Azusa Pacific University and School of Nursing

Celebrating more than a century of God First and excellence in higher education, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive Christian, evangelical university, which enrolls more than 8,200 students. The university aims for the holistic development of its students, promoting an entrepreneurial spirit through academic excellence and outstanding co-curricular programming.

School of Nursing

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Within the university's Christian mission, the School of Nursing faculty values the promotion of academic excellence and service to students. With small classes and individual nursing advisors, students receive the personal attention that greatly enhances their learning experiences.

Unlike most institutions, APU provides undergraduate clinical experiences over a period of 3.5 years (or 7 semesters) for students with no previous nursing licensure. Students gain a wealth of educational experiences through general education and nursing courses on campus, as well as through clinical experiences at hospitals, clinics, schools, churches, wellness centers, senior citizen centers and community agencies throughout the San Gabriel Valley and greater Los Angeles area.

Generic Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

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The School of Nursing offers a 4-year baccalaureate program to develop competence at the beginning level of professional nursing and to provide a foundation for advanced practice. Accredited by the National League for Nursing and the California State Board of Registered Nursing, the program prepares the student to take the California Board of Registered Nursing examination for RN licensure. The graduate is also eligible to apply for a California State Public Health Certificate.

Accelerated RN-to-BSN 15-Month Degree Completion

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This customized program for registered nurses coordinates the students' class and work schedules and allows them to begin the program in the spring semester. Eligible students are 25 years of age or older and have 5 or more years of significant work experience with at least 2 years spent as a practicing RN.

At registration, students are placed in groups of 16-20 nurses who progress through the courses together. Classes are offered 1 evening a week for 4 hours, and class space for each student is guaranteed in advance. Courses vary in length from 5 to 10 weeks. The same evening of the week is used for a group throughout the program.

Clinical experiences for specific courses are arranged at other times during the week. In this accelerated format, a 40-semester unit curriculum is concentrated into 60 weekly 4-hour class sessions.

RN-to-BSN

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Registered nurses from associate's degree and diploma programs are encouraged to apply to the Azusa Pacific University baccalaureate nursing program. Each applicant is individually evaluated and appropriate credit given for previous education.

In addition, challenge examinations are available in general education and nursing courses for applicants who wish to receive credit for knowledge gained through prior education. Up to a total of 30 units of challenge credit may be utilized for the BSN program. (Applicants must be currently licensed in California.) Most courses in this program are offered during daytime hours.

LVN-to-BSN and LVN-to-RN

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The LVN-to-BSN program serves those with the appropriate license and a minimum grade-point average. The school also offers an LVN-to-RN program.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

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Delivered through classes scheduled in the evening hours for working professional nurses, the Master of Science in Nursing program prepares students in advanced theory and practice for a specialized clinical area of nursing. Graduate students are prepared to assume functional roles as adult or parent-child clinical nurse specialists (CNS), family nurse practitioners or parish nurses.

Two combined specialty programs are offered:

• Parent-child clinical nurse specialist plus pediatric nurse practitioner
• School nurse services credential (non-degree) program with an option to continue studies toward a master's degree specialization as family nurse practitioner or pediatric nurse practitioner

Course work for this degree must be completed in 8 years.

Articulated (Second Degree) RN-to-MSN

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The Articulated RN-to-MSN program offers registered nurses who have a bachelor's degree in a health-related academic discipline other than nursing the opportunity to pursue study for both bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing. Both MSN and BSN degrees are awarded at the completion of required courses for the master's degree. Course work must be completed in 7 years.

Second Careers and Nursing (SCAN) Program (Accelerated MSN)

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The Second Careers and Nursing (accelerated master's entry into nursing) program is designed to provide graduate-level nursing education for those who hold baccalaureate or higher degrees in other disciplines. It combines preparation in basic nursing sufficient to prepare students to take the N-CLEX RN licensure exam and preparation for an advanced practice role in a clinical nursing specialty.

Students are admitted into the graduate program in the School of Nursing. For the first 5 semesters, they take all of the pre-licensure theory and clinical courses and selected graduate nursing courses, followed by an internship, to prepare them to take the RN licensure examination.

After successfully obtaining the RN license, students then progress with more graduate courses, selecting the nursing specialty practice area they wish to pursue. Upon successful completion of all graduate course work, the Master of Science in Nursing degree is awarded.

The program is designed as an intensive 3-year sequence of pre- and post-licensure study that enables students to become registered nurses and also leads to the MSN degree with a clinical specialty.

Post-Master's Certificates

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Post-master's credential programs vary in numbers of units and are available in:

• Adult
• Parent-Child
• Parish Nursing
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Nursing Administration
• Nursing Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)

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The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing, with emphasis in either health of the family and the community or international health, is a research-based program designed to prepare graduates for a life of scholarship and teaching. The course work for the PhD in Nursing consists of 52 units beyond the Master of Science in Nursing, with an additional 12 units for dissertation research.

The program is designed for nurses who hold master's degrees and wish to pursue a doctoral degree in nursing. Graduates of this program will be nurse scholars, educators and researchers who, in their future roles as academicians, will contribute to the body of nursing knowledge in order to improve the health of society and prepare the next generation of nurses. The purpose of the nursing PhD program is to prepare nursing leaders, educators and scholars.

Information

If you are interested in this school and would like to find out more, please Request Information from Azusa Pacific University.

For more information, visit the home page of Azusa Pacific University - School of Nursing.