Charleston Southern University Nursing School Review

Charleston Southern University (CSU), a Christian university affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, serves just over 3000 students. The university offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees; the university does not offer any doctoral programs. Although the university was founded in 1964, its nursing school is a more recent addition. The Derry Patterson Wingo School of Nursing was founded in 1994, and the first nursing students graduated with bachelor’s degrees in 1998. The nursing programs that it offers are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and approved by the South Carolina Board of Nursing.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BS in Nursing) program takes four years of full-time study to complete. During the first year, a student takes pre-nursing courses in the liberal arts, sciences, and math. She begins studying nursing in her second year, and continues taking general education courses at the same time. In total, she must earn at least 128 credits over the course of four years in order to graduate. Sixty-one of these credits are for nursing classes; sixty-seven are for general education classes. After graduating from the program, a student is ready for a career as a Registered Nurse (RN), as long as she successfully passes the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Bachelor of Science in Nursing – Online RN to BSN Option

CSU provides an opportunity for RNs who hold an associate degree or diploma to complete a full BS in Nursing degree. Like the students in the traditional BS in Nursing program, RNs must earn 128 credits in order to graduate. However, incoming RNs will receive thirty-four advanced placement credits toward some of the nursing courses, in consideration of their nursing education and experience. In addition to these advanced placement credits, if they have completed any classes that fulfill CSU’s general education requirements, they may transfer these as well. An RN can complete the nursing classes needed to finish the BS in Nursing degree in as little as one year, studying full-time. He may also choose to study part-time, which will lengthen the time required to complete the program. The length of the program can also vary depending on how many of the required sixty-seven general education classes he needs to complete. All classes are offered online, in order to accommodate a full-time work schedule. An incoming RN can begin the program in the fall, spring, or summer.

Master of Science in Nursing , Nurse Educator Track – BSN to MSN

The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program began in 2009. Students in the MSN program work toward certification as Nurse Educators. For incoming students who already have bachelor’s degrees, the program consists of thirty-nine credit hours, and includes a teaching practicum. Students begin in the fall semester, and study through the spring, summer, and following fall semesters. They graduate sixteen months after beginning the program. After graduation, they may take the National League for Nursing exam for Nurse Educators.

Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator Track – ADN to MSN

The MSN program is also open to RNs who are graduates of an associate degree in nursing (ADN) program. These students need nineteen months to complete the program. They start in the summer semester, taking three courses at the undergraduate-level to prepare them for the graduate-level coursework. These courses can be completed online. They enter the MSN program in the fall along with the rest of the students, and complete the MSN coursework over the course of the following sixteen months. In total, an RN who holds only an associate degree must earn forty-nine credits in order to graduate and take the certification exam.

Contact:
Charleston Southern University
9200 University Blvd.,
North Charleston, SC 29406