Nursing courses begin in the first year and continue with at least one clinical nursing course throughout the four-year curriculum. The curriculum uses the nursing process as a framework, with the students caring for both healthy and ill clients in a variety of settings. The program of study culminates in a senior thesis in which the student may analyze and evaluate a major nursing theorist or participate in a collaborative research project. The liberal arts are seen as essential to the holistic development of the nursing major. Students are required to have a firm foundation in the life and natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Students have the opportunity to take one elective each semester throughout their college career.
The Summer Accelerated Program allows transfer students who have met the necessary prerequisites to take the first three nursing courses in a concentrated ten-week summer program. After successfully completing the summer course work, these students move into the junior year. The program then can be completed in two years and one summer after the prerequisite course work. This summer program also allows students who wish to double major or to study abroad the ability to finish the program in four years. The RN Mobility Program allows registered nurse students the ability to validate their prior learning and gain advanced standing through the NLN Mobility Profile II exam.