Pennsylvania State University

Situated in University Park, Pennsylvania State University (PSU) is the state’s sole land-grant university. It has several campuses and has been providing educational service to the area for more than 150 years. PSU’s Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing houses several laboratories (pediatric, critical care, maternity, etc.) to provide hands-on experiences to its students. Moreover, the college’s nursing baccalaureate and master’s, DNP, and post-graduate APRN programs are CCNE-accredited.

General BSN Degree Program - This four-year program leading to a BSN degree is designed for high school students or individuals with no prior baccalaureate degree. Graduates are eligible to sit in the NCLEX-RN.

RN to BSN Degree Program - The RN to BSN Degree Program is for registered nurses with a diploma or associate degree in nursing. Full-time and part-time study options are available. Upon taking the clinical courses, the student must already have a valid and active RN license.

Second Degree Program - This 60-credit program provides eligibility for students with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree to sit in the NCLEX-RN. The program requires 14-17 credits taken per semester. Upon graduation of this full-time and rigorous program, students are conferred a BSN degree.

Undergraduate Certificates - Undergraduate certificates can be enrolled as a non-degree student or as a student in the RN to BSN program. The offered tracks are in: Nursing Forensics, Nursing Management, and Nursing Informatics. The first two require 12 credits while Nursing Informatics needs only 9 credits for completion. Meanwhile, the Gerontology Graduate Certificate and the Primary Palliative Care Certification are also available for BSN-prepared students.

Master’s Programs - With evidence-based principles, this program equips students for advanced nursing roles. Offered tracks are in Nurse Administrator and Nurse Educator. The same tracks are also available as graduate certificates delivered in an online format.

Doctor of Nursing Practice- Leadership - With options for full-time or part-time study, this program is offered fully online. The program aims to equip students for expert clinical care delivery. Several entry options are available to enter the DNP-Nurse Leadership Program. Aside from the direct entry, there are also options for BSN to DNP and MSN to DNP.

Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Practitioner - Similar to the Leadership Track, the Nurse Practitioner Track is also offered in part-time or full-time options with online delivery. The curriculum is geared towards preparing APRNs who can assume leadership roles. Program graduates can sit in the national NP certification examination

Ph.D. Degree Program - Designed to prepare nurse scientists for leadership roles in research and in academe, this program has individualized curricula. A BSN to Ph.D. option is also available wherein baccalaureate-prepared students can also obtain an MS or MSN degree in Nurse Practitioner as part of the Ph.D. curriculum.

Ph.D. in Nursing (dual-title programs) - A dual-title program is available for Ph.D. in Nursing students. They can choose to study either bioethics or clinical translational science in addition to their nursing Ph.D. The Ph.D. in Nursing and Bioethics is a 49-50 credit program while the Ph.D. in Nursing and Clinical Translational Science requires at least 56 credits for M.S. student entry.

The nursing school at Pennsylvania State University is a public institution located in University Park, Pennsylvania. Its nursing programs are accredited by ACEN, ACME, CCNE and COA.

Degree types you can earn at Pennsylvania State University include Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, Nursing Administration and Registered Nursing, and the school provides its offerings to students via campus and hybrid formats. The level of nursing programs offered to nursing students include Accelerated BSN, APRN Certificate, Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, BSN to PhD, Doctor of Nursing, Master Degree, MSN to DNP, Ph.D., Post Master's NP Certificate and RN to BSN level degrees.

For nursing students in Pennsylvania, the state average NCLEX-RN passing rate for ADN programs is 88.56% and for BSN programs is 90.79%. The average national NCLEX-RN passing rate for ADN programs is N/A% and for BSN programs is N/A%.

Out of 93 nursing schools in Pennsylvania, the nursing program at Pennsylvania State University ranks #1000000 in the state, and out of more than 1,700 nursing programs nationally, it ranks #1000024. It's 3-year average NCLEX-RN passing rate is 95.67%, giving the Pennsylvania State University an overall grade of A.

Nursing Program Stats at a Glance for Pennsylvania State University

• Grade: A
• NCLEX-RN Passing Rate Average: 95.67%
• Pennsylvania State Rank: 1000000
• National Rank: 1000024

Best Online Nursing Programs for Pennsylvania Students

In-state nursing schools are preferable to out-of-state programs as your tuition and logistics for attending school will be considerably less than if you attended school out-of-state. Online nursing schools are also an option.

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