This program offers qualified registered nurses the opportunity to earn both the BS and MS in Nursing within a shortened time frame. The curriculum combines elements of the BS program with the MS program and streamlines the BS program by substituting with select accelerated courses. Full-time study is preferred to proceed through the program at an accelerated pace. Students have the option of selecting from two graduate specialty areas of concentration: Nursing Education, or Family Nurse Practitioner. At the end of the option, the graduate of the Family Nurse Practitioner program will be eligible to seek advanced practice certification. The RN to BS/MS student will receive both BS and MS degrees upon program completion.
Students requesting admission to the Accelerated RN to BS/MS Program must meet the following requirements:
- Hold an associate’s degree with a major in nursing from an accredited program, with a minimum 3.2 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 30 hours of undergraduate course work.
- Be currently licensed as a Registered Professional Nurse in New York State.
- Have completed the equivalent of one year of work experience in nursing (at least 1000 hours).
- Submit three (3) letters of recommendation from professional nurses; one (1) must come from faculty with whom the applicant had studied, and two (2) others from recent employers or any other individual who can provide evidence of the applicant’s past and potential contributions to the profession.
- Discuss in writing precisely the applicant’s reasons for seeking admission to the BS/MS program, identifying immediate and long-term professional goals, and relating intended contributions to the professional field after completion of the master’s program.
- Participate in a personal interview with a member of the nursing faculty.
- Submit a professional portfolio containing samples of writing and any project development.
Degree Requirement Overview for Accelerated Programs:
- Continued matriculation in the Accelerated RN to BS/MS programs requires maintenance of a GPA of 3.00 for all courses taken at SUNYIT.
- A student must also maintain a GPA of 3.00 in all graduate nursing courses.
- Graduate students can apply only two “C” grades in courses taken towards the degree. In addition, graduate students may repeat a total of three nursing courses that count towards graduation; each of these courses may only be repeated once.
- For NP students – A“C” grade will only be acceptable towards degree requirements in common nursing core courses: NUR 500, NUR 503, NUR 531 and NUR 560.
- Students with an average GPA of less than 3.00 will be placed on academic probation in the program. Students with less than a “B” (3.0) in graduate nursing courses will be placed on academic probation. Students who are on academic probation for any two semesters or who have a GPA of less than 2.50 will be academically dismissed from the Accelerated BS/MS program.
- Students who are academically dismissed or choose not to complete the Accelerated BS/MS program, and whose performance constitutes satisfactory performance in the undergraduate program, will be placed in the baccalaureate RN to BS program. If these students have satisfactorily completed the accelerated courses in Nursing Theory (2 credits), Nursing Research (2 credits), and/or Nursing Leadership (1 credit) a directed study will be available for those students to complete course requirements of the baccalaureate program of study. In addition, the exemptions from Culminating Seminar (2 credits) will be invalid, and the student will be required to complete these courses for the baccalaureate degree requirement.
- Up to 12 credits in select graduate nursing courses can simultaneously apply to the BS and MS degrees. See Department of Nursing & Health Professions for selection.
- Students must complete all undergraduate courses and a total of 124 credits to be awarded a BS with a major in nursing.
- Residence requirement is 57 hours;
- Graduate status begins at the 2nd fall term in the student’s program of study.
- Upon completion of the accelerated program, both BS and MS degrees will be conferred.
- For NP programs, students must maintain a B grade in all course components of their didactic and clinical nurse practitioner courses.
- For NP programs, students must successfully complete a comprehensive exam.
Printable PDF Sample Plans of Study can be found at: sunyit.edu/nursing/sample_plans