Chamberlain University, the nation's largest school of nursing, is opening its first Utah campus in Salt Lake City in October, bringing new training capacity to the state that ranks last nationally in nurses per capita.

The campus will welcome its first pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing class on Oct. 26. Applications opened July 21. It's Chamberlain's 26th location nationwide and its first in Utah, a state with roughly seven registered nurses per 1,000 residents, according to World Population Review's state-by-state ranking.

The Salt Lake metro records more than 24,000 open healthcare jobs each year, with more than five open positions for every available job seeker, according to the Covista Care Capacity Monitor, a survey fielded by Gallup.

Chamberlain President Amelia Manning said the university wants to "make it easier for the next generation of Utah nurses to train here, stay here, and step into this community ready to care for the patients who need them," according to the school's announcement. Manning said Chamberlain aims to expand education capacity in a state she described as deeply committed to growing its healthcare workforce.

What the campus offers

The Salt Lake City campus distinguishes itself with evening and weekend classes, letting students earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in three years without leaving their jobs. They'll train in a simulation center and complete clinical rotations at local health system partners.

More than 90% of Chamberlain students nationally receive some form of financial aid, according to the university's campus page.

Executive campus director Trevor Scott said the incoming students are entering a healthcare sector supported at the local and state level. Chamberlain, owned by Covista (NYSE: CVSA), serves about 40,000 students across its campuses and counts more than 200 alumni already practicing in Utah.

A gap that keeps widening

Utah isn't standing still. The University of Utah Health broke ground in 2025 on the Eccles Health Campus and Hospital in West Valley City, backed by a $75 million gift from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. That facility is expected to open an outpatient center and emergency room by 2028, with a full hospital by late 2029, serving more than 725,000 residents west of I-15.

But new hospitals need nurses to staff them.

Utah's existing training pipeline produced 3,453 first-time NCLEX-RN candidates in the first three quarters of 2025, with an 80.63% pass rate, below the 86.7% national average for U.S.-educated candidates, according to National Council of State Boards of Nursing data. Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 189,100 RN openings per year through 2034.

What's next

The campus is located at 9490 South 300 West in Sandy. Prospective students can reach admissions at 855-541-5853. The first BSN cohort begins classes Oct. 26.