Western Connecticut State University Nursing School Review

Western Connecticut State University (WestConn, or WCSU) was founded over 100 years ago and has two campuses in Danbury, CT. These campuses, which are 3 miles apart, are the Midtown and West Side campuses. WCSU is a public, liberal arts university. It enrolls over 6,000 students each semester to join its various courses. The student to faculty ratio is 16 to 1, so students will be assured to receive personalized attention.

Nursing Programs

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing

The BS in Nursing program is for the beginning nurse. The program accepts 60 students each year, and offers small class sizes and one of the highest pass rates for the Registered Nurse (RN) licensing exam in Connecticut.

Students begin as pre-nursing majors, and then are admitted to the nursing program beginning their sophomore year. To be eligible to apply, students must have completed or be currently taking Writing, Communications, Psychology, Sociology, Chemistry, and Math. They must have a 2.5 GPA or better.

Students must earn a C grade or higher in all nursing courses to remain in the program. To graduate, students will need to take a minimum of 125 credits.

RN to BS Program

This program is for RNs that have graduated from associate degree or diploma programs and who want to earn their BS degree in Nursing. To graduate from Western, students need to have taken a minimum of 30 credits or one half of the required courses for their major, whichever is greater, at the University. This program may be taken full time or part time.

Students with an RN license will receive up to 75 transfer credits toward their degree. Those that completed the associate degree in nursing are eligible to earn additional transfer credit up to 75 credits, and those who attended a four year college may earn up to 90 credits that can be applied to general education, elective, or major classes.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

This program is designed for nurses who want to prepare for a role in leadership, education, or management. Courses are offered in the evenings, and this program will take about four years to complete part time. Students must complete their degree program within six years of starting the program.

The MSN program has two specialty areas, and each one requires a minimum of 36 credits to complete.

The Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP) specialty requires an additional 540 hours of clinical practicum study to complete. Students that successfully finish this course of study may take the national certification exam.

The Advanced Nursing Practice: Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) specialty is a clinical based program with more elective choices.

All MSN students are required to complete a thesis project.

Post-Master’s Adult Nurse Practitioner

This program gives adult nurse practitioners with an MSN degree the preparation to take the certification exam for adult nurse practitioners. To take this program students must have taken Advanced Clinical Pharmacology or be licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse in Connecticut or New York, and must have had continuing education or skills testing in the last 5 years.

Doctoral Preparation for Nurse Educators (EdD)

This program is the result of a collaboration between Western Connecticut State University and Southern Connecticut State University, and is designed to address the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Aimed at MSN graduates with clinical experience, this program teaches nurses to be effective faculty members.

The EdD program is taught online, and requires students to attend residencies on campus before the program starts, and in the summer after year one and year two. Students will take 51 credits including a dissertation to complete the course of study.

Contact:
Western Connecticut State University
181 White Street
Danbury, CT 06810

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