Graceland’s Independence Campus

The Independence campus is just a few minutes west of the historic Independence Square and is convenient to almost any point in the Kansas City metro area. The campus sits on nine beautifully landscaped acres, with the stylish three-story state-of-the-art building featuring a 275-seat auditorium, a spacious atrium with fireplace for student activities and an award winning health services library.

Independence has had a campus since 1969 when it became the home of our nationally acclaimed School of Nursing. Through the years, we have added both undergraduate and graduate Education programs, Seminary programs and undergraduate business programs. Our business programs have now been moved to an online format to meet the needs of adult business students.

School of Nursing

Independence is home to Graceland’s School of Nursing, one of the most respected names in the teaching profession, both regionally and nationally. Graceland’s mission is to produce academically superior students who firmly embrace the idea of making a difference in their community.

On the Independence campus, we offer our traditional B.S.N.—R.N. program. Graduates earn their B.S.N. and are rigorously prepared to take the NCLEX exam for their R.N. license. Our program is a 2+2 program which means students complete their first two years at a community or four-year college, then finish their degree at Graceland.

We have carefully crafted our B.S.N.—R.N. program to offer unique features that have resulted in some of the area’s highest NCLEX pass rates. The program features small class sizes, a unique faculty-led tutoring program and computer-based exams and essential materials that are embedded throughout the program to prepare students for the NCLEX exam.

Our program takes 18 months to complete, starting in late June. Our students graduate in December which gives them a competitive advantage over many schools who still graduate their students in May.

We are also home to the International Health Center through which our nursing students and alumni work to improve healthcare in rural Africa.

Gleazer School of Education

Independence is also home to two programs from Graceland University’s award winning Edmund J. Gleazer School of Education. Its innovative programs have been showcased by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

The School of Education offers both an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Education. The undergraduate program meets in the evening to allow students to work during the day and it works closely with many local school districts to be able to provide a wide variety of student teaching positions for its students.

Sandage School of Business

Complementing our long established programs in nursing and education, a B.A. degree is offered in Business Administration and Organizational Leadership. Classes are held at our Independence campus or on the Metropolitan Community College–Blue River Campus in Independence. Both programs are ideal for the degree completion-seeking candidate with two or more years of college or with an Associates degree. The Organizational Leadership degree focuses predominantly on communications and leadership skills as opposed to math skills.

Community of Christ Seminary

Graceland offers a 10 course, 30 hour Master of Arts in Religion, providing an excellent foundation for the ministry through subjects such as scripture, church history and theology. There are six start dates throughout the year. Students from all denominations are welcome.

Graceland University Professional Institute

The Institute develops non-credit certificate programs where participants receive comprehensive, practical and relevant information which can be individualized based upon the specific needs of an organization. Certificate programs are created by leading academic experts and experienced industry practitioners. All certificates include original material gleaned from the foremost publications available on the subject matter.