Accelerated, Combined BSN and Master’s Degree Program

Are you looking to re-start your career and move into the in-demand field of Nursing?
Or, are you a recent grad who wants to move into this challenging and rewarding profession?

The Accelerated Combined Degree Program consists of a BSN + a Master's degree and is designed for people with non-Nursing degrees to move into a career where they make a difference both in the lives of others and their own.

How you learn

The Combined Degree Program (CDP) is a specially designed, accelerated curriculum for non-nurse college graduates (U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent) who wish to study nursing in a first professional degree program (BSN) combined with the option of an advanced professional degree program (MS or MA). As a student in the baccalaureate portion of the CDP Program, you may progress according to a one-year full-time plan or a two-year plan. All students must complete prerequisites before entering the one-year or two-year program.

Career outcomes

After completing study for the first professional degree, the student receives a BSN and is eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. Without applying a second time to Lienhard, the student may then continue with the optional master’s degree portion of the program. If you do choose to go on for the master’s degree, up to six credits will be double counted for both the BSN and the master’s. After completion of the BSN, you will be guaranteed admission to the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program with a fall start date.
 

Combined BS in Nursing and Master’s in a Nursing Specialty
 

Prerequisite Courses

Prerequisite courses may be taken at Pace or transferred; for transfer credit to be granted, a grade of C or better must be earned. Check with the Office of Graduate Admission for details.

General Psychology (Any PSY 100-Level Course)
Statistics
Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab
Microbiology with lab
Chemistry with lab

Note: Computer Science 3 credits (or) evidence of word processing & data entry skills is pre- or co-requisite to graduate nursing courses. It is the student’s responsibility to have all transcripts sent directly to The Graduate Admissions office for all pre-requisite courses completed at other colleges. Students cannot graduate from the CDP without complete documentation showing completion of all pre-requisite courses.

Semester I

Building a Foundation for Nursing Practice
Communication for Professional Nursing
Clinical Management in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
Foundational Study in Pathophysiology
Concepts of Evidence-Based Practice for Practice Improvement
Graduate elective

Semester II

Clinical Management in Adult Medical and Surgical Nursing
Clinical Management in Maternal-Newborn Nursing and Women’s Health
Pharmacology for Professional Nursing
Pathophysiology: Concepts of Multisystem Alteration
Clinical Management in Child Health Nursing

Semester III

Clinical Management of Population Health
Organizational and Systems Leadership in Nursing
Evolution to Professional Nursing
Graduate elective
Ethics and Excellence in Professional Nursing

• The CDP is an intensive, rigorous program, so students must plan to consistently study to be successful. We encourage students to think about personal and professional commitments and the significant amount of time necessary to devote to the program on a daily basis.

• CDP students must maintain a minimum of a C+ average (77% and higher) in their undergraduate nursing courses and an overall CQPA of 3.0. For graduate courses, the passing grade is a B.

• Students are required to pass a math/clinical calculation exam as a prerequisite for each clinical course.

• Nursing students are required to undergo background checks and a 10 panel drug screen as part of the clinical clearance process.

Please refer to the Lienhard School of Nursing website under clinical clearance for further updates and any additional requirements.
 

Recent Graduates Talk About the Program...