University of Massachusetts Worcester Nursing School Review

The University of Massachusetts-Worcester is a public and exclusive graduate medical centre. It is part of the larger family UMASS (University of Massachusetts) campuses. It is a medical training centre dedicated to delivering medical education in the State of Massachusetts and beyond. It is commonly known as the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS, UMass Medical School)

From 1962, it has been doing the same noble job; providing affordable yet high quality medical training to nurses, physicians, and all health care professionals. The University of Massachusetts -Worcester has a great mission of promoting the increase in the number of medical personnel who ultimately work in underserved areas of Massachusetts.

Graduate School of Nursing-UMass-Worcester

The graduate school of nursing opened in 1986, offering graduate degrees in the nursing field. Since the university of Massachusetts-Worcester is an exclusive graduate medical school, undergraduate nursing programs are not offered. Programs range from master, doctoral and graduate certificates. Programs offered by the graduate school of nursing are:

Master Programs Options

i)        Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP)

The GEP is specifically designed to meet the educational needs of non nursing students who hold baccalaureates in fields other than nursing. It is a three year program whose curriculum first leads to RN licensure followed by taking a nursing specialty at the Masters level. During the second year, students take the normal BSN to MSN curriculum only after passing the NCLEX-RN exam of the first year.

ii)      Pre-Master Pathway

This is meant for RNs who hold of a two-year degree or diploma in nursing. Although the program does not offer the student a Bachelors degree after completion, it is a pathway that is followed by students who want to use the credit transfer advantage into pursing a master’s degree. Students who continue with the program to the end will be awarded a MSN degree.

iii)    Traditional MSN Pathway

This route is meant for holders of a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree who want to become advanced practice nurses. It is offered on both part time and full time basis and has the following nursing specialties to choose from:

  • MSN-Nurse Educator
  • MSN-Adult Acute Care Nurse practitioner
  • MSN-Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
  • MSN-Dual track with gerontological Nurse Practitioner

Post-Masters Certificates

The post masters certificates are meant for advanced graduate nurses who have master degrees in nursing. All the advanced nursing specialties above are available in the certificate program.

Doctoral Programs

Under University of Massachusetts-Worcester graduate nursing school, three distinct terminal level programs are available namely:

i)        BSN to PhD Pathway

The program is designed for BSN students from other universities and UMass-Worcester GEP students. It takes a total of six years to complete and students are made to understand that no masters’ degree is offered in the program, only the PhD.

ii)      Doctor of Nursing Practice

It targets advanced practice nurses who wish to take the terminal nursing degree with concentration on either nurse practitioner or nurse administrator. For the nurse practitioner track, the program allows only MSN-Nurse practitioner students while the Administrator option takes student with any MSN specialty or related degree.

iii)    PhD in Nursing

The PhD in nursing from UMass-Worcester is challenging program and calls for MSN students who are interested to take careers in research, teaching and nursing faculty. Both the DNP and the PhD in nursing are offered on full time basis and students are always encouraged to give-up their jobs as the curriculum is highly demanding.

Contact:
University of Massachusetts Worcester
55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester,
MA 01605