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Coppin State University Helene Fuld School of Nursing

Baltimore, MD · Founded 1974

Maryland's HBCU nursing school in West Baltimore, founded 1974, named for Helene S. Fuld. CCNE-accredited BSN, MSN, and DNP at one of the most affordable in-state tuitions in the region. 81.82% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate FY2025.

What Coppin's Helene Fuld School of Nursing is

The Helene Fuld School of Nursing sits inside Coppin State University, a public HBCU in West Baltimore on the corner of West North Avenue and Warwick. It opened in September 1974 after the Maryland State Board of Examiners of Nurses approved the program earlier that year, and was named in honor of Helene S. Fuld, whose son Dr. Felix Fuld established the Helene Fuld Health Trust in her memory. The school has been training nurses on this campus for five decades, and it is the only HBCU school of nursing in Maryland offering the full BSN through DNP pipeline.

Accreditation, in plain language

Coppin's baccalaureate, master's, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the same accreditor most ABSN, MSN, and DNP programs nationwide use. The current accreditation term runs from March 8, 2023 through December 31, 2033, a full ten-year cycle. The school is also approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing, located at 4140 Patterson Avenue in Baltimore.

Programs offered

  • BSN, Traditional, the four-year route for students entering after high school
  • BSN, RN to BSN, for licensed registered nurses completing their bachelor's
  • BSN, Accelerated Second Degree, for adults who already hold a bachelor's in another field
  • MSN, Master of Science in Nursing
  • DNP, Doctor of Nursing Practice, the terminal practice degree
  • Post-Master's Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner

NCLEX pass rate, with the source

According to the Maryland Board of Nursing's official FY 2025 statistics (covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025), 27 of 33 Coppin first-time test takers passed the NCLEX-RN, for a pass rate of 81.82%. That is below the Maryland state average and below the national NCSBN average. It is real data, published by the regulator, and it is worth asking the dean's office how the school is responding. Prospective students should weigh the program's affordability, location, and HBCU community against this figure and decide whether the fit is right.

What it costs

For the 2025-2026 academic year, full-time undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees are $3,710.50 per semester for Maryland residents ($7,421 per year) and $7,241 per semester for non-residents ($14,482 per year). The published Cost of Attendance for a Maryland resident living on campus is roughly $26,206 for the year, with off-campus and non-resident scenarios running higher. Coppin also offers an in-state tuition incentive that extends Maryland resident rates to new students from more than 30 states and U.S. territories, a meaningful savings for out-of-state Black students who want an HBCU experience without out-of-state pricing.

How to apply, and when

BSN admission is competitive and Fall-entry only. Coppin uses a two-deadline system: December 1 for Early Decision and March 1 for Final Decision. The RN to BSN track has a Final Decision deadline of July 15. Applicants need a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA, official transcripts from every college attended, three letters of recommendation, a personal essay, an interview, and an official ATI TEAS score (the TEAS is waived for the RN to BSN track). The $50 application fee is standard. You apply to Coppin State University first, then submit nursing-specific materials to the College of Health Professions Academic Success Center.

Where clinicals happen

Coppin operates two nurse-managed clinics that serve as direct clinical placement sites for students: the Coppin State University Community Health Center on the first floor of the Henrietta Lacks Health and Human Services Building at 2500 West North Avenue, and the Coppin Clinic at St. Frances Academy, a partnership with the East Baltimore Catholic school. The Community Health Center has a physician services collaboration with Family Practice Associates of the University of Maryland Medical Center. Coppin describes additional partnerships with local health systems and community organizations but does not publish a complete external hospital partner list on its public site. Prospective students who want to know which Baltimore hospital systems they will rotate through should email healthprofessions@coppin.edu and ask for the current clinical site roster before committing.

Student support

The College of Health Professions Academic Success Center (formerly the STAR Office) handles advising, transfer credit evaluation, and application support for nursing students. Students with a 3.0 GPA and 60+ credits can enter the Nursing Departmental Honors Program. The school publishes career placement assistance and job-readiness guidance, and admitted students go through a dedicated nursing orientation that includes uniform requirements and clinical background-check logistics.

Who should consider Coppin

Coppin makes sense for Black students who want an HBCU environment, a Baltimore-rooted nursing program with deep ties to underserved urban and global community health, a tuition figure under $7,500 for Maryland residents, and a faculty led by a dean (Dr. Joan S. Tilghman, PhD, CNE, MSN, RN, WHNP-BC) who is herself a practicing women's health nurse practitioner. The trade-off is the recent NCLEX pass rate, which sits below the Maryland average. If you visit campus, ask the dean's office directly how they support students through NCLEX prep, what the current cohort's pass rate trend looks like, and which Baltimore hospitals their students rotate through.

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