The national nursing shortage is projected to increase as the bulk of the United States population ages out of the workforce and is likely to require more age-related healthcare services. The lack of ethnic, racial, and gender-based diversity in the current workforce exacerbates this shortage, and the need for a diversified workforce acknowledged by governing nursing bodies from as early as 2011 is still largely unmet. This study looks to nursing programs--specifically their application processes--as one factor that contributes to workforce disparities. Guided by several tenets of Tribalcrit Theory (Brayboy, 2005) and the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (Sternberg, 1985), this mixed methods study investigated how barriers of solely-analytically based admissions criteria at a small Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution (NASNTI) may disproportionally impact students with racial, ethnic, gender, language, and socioeconomic diversity. Statistical analysis of disaggregated admissions data and yarning-style interviews indicated admissions criteria based on primarily analytic intelligence measures have limitations when it comes to identifying diverse student nurses with the capacity for success in the nursing workforce. Thus, this study identified gaps in program diversity, explored possible explanations, and provided actionable, culturally responsive interventions, including inclusion of creative and practical intelligence criteria as part of the admission process. This work is the first step of many needed to radically change the workforce and the quality of care nurses are able to provide. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]