Utica College Nursing Program Review

Utica College (UC) is a private university with only 2,500 undergraduate students and around 600 postgraduate students. Utica is a four-year college that offers 37 majors, 27 minors, 21 master’s and doctoral programs, and some special programs. Its health science education is well known, and it is one of the op colleges for occupational therapy and physical therapy, as well as psychology. Utica offers a personalized atmosphere for each student, and they choose students who will contribute to the culture of their community. Each applicant’s background is considered individually to determine if the applicant would fit into the college community.

Nursing Program

Bachelor’s Program in Nursing

This four-year bachelor’s degree program offers unique elective courses in forensic nursing for students who want to work with prison populations and geriatric nursing for future nurses who want to work with the elderly. Utica offers small classes with a strong clinical focus. The Dr. Albert and Gloria Shaheen Nursing Laboratory is a practice facility that provides learning experiences for students. It has a 10-bed ward, a 6-bed examination bay, a multipurpose isolation room with diagnostic and vital sign monitoring equipment. In this lab, students learn bedside monitoring and respiration technology and more. Besides learning in this lab, students complete clinical experience at nearby St. Luke’s Healthcare.

Admission requirements are three years of science and math experience in high school with a preferred minimum grade of 80% or better. The applicant’s high school grade point average should be 2.5 or better. Satisfactory ACT or SAT scores are also required. Once an applicant is accepted, the college’s general requirements must be met. In addition, students must complete the nursing core courses and clinical experience. A total of 128 credits must be completed before a student is eligible for graduation. At that point, the graduate takes the national exam, the NCLEX-RN, to gain licensure as a Registered Nurse.

Online RN to BSN Degree

Utica Collage also offers an online Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. This program is designed for RNs who have completed their associate degree. Graduates of the program are prepared to fill higher level positions in hospitals and other healthcare facilities that demand bachelor’s degrees. In this program, students focus on management, pharmacology, and health assessment. Students are not required to complete clinicals because they take Community Health Nursing and Nursing Management in place of the clinical experience. Most students complete their bachelor’s degree in three years, but it can be completed sooner, depending on the number of credits transferred from their associate’s degree. Utica accepts between 60 and 90 credits from undergraduate work that enables students to complete their bachelor’s degree in less time.

Financial aid is available for almost every student who wants to complete a degree program at Utica College. Besides federal and state financial aid, there are scholarships, grants, and other sources available to nursing students. The Financial Aid office works with students to locate the funds needed to pay for their tuition if they want to attend Utica College.

Contact:
Utica College
1600 Burrstone Road
Utica, New York 13502
(315) 792-3006