University of Massachusetts Amherst Nursing School Review

University of Massachusetts Amherst was born as one of the five University of Massachusetts education systems emanating from the Massachusetts College of Agriculture. It has its history from 1947 when a campus of the larger UMASS (University of Massachusetts) system was open in Amherst.  It has since grown be a nationally reputed public university with nine schools and colleges offering a diverse array of degrees to the state and beyond.

UMASS Amherst-School of Nursing

The school of nursing at UMASS Amherst is proud to have been given approval and accreditation by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education to offer the following nursing programs:

Undergraduate Programs

i)        Traditional Track BSN

This is a program meant to build a strong foundation for entry level nurses. It is designed to be taken in four years whereby, in the first two years, students take pre-clinical courses only. For the next two years, students fully concentrate on nursing theory and clinical nursing classes. The final year is deeply focused to nursing to enable students prepare for the NCLEX-RN exam. Completion awards the student a BSN degree.

ii)      Second Bachelor BSN Track

For individuals with non- nursing BS or BA degrees, the Second bachelor is their choice in getting into professional nursing. It is a full time-highly accelerated format of the traditional BSN track whose goal is to cover the usual BSN in a condensed and rigorous mode. Just like the BSN, the outcome is eligibility to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam and the award of a BSN degree.

iii)    RN to BS track

The school of nursing at UMASS Amherst offers the exclusive online RN to BS track for RNs who already have 2-year degree or a diploma in nursing. All courses are completed online and students can arrange for clinical experience at a health care facility of their choice. Campus attendance is done occasionally for evaluation, conferences and orientation.

Graduate Programs

The following three graduate nursing programs are available at UMASS Amherst School of nursing:

i)        Master of Science-Clinical Nurse Leader

The Program; a full time commitment, is designed for BSN graduates. It is has a focus on clinical nurse leader and takes a period of two academic years covering 37 credits.  It is meant to prepare advance practice nurse graduates who are eligible to sit for the CNL from the American Nurse Credentialing Centre.

ii)      Doctor of Nursing Practice

This terminal degree from UMASS Amherst is offered as a distance and online degree. Students are able to take all their courses requirements online and attend their clinical facility of choice for internship and clinical experience. Students are only able to choose from two tracks of concentration: Family Nurse Practitioner or the Public Health Nurse Leader.

iii)    PhD in Nursing

This track prepares nurse scientists, scholars and nursing capable of handling professional practice. It comes in a two offers where, in the first offer, it takes BSN graduates who take 81 credits to graduate and in the second offer, it takes MSN students who require only 57 credits to graduate.

Contact:
University of Massachusetts Amherst
300 Massachusetts Avenue,
Amherst, MA 01003