University of Michigan School
of Nursing
History
Since 1893, when the first six students graduated from the University
Hospital program, the University of Michigan School of Nursing has been
visionary in its research agenda and responsive to the health needs of
the residents of Michigan and the nation. By 1941, the School of Nursing
was fully established as a health sciences academic unit of the
University. Today, the School consistently ranks among the top five
schools of nursing in the United States providing national and
international leadership in research, education and service.
Improved nursing practice has been the hallmark of the University of Michigan School of Nursing since the first six students were admitted to the program in 1891. Patient and client care, combined with discovery from learning and research, have distinguished the School's progress to our current placement among the top five schools of nursing in any recognized ranking.
Our faculty preparation is unparalleled. A doctoral degree is required for appointment and 90 per cent of our tenure track faculty members hold earned doctorates. The internationally recognized research conducted by these faculty members is broadly based but is particularly focused on topics that support nursing issues in clinical settings.
The School recognizes that nurses must continue to be challenged educationally in order to meet the rigors of a highly complex diverse profession. The baccalaureate degree is the basis for a career in nursing, but an increasingly complex health care system demands that nurses continue to grow professionally through the pursuit of master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral degrees.
Educational programs available allow the diploma or A.D.N. nurse to complete a B.S.N. degree. There is also a three-year R.N. to M.S. program. Off-campus B.S.N. completion programs are available in Traverse City and Kalamazoo. Generic students are admitted from the Jackson Community College and U-M Dearborn programs at the sophomore level.
At the master's level, many students are working nurses who understand that advanced nursing education is central to improving their skills as clinical specialists and managers. The School has the only certified midwifery program in the State of Michigan.
The School's flagship doctoral program is widely recognized as one of the best in the world. The contributions made to nursing research by doctoral alumni add significantly to the increasing body of research that substantiates and influences nursing practice. Postdoctoral study is available in the areas of health promotion and risk reduction and in neurobehavior.
Over 11,500 alumni from the School have taken their places as leaders in clinical,
academic, and various other settings across the United States and around the
world.
The University of Michigan School of Nursing proudly celebrated its
100th anniversary in 1991. There are more than ten thousand living alumni
of the School of Nursing. Significant among the School's advances was
the establishment in 1919 of a five-year program leading to the
Bachelor of Letters degree and the Diploma in Nursing. In 1944 this
option became the five-year Bachelor of Science degree combining three
years of nursing with two years in the College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts. This distinguished Michigan as one of the first
educational institutions to offer nursing students the option of a
combined academic and professional course of study. The four-year
program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing was established
in 1953.
The period from 1961 through 1975 marked the development of graduate
education in nursing at the School, beginning with the establishment
of the Master of Science degree program in Psychiatric Nursing. In
the following years Master of Science degree programs were developed
in Medical-Surgical Nursing, Parent-Child Nursing, Nursing Health
Services Administration, and Community Health Nursing. The
Gerontological Nursing Master's Program, established to meet the
health needs of our growing aged population, enrolled its first
students in 1987. The master's degree program in Nursing
Administration in 1990 started to offer an option of a dual degree
with Business Administration. The master's degree program in
Nurse-Midwifery also admitted its first students in the fall of 1990. In
1991 an RN to Masters program was established.
A baccalaureate program for registered nurses was first offered on the
Ann Arbor campus in 1971. In 1976 the Ann Arbor RN Studies Program
was expanded to include the community-based sites of Kalamazoo and
Traverse City.
The establishment of the PhD program in nursing in 1975 completed the
full range of program offerings for higher education in nursing. This
program was one of the first in the USA to offer the PhD degree
specifically for nurses. A post-doctoral training program for
advanced study in a broad range of nursing phenomena was initiated in
1987.
As part of its commitment to diversity and ensuring a positive
supportive climate for all students, the Office of Multicultural
Affairs was established in 1984. |