RN to BSN

RN to BSN

The RN to BSN program is designed for currently licensed Registered Nurses who seek to expand their professional roles, strengthen leadership and critical thinking skills, and enhance their contributions to healthcare organizations and communities.

This degree‑completion program builds upon the clinical education and professional experience previously obtained through RN licensure, emphasizing baccalaureate‑level competencies in leadership, population health, nursing research, informatics, and healthcare systems. The curriculum prepares graduates to apply evidence‑based principles, quality improvement strategies, and interdisciplinary collaboration within the scope of professional nursing practice. 

Program Structure

Students entering the RN to BSN program may transfer up to 60 credits from an associate degree or diploma in nursing and complete an additional 60 credits at the baccalaureate level to meet the 120 total credits required for graduation.

The program is structured to provide both foundational knowledge and advanced nursing competencies:

• General Education Courses (24 credits)
  Students may transfer in general education coursework that supports a well-rounded academic foundation.
• Nursing Core Courses (24 credits)
  Focused on advanced clinical practice, leadership, and evidence-based nursing.
• Specialized Track (9 credits)
  Offers targeted learning in an area of professional interest or workforce demand.
• Capstone Project (3 credits)
  A culminating experience that integrates knowledge and skills into a practical, real-world project.

Program Objectives

1. Design competent, patient centered professional nursing care for individuals, families and populations across the health continuum in a variety of community- based settings and institutions, emphasizing patient safety.
2. Integrate knowledge from the physical and behavioral sciences, and informatics into professional nursing practice.
3. Demonstrate cultural competence in providing care and working with others.
4. Implement health promotion and disease prevention plans for individuals, families and populations.
5. Use critical thinking and evidence-based practice and research findings in professional nursing practice.
6. Demonstrate ethical and professional nursing roles, values, social justice and human dignity.
7. Incorporates evidence-based practice in the provision of professional care to individuals, families, aggregates and communities.

Program Outcomes

Program outcomes emphasize the application of nursing theory, health assessment principles, clinical reasoning, and systems‑level thinking to professional practice, rather than the acquisition of new clinical skills or supervised patient care experiences. Specialization tracks allow students to focus their academic work in Leadership in Nursing Practice, Community & Public Health Nursing, or Nursing Informatics. 

The program concludes with a Capstone Project in which students analyze real‑world healthcare challenges and develop evidence‑based, non‑clinical solutions that support quality improvement, patient safety, organizational effectiveness, or community health outcomes.