Nursing Schools in Billings, MT

Billings has a short list of pre-licensure nursing options, and the question is which you can reach after a shift without relocating. City College at MSU Billings carries the ASN, an associate degree rather than a BSN, plus the practical nursing certificate. Montana State University delivers its BSN in Billings. All of the RN programs end at the NCLEX-RN and the same Montana license.

Cost and time pull against each other. The ASN gets you to the bedside sooner; the BSN runs longer, costs more, and satisfies the bachelor's preference common in hospital hiring. Seats are limited either way, and the ASN application deadline lands well before the university's general fall cutoff.

Does MSU Billings Have a Nursing Program? How City College and Montana State Split the Work

Yes, but the pieces are split across three tracks, and only some lead to a first RN license. City College at MSU Billings runs the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN), the pre-licensure RN program in town. MSU Billings handles pre-nursing coursework and the RN-to-BSN completion degree. The Montana State University Jones College of Nursing delivers its Traditional BSN with Billings as one of five placement sites.

What Each Track Does

• City College ASN: A five-semester program that includes one prerequisite semester, with fall and spring admission. It requires 72 credits, a 2.75 prerequisite GPA and an entrance exam (the Fall 2026 cycle used the Kaplan Admission Test, with a May 29, 2026 deadline). Admission is competitive and points-based.
• Nursing 2+1: Not a separate degree. It pairs the ASN with the MSU Billings RN-to-BSN, so ASN students can take selected BSN courses with an advisor's guidance.
• Pre-nursing: A two-year curriculum built with MSU Bozeman's Jones College of Nursing that can lead to an AA or AS. It is not a license and not a finished nursing degree.
• Montana State BSN: Lower-division work comes first. Upper-division courses and clinicals then happen at a placement site such as Billings. Admission is competitive, and the sources do not show that every course or cohort runs in Billings each year.

ASN Versus BSN

An ASN makes you eligible for the NCLEX-RN, but it is not a BSN. The RN-to-BSN is for ASN graduates: rolling admission each semester, three semesters of online courses, and two courses with mentored clinical hours near where you live or work. You can start it while still in the ASN, though passing the NCLEX-RN is required to graduate.

Who Commutes In

Students regularly come from Laurel, Lockwood, Columbus, Hardin and Red Lodge. If Billings seats are tight, Bozeman and Sheridan, WY are the nearest alternative regional hubs.

Top NCLEX-RN Pass Rates Among Programs Serving Billings Students

Below are the nursing programs serving Billings students, ranked chiefly by first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate over the latest three years, with accreditation status and completion outcomes used as tie-breakers. Exam performance carries the most weight here because it is the most direct, publicly reported sign of whether a program prepares graduates to license on the first attempt. Both entries sit in the same university system, so the real choice for most readers comes down to credential level, time to licensure and how soon they want to be earning.

How Much Nursing School Costs in Billings, MT, and Whether Any of It Is Free

MSU Billings lists in-state tuition and fees of $7,280 a year, and its average net price after aid is $16,524. That net price is an institution-wide average covering all undergraduates, not a nursing-only figure. City College's 2026-2027 cost-of-attendance estimate puts tuition and fees at $11,280 plus $1,530 for books and supplies, though that estimate is not broken out separately for the ASN or practical nursing (LPN) track, and uniforms, clinical supplies, NCLEX registration and Montana licensure fees come on top. Fully free nursing programs are rare in Billings, so the realistic way to cut the bill is to combine several sources: Pell Grant eligibility (about 62 percent of MSU Billings undergraduates receive Pell), Billings Clinic Foundation health care scholarships of $500 to $2,000 (applications open January 1, awards are competitive and not guaranteed), state aid you qualify for through the FAFSA, and any tuition assistance offered by the Billings hospital that eventually hires you.

Getting in: Acceptance Rates, Prerequisites and Deadlines at MSU Billings and Montana State

The City College at MSU Billings ASN application for fall 2026 closes at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, May 29, 2026, earlier than the university's June 1 general fall deadline.

