University of Providence Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Private nonprofit university
- Great Falls, MT
- About 71 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Providence nursing graduates earn more than graduates of most nursing programs nationally, $101,187 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $23,847 in federal loans, less than at 77% of nursing programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying nursing degrees in Montana.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Montana and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Providence graduates earn more than the national figure and about $48,446 more than the Montana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Montana nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Montana medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 20% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in Montana earn a median of $85,280 across all experience levels.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover registered nurses at every experience level.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,213 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $253 a month, or 3.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $16,258.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
21% of graduates (31 of 147) were working in Montana one year after graduating. Prices in the Great Falls area are about 3% below the national average, so a $101,187 salary here buys what about $104,483 buys in a typical US city.
The median Montana RN earns $85,280, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for Montana prices, that pay is worth about $90,105, which puts Montana behind.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Registered Nurses
$85,280Median pay in Montana. 10,950 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$105,840Median pay in Montana. 1,870 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Nurse Practitioners
$137,210Median pay in Montana. 1,260 people work in this job in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Nurse Anesthetists
$277,380Median pay in Montana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About University of Providence
Nursing is the only bachelor's program at University of Providence that reports first-year earnings.
Common questions
The median graduate earns $101,187 one year after graduating and $121,185 five years after. Registered nurses in the Great Falls metro area earn a median of $78,290 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $23,847, which ranks the lowest of 6 nursing bachelor's programs in Montana. That works out to about $253 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 24% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%.
Many leave. 21% (31 of 147) were working in Montana one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Montana comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the nursing program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024