Southern University and A&M College – Baton Rouge Nursing School Review

Southern University (SU) and A&M College in Baton Rouge was founded in 1880 and is a Carnegie Master’s/Comprehensive level institution. The University offers a wide variety of baccalaureate, graduate, and doctorate programs, and is part of the country’s only historically black Land Grant university system. The University enrolls over 9000 students each semester.

With 512 acres of oak trees situated on a bluff next to the Mississippi River, Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge (SUBR) is a historic and scenic campus. The University is located in Baton Rouge, a city with a population of over 750,000, and a unique mix of cultures. Baton Rouge is the second largest city in Louisiana and has a vibrant downtown.

Nursing Programs

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Students interested in earning a nursing degree and becoming a professional nurse may apply to this program. Students take their general education courses their first two years and apply to the program during their sophomore year. Once accepted into the program, they will begin their upper level nursing and clinical courses. Students that graduate from this program will earn a Bachelor of Science degree and be eligible to take the licensing exam (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses (RNs).

To be eligible to apply to the program, students must be enrolled in SUBR, have a GPA of at least 2.6, earn at least a C in all prerequisite courses taken, submit their ACT or SAT scores, and take at least the required courses listed in the first three semesters of the curriculum.

The prerequisites for this program are Freshman Composition I and II, Pre-Calculus I, two History electives, General Chemistry I and II plus labs, Intro to Sociology, Intro to Logic, Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Orientation to Health and Nursing Careers, Principles of Microbiology, Human Nutrition, General Psychology, Nursing Process I and II, Elementary Statistics, Nursing Pharmacology, and a Fine Arts, Music, or Humanities elective.

The BSN program requires a minimum of 130 credit hours to graduate.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Nurses interested in leadership roles in education, administration or as family nurse practitioners may pursue an MSN degree.

Students may apply if they have a BSN degree, a GPA of at least 3.0, GRE scores, hold a current nursing license, and have three professional recommendation letters.

There are three specialty options for students in the MSN program:

  • Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) – students can complete this specialty with 40 credit hours and at least 640 clinical hours of practice.
  • Gerontological Nursing Program – this specialty takes 46 credit hours and 512 clinical hours of practice.
  • Family Health Education or Administration – this program requires 30 to 33 credit hours and a thesis or research project to complete.

For nurses that already hold a master’s degree, there is a post-master’s certificate option available in FNP or the Gerontological Nursing Program.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing

This research-oriented degree program is geared toward public policy and issues relating to the health of women and children.

Those interested in applying will need to hold an MSN degree, have a GPA of at least 3.0, meet the minimum GRE score, have taken a master’s level statistics class, have a current nursing license, and have three recommendation letters from health care or education professionals.

PhD students must earn a grade of at least a B in all courses, and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. To graduate, students will complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of courses, including 12 credit hours for their dissertation. After completing 36 credit hours with grades of at least a B, students are required to take a qualifying exam before they may apply for admission to doctoral candidacy.

This program generally takes three years to complete if taken full time. All courses must be completed within eight years of beginning the program.

Full time students are eligible for a financial aid package. There also may be teaching and research assistant positions available.

Office of Nursing Research

This office provides support for faculty development and for doctoral research programs. It also works with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center to support the Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Program. The focus of this program is research into vulnerable populations across the life cycle, with an emphasis on children and women.

Human Simulation Lab

The Human Simulation Lab at the School of Nursing provides realistic simulations of clinical situations, so that students may validate their skills and decision-making skills in a zero-risk, high yield setting. The lab has state of the art Human Patient Simulators (HPS), computers, an adult health lab, a pediatric health lab, a maternal child lab, and a task trainer lab.

Contact:
Southern University and A&M College-Baton Rouge
801 Harding Blvd.,
Baton Rouge, LA 70813

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