The School of Nursing undergraduate program in nursing is recognized by health care agencies as providing excellent preparation for the nursing profession. Our graduates are in great demand and enjoy a large number of career opportunities. The BSN curriculum includes courses in the humanities, social sciences, basic sciences, and nursing science. The clinical component of nursing courses enables students to apply their learning to actual client, family, and community situations that warrant nursing intervention. The curriculum has been carefully designed to equip graduates to begin professional nursing practice with patients of all ages in any health care setting where there is a position for the professional nurse at the start of his or her career. The program also provides an excellent foundation for graduate study in nursing and in other fields.
The basic (traditional) baccalaureate program (BSN) is available for high school graduates who aspire to a career in nursing. The basic (traditional) BSN program can be completed in four years at WVU's Morgantown campus, at WVU Institute of Technology (Beckley), or at Potomac State College (Keyser). Upon successful completion, students attain the BSN degree and are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.
Registered nurses can complete the BSN requirements online through a completely web-based RN-BSN program. Advising for the program can occur at WVU in Morgantown or at the Charleston division. Nursing courses for RN-BSN students are scheduled every semester to provide an opportunity for individualized progression plans and completion of degree requirements in two to three semesters of full-time study if non-nursing courses are already completed. Part-time options are also available. The School of Nursing offers in-state tuition for all students enrolled in the RN-BSN program, regardless of residency.
A BS/BA to BSN accelerated (fast track) program is available for the college graduate with a bachelor's degree in a field other than nursing. Following eighteen months of continuous enrollment, successful students attain the BSN degree and are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN licensing examination. The BS/BA to BSN program is offered at WVU in Morgantown and Bridgeport.
Further information about the BSN program or the MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. graduate programs in nursing may be obtained from the School of Nursing website at http://nursing.hsc.wvu.edu/ or by contacting the WVU School of Nursing Office of Student Services, 6400 Health Sciences South, P.O. Box 9600, Morgantown, WV 26506-9600; telephone (304) 293-1386 or (toll free) 1-866-WVUNURS.
Criminal Background Checks and Drug Screening
Students are required by clinical agencies to undergo federal and state criminal background checks and a drug screen prior to clinical experiences. Felony convictions, some serious misdemeanors, and positive drug screens may preclude participation in clinical rotations. This could, in turn, prevent the completion of clinical course requirements and completion of the nursing program. It could also result in admission ineligibility or program dismissal.
Curriculum details are also available on the School of Nursing webpage: http://nursing.hsc.wvu.edu/.