What the Acceptance Rate Does and Does Not Tell You

An admission rate for MSU Billings as a whole describes the university, not the nursing cohort. Neither the City College ASN nor the nursing offering at the Billings campus publishes a nursing-specific acceptance percentage, so a campus figure should never be read as your odds. What is published is the bar itself: a 2.75 selective GPA calculated from the required prerequisite courses only, with a C or better in every one of them.

Prerequisites, the Kaplan Exam, and Screening

• Selective GPA: 2.75 minimum, computed from prerequisite coursework, with each course completed at a C or better.
• Entrance exam: the Kaplan Admission Test for the current cycle, not the TEAS or HESI.
• Transcripts: official records from every other accredited college must reach MSU Billings Admissions before you submit the nursing application.
• Clinical clearance: a criminal background check and a urine drug screen are required before admission to clinical sites.

Deadlines and One Way to Strengthen Your File

The ASN admits both fall and spring cohorts and runs five semesters, including one prerequisite semester. Because the selective GPA counts prerequisite courses alone, a single C in a science prerequisite pulls your score down more than a strong overall transcript lifts it. Spread the sciences across terms and protect those grades rather than stacking four lab courses into one semester.

LPN Programs in Billings and the City College Bridge to RN

Practical nursing training in Billings is now a short-commute proposition: City College at MSU Billings delivers its LPN certificate largely online, with clinicals arranged near the student's own community.

The Certificate Itself

The Certificate of Applied Science in Practical Nursing takes three semesters and 40 credits. Coursework and prerequisites run online, with 19 campus days in spring for hands-on lab, and clinical placements are set up within Montana rather than out of state. Admission is spring only, with a selective 2.50 GPA, a cohort of 20, and prerequisite grades of C or better. The program is approved by the Montana State Board of Nursing and prepares graduates to sit for the NCLEX-PN; passing that exam is what earns the license. Check the current catalog for costs: it itemizes tuition, fees, uniforms, equipment and clinical charges rather than publishing one bundled total.

Is There an LPN-to-RN Bridge?

Not under that name. City College does not advertise a separate LPN-to-RN track or a fixed advanced-placement semester. What exists is progression: PN graduates who want the RN credential complete the ASN prerequisites and apply to the competitive ASN, which requires a 2.75 GPA, the Kaplan pre-test, 24 seats and fall or spring entry. Expect overlap rather than a blanket credit award. The catalog notes PN graduates typically need 11 additional general-education credits tied to the first RN semester, and core nursing courses from another approved program may transfer only if completed within two years with a B or better, syllabi in hand, at the nursing director's discretion.

Who the LPN Route Suits

It suits students who need income sooner and want to work as a licensed practical nurse while finishing RN coursework. If you are weighing other area options, the site's dedicated LPN-to-RN programs page lists additional pathways near Billings.

The Billings Nursing Ladder From CNA to BSN

You can step onto the nursing ladder in Billings at whatever rung fits your schooling and schedule. Each credential builds on the last, so an LPN or ASN you earn now counts toward the next degree instead of forcing you to start over.

Second-Degree Students: Accelerated BSN and Entry-Level MSN Options Near Billings

Can you earn an accelerated BSN in Billings if your bachelor's degree is in something other than nursing?

Yes. Montana State University's Accelerated BSN is a 12-month, three-semester program built for career changers whose first degree is in a non-nursing field. Students are placed at a College of Nursing campus, and Billings is one of the placement sites, with a 16-student cohort there. The program starts in fall, continues through spring and summer, and finishes the following August. Billings students complete clinical work with Billings Clinic, Intermountain Health, St. Vincent, RiverStone Health and Rimrock Foundation.

Accelerated BSN, not a direct-entry MSN

Montana State's route for second-degree students is a bachelor's program. No entry-level or direct-entry MSN was confirmed in the Billings area, so a reader set on a master's entry point will need to widen the search beyond the local commute.

