Sonoma State University

Nursing Programs Offered

RN to BSN Program Details

The Post-Licensure BSN program is designed to utilize the maximum community college transfer credits from the ADN program to meet the BSN degree requirements. The Post-Licensure BSN curriculum builds on existing nursing knowledge and skills with study of complex professional perspectives, multifaceted health assessment, community health theory and clinical, research and evidence-based-practice, leadership and management, and sociopolitical perspectives in the health care environment.

Courses are delivered in a hybrid format (in classroom and online) or entirely online with minimal requirements for on campus meetings (usually at beginning and/or end of semester). No clinical or theory courses that were completed for the ADN are repeated and the only required clinical is the community/ public health practicum (one full day per week over one 15-week semester).

If the ADN graduate has completed all lower division SSU General Education requirements before beginning the POST-LICENSURE BSN (“RN-BSN”) program, completion of the remaining requirements for the BSN is possible in two semesters of full-time enrollment at SSU. The Nursing Faculty are currently (Summer and Fall 2010) in the process of obtaining approval of major BSN curriculum revisions that will streamline the Post-Licensure BSN program of study by validating content satisfied by the community college curriculum and awarding 20 units of upper division nursing credit for demonstration of prior learning as evidenced by success on the NCLEX-RN licensing exam and successful completion of 8 units of upper division nursing coursework (Nurs 312 and Nurs 313).

BSN Program Details

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offers the Pre-Licensure option for individuals with no previous nursing background.

The first two years of the program consist of Pre-Nursing science and general education requirements. Upon completion of the Pre-Nursing curriculum, the student may apply for admission to the Nursing major.

The Nursing curriculum provides the student with classroom and clinical instruction in basic nursing skills, med-surg, home health, critical care, mental health, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, community health, research, and leadership & management, culminating with a senior clinical study in an area of the student's interest. Upon completion of the program, the student is eligible to sit for the NCLEX (RN licensure exam) and will have a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree.

Entrance requirements:

Pre-Nursing: High School or College introductory level biology and chemistry with grades of B or higher, overall GPA of 3.5 and eligibility index of 4000 (SAT).

Nursing: Prerequisite science GPA minimum of 3.0 (anatomy, physiology, chemistry [to include general, inorganic, organic and biochemistry] and microbiology), overall GPA minimum of 3.0, CNA certification(Certified Nurse Assistant classes can be taken at area community colleges or local Red Cross chapters.), essay, and the TEAS exam (test of essential academic skills).

Admission to the Nursing Major is highly competitive. Applicants are rated based on the above criteria. SSU students and service area community college transfer students are considered first. A pre-nursing major classification at SSU provides only priority registration in prerequisite science courses. There is no guarantee of admission to the nursing major based on pre-nursing designation. Twenty-four students are admitted each fall to the Nursing major (BSN program).

MSN Program Details

For more than 20 years, SSU has been preparing graduate level nurses to respond to society's needs for professionals who influence the structure of emerging patterns of health care practice and delivery.

The curriculum includes a core of instruction with an emphasis on theoretical and conceptual foundations of nursing practice, research, professional issues and leadership. One option within the MSN curriculum offers specialization as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), with emphasis on advanced clinical primary care practice. A second option, Nursing Leadership and Management, prepares nurses for executive leadership functions and responsibilities and includes specialty focus in Nursing Administration, Education, or Clinical Nurse Leader.

Minimum qualifications to apply:

-RN, Licensed in California
-BSN Degree*
-Overall GPA of 3.0 in last 60 units
-College level statistics course

In addition to the above qualifications, FNP applicants must also have:

-College-level physiology course within the past 7 years (challenge mechanism available)
-Upper-division physical assessments course within the past 3 years
-Community health nursing course
-Two years' experience as an RN preferred

*For nurses with a bachelor's in another field, SSU's ADN-MSN Program must be completed before starting the MSN program.