in ministry initiatives, such as service and social justice projects and immersion trips
- International coursework in Rome (sophomore year), Surrey, England (senior year) and Belize (senior year)
- Leadership roles through participation in nursing organizations such as Student Nurse Association of Illinois (SNAI), National Student Nurses' Association and Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society of Nursing. Participation in the University Honors Program, Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society.
- Work with nursing faculty researchers. Nursing students successfully obtain Mulcahy Scholarships to support their experiences with nursing faculty researchers. Students may participate in the school's research colloquia and ethics conferences.
- Clinical experiences with a university supported, nurse-run community clinic
- Study in Loyola University Nursing Center and School of Nursing initiated school-based health centers
The final senior clinical course in the B.S.N. program, Clinical Role Transition, offers students a "real life" nursing experience in a clinical site of their choice.
Students have experiences in a wide variety of community health care agencies, community hospitals and academic health centers, such as Advocate Health System, Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, Chicago Health Outreach, Inc., Children's Memorial Hospital, Edward Hines Jr. Veteran's Administration Hospital, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Loyola University Health System, MacNeal Health Network, Northwest Community Healthcare, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Rush North Shore Medical Center, St. Joseph's Hospital, and University Hospital Consortium, using state-of-the-art technology and health care interventions, and evidence-based practice.
Approximately 60 percent of B.S.N. graduates aspire to graduate school and typically apply within three years of graduation.
The Niehoff School of Nursing offers student nurses many opportunities to affiliate with a variety of student and professional organizations including the National Student Nurses' Association and the Student Nurses' Association of Illinois; Sigma Theta Tau, the International Nursing Honor Society; and Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society. Nursing students who qualify may participate in Loyola's Interdisciplinary Honors Program.
The school offers a number of awards to outstanding undergraduate nursing students. These include the Dean's Gold Key, the Gladys Kiniery and Sister Helen Jarrell clinical excellence awards, Silver Honor Keys, honors certificates, Alumni Board awards, Carol Kraft Memorial Award and service awards.
