Practical Nursing major

Practical Nursing: courses, careers, and where to study

Practical Nursing trains you to deliver bedside nursing care under the direction of a registered nurse or physician and to sit for the practical nurse licensure exam.

Nationally, associate's graduates in Practical Nursing earn a median $62,755 four years after graduating; the middle half of programs ranges from $38,781 to $92,271 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard). By credential and college

A Practical Nursing program prepares you to provide hands-on, general nursing care under the supervision of a registered nurse, physician, or dentist. Coursework grounds you in anatomy and physiology, basic pharmacology and safe medication administration, infection control, and the fundamentals of nursing practice, then puts those skills to work in supervised clinical settings. You learn to take and record vital signs, apply sterile dressings and perform basic wound care, collect specimens, assist with examinations and treatments, monitor patients and document changes in their condition, and reinforce patient and family health education. Where a Registered Nursing program centers on independent assessment, care planning, and broader clinical decision-making, Practical Nursing focuses on delivering direct, supportive bedside care within a defined scope under an RN's or physician's direction.

Most students enter through a state-approved practical or vocational nursing program offered by a community college, technical school, or hospital, completing classroom instruction together with supervised clinical hours before graduating. Graduates are typically eligible to sit for the national licensure examination for practical nurses and must meet their state board's requirements to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse or Licensed Vocational Nurse; titles, scope of practice, and rules vary from state to state, so verify them before you enroll. Many graduates work in nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, physician offices, home health, and clinics, and some later bridge into a registered nursing program to advance their practice. A program is preparation for the licensure exam and supervised practice, not a guaranteed job, and pay and demand vary by employer, region, setting, and experience.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $62,340 and projects employment to grow about 2.6% from 2024 to 2034; a postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Academic classification (CIP)

In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Practical Nursing maps to CIP 51.3901, Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training, within the HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS family. The official definition:

A program that prepares individuals to assist in providing general nursing care under the direction of a registered nurse, physician or dentist. Includes instruction in taking patient vital signs, applying sterile dressings, patient health education, and assistance with examinations and treatment.

Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov

What credential Practical Nursing is awarded as

Of the 39,834 Practical Nursing credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2024-25:

  • Certificate: 95%, 37,819 credentials.
  • Associate: 5%, 1,982 credentials.
  • Bachelor's: <1%, 6 credentials.
  • Graduate: <1%, 27 credentials.

This mix is fairly consistent nationally: across the 45 states reporting it, the certificate share moves by about 23 percentage points between the 10th and 90th percentile state, so the credential is more a property of the field than of where you study it. See the full study.

Credentials conferred in 2024-25, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.

What you'll study

  • Anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology
  • Fundamentals of nursing and patient-care skills
  • Taking and recording vital signs and reporting changes
  • Basic pharmacology and safe medication administration
  • Sterile technique, dressing changes, and basic wound care
  • Infection control, aseptic technique, and patient safety
  • Patient and family health education
  • Assisting with examinations, treatments, and specimen collection
  • Supervised clinical rotations in real care settings

Typical careers

Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses median $62,340).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.

How much do Practical Nursing graduates earn?

Nationally, associate's graduates in Practical Nursing earn a median $62,755 four years after graduating; the middle half of programs ranges from $38,781 to $92,271 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).

National median earnings four years after graduating for Practical Nursing, by credential
CredentialNational medianMiddle half of programs
Associate's$62,755$38,781 to $92,271
Undergraduate certificate$56,073$37,200 to $76,301

Compare Practical Nursing programs in your state

Highest-earning associate's Practical Nursing programs

Ordered by median earnings: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality. Federal program group: Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants. Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Programs need at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort to be listed; multi-state systems whose figures pool campuses are not listed. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 10 June 2026. How much the college matters, by major.

Related occupations

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Practical Nursing, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.

Occupations associated with Practical Nursing by the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, projected employment change, and the education most entrants typically hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrProjected changeMost entrants hold
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses$62,34054,400+2.6%Postsecondary nondegree award

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 1 of these 1 occupations report a median wage.

“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Practical Nursing does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

The federal crosswalk associates only one occupation with Practical Nursing. That is a statement about the field, not about its graduates: a breadth degree is not tied to a particular job, so the crosswalk has little to map. Graduates of this field work across many occupations, and what follows the degree depends far more on the skills and experience built alongside it.

Before you commit to a Practical Nursing major

CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Practical Nursing program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.

Ask the Practical Nursing department

  • Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
  • What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
  • What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
  • Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?

Ask current students & check the curriculum

  • How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
  • What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
  • Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
  • How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Accreditation & licensure: Practical and vocational nursing programs are approved by each state's board of nursing, and graduates generally must pass the NCLEX-PN and meet state requirements to be licensed as an LPN or LVN. Scope of practice, the LPN versus LVN title, and program approval differ by state, so confirm a program's current approval status and your state's licensure requirements with the state board of nursing before you enroll.
Degree level & graduate study: Many Practical Nursing careers are open with a bachelor's degree, but some, such as research, advanced-practice, or licensure-track roles, require a master's or doctorate. Check the typical entry-level education on each linked career page above before assuming a bachelor's is enough.

Find a Practical Nursing program

CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.

Colleges that awarded the most Practical Nursing credentials

Largest by credentials conferred in 2024-25. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.

Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2024-25. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.

Search Practical Nursing schools

Where Practical Nursing credentials were awarded

23 states have a distinct enough set of Practical Nursing colleges to be worth its own page.

Practical Nursing by state

Every Practical Nursing program with its own CampusPin page

155 programs in 33 states, A to Z by state and then by college. Each page gives what the program's graduates earned four years after finishing, what they borrowed in federal loans, the monthly payment, and how the program compares with others in its state and the nation. The figure beside each college is the median for its largest credential with at least 30 graduates (U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23). The list is alphabetical; it is not a ranking.

Practical Nursing programs in Arizona, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Arkansas, 5 programs
Practical Nursing programs in California, 13 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Colorado, 5 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Florida, 5 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Georgia, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Illinois, 11 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Indiana, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Iowa, 4 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Kansas, 7 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Kentucky, 9 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Louisiana, 5 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Maryland, 1 program
Practical Nursing programs in Massachusetts, 1 program
Practical Nursing programs in Michigan, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Minnesota, 8 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Mississippi, 8 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Missouri, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Nebraska, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in New Jersey, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in New York, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in North Carolina, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in North Dakota, 1 program
Practical Nursing programs in Ohio, 9 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Oregon, 1 program
Practical Nursing programs in Pennsylvania, 6 programs
Practical Nursing programs in South Carolina, 2 programs
Practical Nursing programs in South Dakota, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Texas, 14 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Virginia, 3 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Washington, 1 program
Practical Nursing programs in Wisconsin, 9 programs
Practical Nursing programs in Wyoming, 2 programs

Related majors

Put this major in context

The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Practical Nursing degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.

Explore Healthcare careers

Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.

How one major leads to many careers

Why a single Practical Nursing degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.

Why a median wage is not a starting salary

How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.

When accreditation and licensure matter

How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Practical Nursing path before you enroll.

Does a pricier college pay off?

How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.

Does picking a major narrow your college list?

Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.

Certificate or degree?

What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.

How this guide is sourced

This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.