The Regents approved the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1996 as well. The baccalaureate program has been continuously approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing since 1949. The School of Nursing became an agency member of the Department of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs of the National League for Nursing in 1952. The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission has granted full accreditation to the programs since 1954. The programs provide for understanding of the social and cultural systems in which living and caregiving take place and for understanding of psychology and physiology under normal and pathological conditions.
Nursing research is stressed throughout the programs as the means for developing new knowledge.
Faculty members are selected for their expertise, both in a clinical area of specialization and in research, and for their ability to transmit knowledge. All tenure-track faculty members are doctorally prepared, and all lecturers hold at least a master's degree. The curriculum has been revised to assist RNs in gaining new knowledge needed for professional nursing in a changing society and to build upon their earlier associate degree education. The program is specifically designed to prepare students to meet the need for community-based nursing care in a culturally diverse society. The prerequisites comprise specific courses in anatomy, anthropology, biology, chemistry, English, humanities, microbiology, nutrition, physics, physiology, psychology, and sociology.