The trade-offs to plan for

• Timeline: three consecutive semesters leave little slack for a dropped course.
• Intensity: full-time study with clinical hours, so most students cannot hold much outside work.
• Prerequisites: the required science coursework has to be finished before the fall start.
• Site placement: the Billings cohort is small, so confirm placement expectations when you apply.

For programs beyond commuting range, browse the site's accelerated BSN and entry-level MSN pages.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Where Billings Nursing Graduates Get Hired

Billings is the regional medical hub for eastern Montana and northern Wyoming, so most new nurses here start at one of a few large systems that draw patients from hundreds of miles away. The biggest are Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Regional Hospital, which is part of Intermountain Health. RiverStone Health and the VA facilities in Billings also employ nurses. Rural and critical-access hospitals in nearby towns such as Hardin, Columbus and Red Lodge add smaller-scale options.

Billings Clinic

Billings Clinic runs a 12-month transition-to-practice residency for new graduates and RNs with under a year of experience.⁸²⁰⁷⁶³ It accepts ADN, BSN, accelerated BSN and MSN graduates.⁸²⁰⁷⁶³ Hires join a spring, summer or fall cohort, and placements include ICU, NICU, emergency, the OR and several inpatient units.⁸²⁰⁷⁶⁶ Preferred units are not guaranteed. The August 2026 application window ran May 4 to May 29, and the December 2026 window closed September 25, so watch for the next spring or summer opening.⁸²⁰⁷⁶³ A Spring 2027 med/surg posting listed $38.91 an hour at a minimum of 0.75 FTE.⁸²⁰⁷⁶⁹ Final-year students expecting a December or May graduation can also apply for the RN externship.⁸²⁰⁷⁷⁰

St. Vincent and Intermountain Health

The Intermountain residency is for new grads with under a year of experience. Its 2026 cohort was set to start November 4.⁸²⁰⁷⁶⁷ It is full-time at 36 hours a week and includes paid clinical training, simulation, monthly in-person learning and mentorship.⁸²⁰⁷⁶⁷ A Winter 2026 new-grad posting listed $38.37 an hour.⁸²⁰⁷⁶⁸ Pay can differ by unit and posting date, so confirm current figures when you apply.

What this means for you

Both systems recruit new graduates through structured programs, which points to steady entry-level hiring. Checking each employer's posting calendar early matters more than any single wage figure.

What Registered Nurses Earn in the Billings Metro

Healthcare practitioners in the Billings metro averaged $52.08 an hour in May 2025. That broad group includes RNs. Montana's statewide RN average was $78,350 a year in the May 2022 state estimates.

Already a Licensed RN? RN to BSN, MSN and Nurse Practitioner Routes for Montana Nurses

Licensed RNs in Billings should skip the pre-licensure search entirely and focus on bridge and graduate programs built around the license they already hold. Programs that award an initial RN license are not designed for you. Your routes are RN-to-BSN, RN-to-MSN, a standalone MSN, and nurse practitioner tracks. Compare them on the registerednursing.org pages RN to BSN/MSN Programs in Billings, MT and APRN & Nurse Practitioner Programs in Billings, MT.

Are there online nursing programs in Billings, MT?

Yes, at the post-licensure level. Pre-licensure ASN and BSN programs require in-person labs and clinicals, so they cannot be completed online. RN-to-BSN and MSN coursework, and many nurse practitioner programs, are offered online or hybrid for working nurses. That format fits a Billings schedule of shift work, commutes, and family obligations far better than a second campus-based degree.

Online coursework, local clinicals

An online NP program still requires supervised clinical hours, and those hours have to be arranged near you. Billings hospitals and clinics are the practical placement ground for area nurses, so ask each program how it handles preceptor matching before you enroll. A program that leaves placement entirely to you is a different commitment than one with established Billings-area partners.

Choose your rung

Start with your current license, then compare programs on the linked pages: RN-to-BSN if you want the bachelor's credential, RN-to-MSN or MSN if you want graduate preparation, and NP if advanced practice is the goal.

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