Launch your nursing career with the Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN) program at Dallas College. Through classroom instruction, lab practice, and clinical experience, you’ll gain the skills needed to provide safe, compassionate care in a variety of healthcare settings. Graduates are prepared to take the NCLEX-PN exam and step confidently into this rewarding profession.
Vocational Nursing at a Glance
1 year to complete1
$4,257 tuition2
- El Centro3
What Can I Study?
I Want to Go to Work
Can I Get a Job?
Dallas College offers a variety of certificates and degrees to help you gain the skills you need to start working right away.
- These credentials are often considered Career and Technical Education (CTE).
- These credentials are established with the assistance and cooperation of representatives from local business, to meet local and regional employment needs.
- Higher level certificates and degrees will typically lead to a higher salary in the workforce.
- Workforce (CE) Certificates can often be completed faster than traditional credit certificates but typically do not offer college credit.
- Level 1, Level 2, Enhanced Skills certificates and others, offer college credit and are often stackable to help you build skills as you work towards an Associate Degree.
- Workforce credentials may give you college credit at Dallas College, but they may not transfer to other colleges or universities.
If you're unsure if this is the right path for you, you can talk to a Pathway Specialist for advice.
Pathway Specialist
- 972-669-6400
- PathwaySpecialist@DallasCollege.edu
“All of the instructors were so positive and understanding and would do whatever they could to help you succeed in the real world. Our teachers went to bat for the vocational nurses and actually over-prepared us for the workplace.”
Courses are completed in two 16-week academic semesters and two five-week summer semesters.
The program includes classroom and laboratory work on campus as well as clinical experience at various area health care facilities.
Students will need to plan two to three hours of studying and preparation time weekly for each class and/or clinical experience.
The demands of nursing courses are such that students may not be able to work full time while enrolled in these courses. Courses are offered during daytime hours only.
The program’s clinical experience requires that students be physically able to care for sick patients. This involves lifting, moving, bathing and transferring patients into and out of bed. Students will be exposed to patients with infectious diseases.
Classes are held in the Downtown Health Sciences Center (formerly El Centro Center for Allied Health and Nursing), 301 N. Market St. in the West End District of downtown Dallas, one block north of the El Centro Downtown Campus.
Clinical rotations may take place at:
- Brentwood Health Care Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation
- Kindred Healthcare
- Methodist Health System
- Dallas Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center
The Vocational Nursing program has its own admissions process, timeline and requirements. Visit the School of Health Sciences Information Packets and Sessions page to view the Vocational Nursing information packets.
Email the Health Occupations Admissions Office or call 972-860-5001 with additional questions.
All students enrolled in allied health programs are required by Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council member facilities to undergo drug testing and a criminal background check after admission to the program.
The Vocational nursing program at Dallas College
The Vocational nursing program at Dallas College at the El Centro Campus located in Dallas, Texas is approved by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460; Austin, Tx. 78701; phone: 512-305-7400; fax: 512-305-7401), and is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: 404-975-5000
Fax: 404-975-5020
Email: info@acenursing.org
The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the vocational nursing program is Continuing Accreditation with Conditions.
View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program on the ACEN website.
El Centro Campus Nursing Program (LVN)
Published Achievement Data
| Achievement Data | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCLEX-PN Pass Rate | 100% | 88% | 75% |
| Working in Nursing within six months after graduation | 96% | 98% | 100% |
| Graduation Rate | 62% | 95% | 100% |
Accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) until Spring 2024.
Find Out More About Vocational Nursing
Sign up to receive additional information about Vocational Nursing or call 972-669-6400.
School of Health Sciences
- 972-669-6400
- AskSOHS@DallasCollege.edu
Dallas College
- 972-669-6400
- Text College to 214-978-6457
- StudentHelp@DallasCollege.edu
1Length of time is based on catalog degree plans. Prerequisites may be required, which are not included in this estimate. For most programs, full-time student status is assumed, a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester.
2Cost is based on tuition rates for program hours for Dallas County residents. The price of most required learning materials (books, software, supplies, etc.) is included with the price of tuition. Visit our Paying for College site to learn more about cost, financial aid, scholarships and more.
3Each location offers a unique combination of certificate and degree options. Not all degree and certificate offerings are available for admission/start at all campuses every semester.
4A portion of Lightcast’s data comes from O*NET Online by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Lightcast has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
HB1508 Notice
This program may lead to an occupational license for which a prior criminal history may make a student ineligible.
For more information, please visit dallascollege.edu/hb1508.