Michigan Technological University's Department of Nursing operated between 1973 and 1982. Under the umbrella of the School of Technology, the department provided a two-year degree that succeeded prior nursing education programs in the area, notably at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hancock. The nursing program operated provisionally in the 1973-1974 academic year and obtained approval as a full degree program in 1974. In addition to varied classroom lectures, students received a range of practical and clinical educational opportunities in the Copper Country and across the Upper Peninsula.

This program was, however, short lived. In 1980, the University Senate approved the closing of Michigan Tech's nursing program, citing a belief that Michigan Tech's role was to provide education in engineering and related disciplines and that nursing programs were abundant in the state. To permit all current students to graduate, the Department of Nursing ceased operations over a two-year period.

Suomi College, later known as Finlandia University, subsequently took up responsibility for the local degree program in nursing. Upon Finlandia's cessation of operations in 2023, its nursing program transferred back to Michigan Tech as a four-year degree in the College of Sciences and Arts.