The School of Nursing (SON) at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill is one of the eight public Ivy League schools. It is also reputed to be the oldest public university in the United States. UNC has a tri-fold mission of excellence that encompasses nursing education, nursing practice and research.
The University of North Carolina is recognized as being one of the top 10 nursing schools in the United States. This post secondary institution opened its doors in 1950. Since that time it has established itself as a leader in terms of educating its future nurses.
The school has also seen many firsts over the years. In 1950, its year of inception, it was the first school in the state of North Carolina to offer its students a four year baccalaureate nursing degree. It saw another first in 1955 when it was the first school in the state to offer a nursing master’s degree.
But that is not all. In 1964 UNC was the first school to initiate continuing education for nurses. In 1970 it was the first school in the state to offer a nurse practitioner program. In 1989 it was the first school in the state to offer a Ph.D. program in nursing.
The Nursing School at UNC offers a wide array of programs for those wishing to become nurses as well as for those wishing to advance their nursing career and also those looking to branch out into other areas of the nursing field. Let us take a look at those now.
The school offers a bachelor of science in nursing program (BSN), a master’s of science in nursing program (MSN), RN-BSN and RN-MSN options, a post-master’s program, a doctoral program (which is another way of saying Ph.D.) and pre-or post doctoral fellowships. Off-campus nursing degree programs are also available at the University of North Carolina.
As of the year 2006 the School of Nursing at the University of Carolina decided to start admitting students into its programs twice a year. This has resulted in an extra 200 students graduating on a yearly basis. The school has been expanding its efforts in the last four years in the areas of geriatric nursing, human patient simulation and psychiatric- mental health nursing.
The University of North Carolina has done well in terms of rankings. The National Institute of Health ranked it number four in terms of funding for research. The U.S. News & World Report ranked UNC as among the top 10 graduate programs. The NCLEX pass rate for UNC School of Nursing graduates is extremely high. In 2008 the overall rate was 98 percent
