West Penn Hospital School of Nursing

At West Penn Hospital School of Nursing, you’ll work and study in a dynamic, urban Magnet®-recognized hospital environment, alongside professionals from a wide variety of health care disciplines.

Two masked nursing students in a classroom
Watch a tour of our nursing school on YouTube
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You’ll gain valuable experience in assessing, planning, and administering patient care. AHN West Penn Hospital serves as the primary clinical setting. Other hospitals within AHN and selected agencies in Allegheny County provide opportunities for student enrichment in certain specialty areas.

Prospective students

Take advantage of a 22-month program — slower than some faster-paced programs but still half the time of a traditional four-year program. You’ll enjoy smaller class sizes and one-on-one attention from experienced, active faculty who are dedicated to your success.

Application Deadlines

Full Time Program RN (22 Months)

Deadline: May 1, 2025

Classes begin August 18, 2025 

Information Sessions

Choosing the best nursing school for your unique needs isn’t easy. We encourage you to attend one of our upcoming information sessions to tour the school, meet students and faculty, and have all of your questions answered.

Financial Aid

Many of our students take advantage of a wide variety of available financial aid programs. We have dedicated staff who can assist you in finding and applying for financial aid, as well as creating a sound financial plan to pay for the program.

Outcomes

Graduates of the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing regularly achieve first-year job placement.

Faculty

As active participants in a Magnet-recognized nursing program, our staff are regularly praised by current and former students for their dedication to the nursing profession. Students also appreciate their willingness to make time on an individual basis to help them fully understand difficult skills and principles.

Current students

We encourage our current students to regularly visit the student portal to stay up to date on schedules, events, grades, and other materials. You can also access the most current version of the Student Handbook below. 

Alumni

We think graduates of the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing are a special group, and we’re dedicated to providing them with places to keep in touch: 

If you need a copy of your transcript, click below.

Accreditation and approval

Accreditation

The diploma nursing program at Western Penn Hospital School of Nursing, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the diploma nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.

For more information about ACEN accreditation, or concerns regarding the nursing program please contact:

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
(404) 975-5000
Fax: 404-975-5020

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program by using the ACEN Program Search.

Approval

The diploma nursing program at Western Penn Hospital School of Nursing is approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.*

Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing
P.O. Box 2649
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649

(717) 783-7142
ST-NURSE@pa.gov

For concerns regarding the nursing program, please visit: Students Complaints (pa.gov).

Student Testimonials

“This program gives students lots of hands-on and realistic experiences. The staff works hard to make sure that students have everything that they need to be successful.”

“I think that the clinical experiences I have been able to have throughout the program have been extremely beneficial to my learning and really eased the adjustment into the clinical environment.”

“The instructors at West Penn truly want their students to succeed. Every single staff member made themselves available for extra learning or guidance. You can tell they care about each and every student they teach, and that is why I recommend West Penn to anyone looking for a good nursing program. Another strength I would like to address is the early exposure to a clinical setting. For me, starting clinical in the first few weeks of school solidified my choice of becoming a nurse.”

Contact us

The West Penn Hospital School of Nursing building is located across South Millvale Avenue from the main entrance to West Penn Hospital.

West Penn Hospital School of Nursing
4900 Friendship Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
GET DIRECTIONS

(412) 578-5766
Fax: (412) 578-1837
SONadmissions@ahn.org

Professional Licensure Notice. In earning your Professional RN Diploma from the Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, you will meet all the necessary requirements to take the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX – RN) and become eligible for licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the state of Pennsylvania. Our graduates have also taken NCLEX-RN and have been deemed eligible for initial licensure in the following states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. If you plan to practice nursing in a state not listed above, please visit nursinglicensure.org for specific state requirements.


Magnet® is a registered trademark of American Nurses Credentialing Center and is used with permission.

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