Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing

About Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing

Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is an independent, degree-granting nonprofit institution located on the OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center campus in Peoria. Although the college is closely integrated with a hospital environment, Illinois higher-education authorities treat it as an operating institution rather than a hospital department. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, while its bachelor’s, master’s, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The present college was established in November 1985 after Illinois approved its baccalaureate program. It enrolled its first junior class in 1986 and graduated its first class in 1988. Its roots extend to the St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing, organized by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in 1905. The college subsequently introduced master’s education in the early 2000s and its Doctor of Nursing Practice program in 2009. The institutional scope is deliberately narrow. Undergraduate and graduate study centers on nursing, with pathways for prospective registered nurses, licensed nurses seeking degree advancement, advanced-practice nurses, educators, and nursing leaders. The published 2026–30 academic calendar shows active instruction beginning in August 2026, and the official site publishes 2026–27 undergraduate and graduate charges. Students evaluating the college should therefore focus on fit with nursing practice, clinical expectations, online-learning requirements, professional licensure goals, and the institution’s Catholic health-care setting.

Admission varies substantially by pathway. The traditional BSN is a transfer-entry program: applicants complete 59 semester hours of required pre-nursing coursework at a regionally accredited institution before enrollment at Saint Francis. An application may be submitted after at least 30 pre-nursing hours, including eight hours in physical or life sciences. The college requires official high-school or GED documentation and transcripts from every college attended. Its BSN page states that admission is competitive and that satisfying minimum criteria does not guarantee a place. The college’s published general FAQ lists priority application dates of February 15 for spring consideration and September 15 for fall consideration. Because that page does not label these dates by admission year, applicants for 2026–27 or later should confirm the applicable cycle directly with Admissions. International applicants are accepted only as full-time F-1 students in the BSN program and use a separate international application; they must also satisfy the college’s current language and academic documentation requirements. Graduate applicants should consult the requirements for their exact MSN, DNP, or certificate option. These commonly include prior accredited nursing education, official transcripts, an active registered-nurse license, and program-specific professional or practicum preparation. The post-master’s DNP page, for example, publishes April 1 and October 1 priority dates while continuing to accept applications throughout the year. Distance applicants must separately verify whether the curriculum is authorized in their state and whether it meets that state’s professional-licensure rules.

The college offers nursing education at the bachelor’s, master’s, and professional-doctorate levels. Undergraduate options include the traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing and an online RN-to-BSN route. The traditional BSN curriculum totals 124 semester hours: students complete 59 semester hours of pre-nursing work at another accredited college or university before undertaking 65 semester hours in the nursing major. This transfer-based structure means it is not a conventional four-year residential entry point for most students. OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center, located next to the college, is the traditional BSN program’s primary clinical site. Students may also obtain experience through community and human-service agencies. The college states that traditional BSN classes and clinical work require campus attendance, although some coursework is online. The RN-to-BSN curriculum is fully online. Graduate offerings include MSN, BSN-to-DNP, post-master’s DNP, and post-graduate certificate pathways. Published areas include family nurse practitioner, adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, and nurse educator preparation. Graduate coursework is delivered online to accommodate working nurses, but delivery is not necessarily fully remote. Family nurse practitioner and adult-gerontology acute care pathways include specified campus immersions or practicums, and clinical work may be arranged in a student’s home area where authorization and placement requirements permit. Prospective distance learners should verify current state authorization, licensure alignment, clinical-placement expectations, and campus-attendance requirements before enrolling.

Key Highlights

• Independent nonprofit nursing college operating in Peoria, Illinois
• Higher Learning Commission institutionally accredited
• Nursing degree programs hold Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accreditation
• College established in 1985, with nursing-education roots dating to 1905

Student Life & Environment

Student life is shaped by the college’s specialized nursing mission and medical-center setting rather than by a large, multi-college campus. The institution offers 70 single-occupancy residence rooms with wireless internet, a bed, desk, dresser, closet, and sink. Residence floors have student resident assistants, shared bathrooms, lounges, and kitchen access. Common facilities include laundry, recreation space, exercise equipment, televisions, and food-storage and cooking facilities. The campus is smoke-free. The college does not describe a traditional meal plan. Resident students can prepare food in shared kitchens, while students may purchase meals in the OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center cafeteria at the employee rate. Parking arrangements differ for residents and commuters: enclosed medical-center parking is available to residents, while open-lot parking is available for students living off campus. Social and recreational options extend into central Peoria. The college highlights the nearby Civic Center, riverfront, Warehouse District, museum, recreation facilities, and local trails, along with opportunities offered through community organizations and other area colleges. Because this is a small professional college, applicants seeking intercollegiate athletics, a broad Greek system, or extensive university-style clubs should confirm what is currently available rather than assume those features exist. The residence and medical-center environment may appeal most to students who prefer close proximity to coursework and clinical activity.

Location & Surroundings

The college is in Peoria, Illinois, on the campus of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center and at the edge of downtown. This placement is academically significant: traditional BSN students can complete much of their clinical education at the adjacent medical center rather than commuting to a distant primary site. Other community placements may still require travel, so students should budget for transportation between the college, clinical locations, housing, and work. Downtown amenities are relatively close. The college identifies the Peoria Civic Center, with its arena and performance theater, as only a few blocks away. It also points students toward the Peoria Riverfront Museum, the riverfront and Warehouse District, dining and entertainment venues, a hiking and cycling trail, and the RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center. The setting is urban but substantially smaller in scale than Chicago. Students living in college housing have access to enclosed medical-center parking; commuters may use designated open lots. The institution’s published cost-of-attendance budgets include sizable transportation allowances, a useful reminder that clinical training and daily life may involve vehicle-related expenses even when the primary hospital site is next door.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–27, the college lists undergraduate tuition at $698 per semester hour, RN-to-BSN tuition at $544 per hour, and graduate tuition at $794 per hour. Its standard annual examples total $24,581 in tuition, fees, and resource charges for a junior taking 33 hours; $24,030 for a senior taking 32 hours; and $9,808 for a graduate student taking six hours in each of the fall and spring terms. These examples are not complete living-cost budgets, and actual charges depend on enrollment and program. The separate 2026–27 cost-of-attendance page adds estimated housing, food, books and equipment, uniforms, transportation, and personal expenses. Its budgets vary markedly by living arrangement and program, especially for the 12-month accelerated BSN. Students should compare the budget matching their pathway rather than treating one institutional total as universal. Payment arrangements are due 30 days before each semester, and installment plans are available. Federal and state aid programs are offered to eligible students. The college also advertises a competitive tuition-assistance program for qualifying full-time undergraduate BSN students who accept a post-graduation employment commitment to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center; this is a binding arrangement, not an unrestricted scholarship. Career preparation is closely tied to clinical nursing. The college reports that 100% of responding 2024 graduates across its listed programs were employed within one year, but response rates varied by program and the figure incorporates supplemental data collection. Applicants should interpret it as an institutional outcome measure rather than a guaranteed result. Traditional BSN students gain clinical experience primarily at OSF Saint Francis, while advanced programs prepare nurses for practitioner, educator, and leadership roles.