Rutgers the State University

Nursing Programs Offered

Accelerated BSN Programs
BSN Programs
DNP Programs (Doctor of Nursing Practice)
RN Programs
RN to BSN Programs

RN to BSN Program Details

The College of Nursing offers registered nurses the opportunity to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree with a master's degree option in order to accelerate professional development.

The master's degree option enables registered nurses to become advanced practice nurses with greater ease.

-With the master's degree option, graduate courses can be taken while completing the baccalaureate degree.
-RN-BS students with a 3.0 grade point average can earn up to 12 credits of graduate courses to meet baccalaureate degree requirements.

The program is an online program (all nursing courses), with daytime hours required for practicum experiences. Non-nursing courses are offered on the Newark, New Brunswick campuses and through New Jersey Coastal Communiversity. A full-time or part-time option is available.

Registered nurses with a diploma or those who have graduated from a cooperative nursing program may receive up to 24 nursing credits for prior nursing education and can transfer required courses in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences. There is no limit on the number of courses that can be transferred from other colleges; however there is a 30-credit residency requirement at Rutgers.

There are no prerequisites for admission into the college; however, applicants seeking admission into the program must have a competitive grade point average (3.0 or higher).

Admission into the College of Nursing occurs once a year for the fall semester. We do not admit students for the spring semester.

BSN Program Details

The College of Nursing offers a comprehensive four-year Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The curriculum focuses on health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, illness, and disease management and includes information about healthcare technologies using evidence based practice. The liberal arts education core provides a strong foundation for developing clinical judgment and critical thinking skills required in professional nursing.

As a university committed to undergraduate education, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, provides a baccalaureate program of exceptional academic quality for those entering the profession of nursing and for those registered nurses wishing to obtain a baccalaureate degree.

The Baccalaureate Nursing Program offers:

-The quality and value of a Rutgers College of Nursing education.
-Direct admission into the College of Nursing.
-Strong affiliations with acute-care teaching hospitals, long- term care facilities, and community/home health agencies. The College of Nursing is well respected in health care and academic communities in New Jersey and throughout the nation.
-Undergraduate program offerings on the Newark and New Brunswick campuses.
-Excellent preparation for an advanced degree.
-Outstanding Educational Opportunity Fund Program
-Campuses that are readily available by car or by public transportation. Affordable housing is available on campus in Newark or New Brunswick.

MSN Program Details

The master's program offers specialized study that takes students from the baccalaureate-prepared generalist to the advanced practitioner in who is able to take on sophisticated roles in consultation, management, and education. The graduate program is designed to prepare nurses to deal with larger and more complex situations in providing health-care services in adult and aged primary care, adult and aged acute care, advanced practice in pediatrics, advanced practice in women's health, advanced practice in oncology, community health nursing, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric/mental health nursing. The master's program prepared advanced practice nuses who are qualified to take relevant national certification examinations and become certified for prescriptive privileges in New Jersey and other states.The Master's Degree Program specialties offer:

-Expanded knowledge and clinical expertise for advanced practice nursing (APN). Specialty options are available in:
Acute Care of the Adult and Aged
Advanced Practice in Pediatric Nursing
Advanced Practice in Women's Health
Community Health Nursing
Family Nurse Practitioner
Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
Minor in Nursing Education
Primary Care of the Adult and Aged
-The College of Nursing is well respected in health care and academic communities throughout the nation. The college has strong affiliations with primary care sites, acute-care teaching hospitals, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and public health departments.
-Classes are generally scheduled during late afternoon and evening hours.
-Innovative distance education offerings are provided among the campuses and a majority of the courses are available via the internet.
-Rutgers' campuses are readily accessible by car or by public transportation.

RN to MSN Program Details

The College of Nursing offers registered nurses the opportunity to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree with a master's degree option in order to accelerate professional development.

The master's degree option enables registered nurses to become advanced practice nurses with greater ease.

-With the master's degree option, graduate courses can be taken while completing the baccalaureate degree.
-RN-BS students with a 3.0 grade point average can earn up to 12 credits of graduate courses to meet baccalaureate degree requirements.

The program is an online program (all nursing courses), with daytime hours required for practicum experiences. Non-nursing courses are offered on the Newark, New Brunswick campuses and through New Jersey Coastal Communiversity. A full-time or part-time option is available.

Registered nurses with a diploma or those who have graduated from a cooperative nursing program may receive up to 24 nursing credits for prior nursing education and can transfer required courses in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences. There is no limit on the number of courses that can be transferred from other colleges; however there is a 30-credit residency requirement at Rutgers.

There are no prerequisites for admission into the college; however, applicants seeking admission into the program must have a competitive grade point average (3.0 or higher).

Admission into the College of Nursing occurs once a year for the fall semester. We do not admit students for the spring semester.

Accelerated BSN Program Details

If you have a baccalaureate degree or a master's degree in another field and would like to pursue a career in nursing, the BS in Nursing for second-degree students will meet your needs.

Second-degree students may select the master's option as they pursue the baccalaureate degree and work on their baccalaureate and master's degree simultaneously. A master's degree at Rutgers College of Nursing can be completed in an additional two to three semesters if attending full time.

The accelerated 14-month Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Program is designed for students who already possess a baccalaureate degree in another field. The program begins in May of each year and continues throughout the year with graduation at the end of the following summer. The 14-month program is fast-paced and intense. The defined curriculum is full-time and requires the student to provide complete attention to the requirements for successful completion. Committed faculty advisors are assigned to each student to facilitate successful completion.

College of Nursing professors, with a national reputation in their fields and experience with adult students, teach all nursing courses. Classes are generally small and provide ample opportunity for student-faculty interaction.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Details

The overriding principle at the College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is that the essence of nursing lies in assisting individuals, families, and communities to achieve their optimum health. The graduate of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program will possess the knowledge and skills to perform in a leadership role in a variety of settings, including clinical, educational, and organizational. Rutgers offers two foci to the DNP: the clinical track and the administrative track. The health care delivery system in the United States requires doctorally-prepared, practice-focused practitioners that can effect change, provide strategic planning and program development, apply data management and informatics skills, translate research into evidence-based practice, influence health and social policy for diverse populations, and influence positive health care outcomes. If you believe that you could be one of these nurses, we invite you to apply to this program.

At the conclusion of the DNP program, the graduate will achieve the following program objectives and be able to:

-Integrate biophysical, psychological, organizational, informatic, ethical, and legal knowledge with nursing science as a foundation for expert clinical nursing practice in a specific nursing clinical specialization.
-Demonstrate accountability in specialty practice according to accepted standards of patient care and safety.
-Translate research findings into evidence-based practice at the individual and health care system levels.
-Use information technology to evaluate the delivery of health care to individuals and internal and community systems.
-Effect desired change by developing and implementing policies at different levels of the health care system and with different constituencies.
-Provide multidisciplinary leadership through analysis of critical indicators and/or health care delivery systems in order to provide optimal patient care and safety in a specific nursing clinical specialization.
-Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in the planning and delivery of health and illness management in a specific nursing clinical specialization.

The initiation of this second nursing doctoral program will position Rutgers in the forefront of nursing education programs in the country. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2005) has predicted that all advanced practice clinical nursing masters programs will be eliminated by 2015 with the standard for advanced practice becoming the DNP; the PhD will remain the accepted degree for nurse researchers and faculty.