Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Salve Regina University

Salve Regina's nursing graduates earn less than the typical Rhode Island nursing graduate despite carrying identical debt loads—a meaningful gap when most students attend in-state schools. While the program's $78,876 starting salary beats the national median by about $4,000, it falls $1,700 short of Rhode Island's median and trails both New England Institute of Technology and URI by significant margins. With four nursing programs in the state, Salve ranks third in graduate earnings.

The financials work reasonably well: a 0.34 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates devote roughly a third of their first-year salary to debt, manageable in nursing where job demand is strong. Earnings tick up to $81,759 by year four, though this modest 4% growth suggests most compensation gains happen early in nursing careers. The robust sample size of 100+ graduates makes these figures reliable, not statistical noise.

Here's the calculation for your family: if you're Rhode Island residents, URI offers better earnings outcomes at the same debt level. If you're paying out-of-state tuition at Salve, the premium over URI's in-state tuition becomes harder to justify when URI graduates earn $3,300 more annually. Salve will get your child to a solid nursing job, but unless location in Newport or specific campus fit matters substantially, the numbers favor URI for Rhode Island families.