Students considering a career in nursing can benefit significantly from choosing one of the accredited nursing degree programs in Arkansas. These programs feature both regional and professional accreditation status, which makes them more prestigious and rigorous than those without both forms of accreditation. The benefit for students is that they become immediately more competitive when they begin looking for their first nursing position, and they’re more likely to pass the NCLEX exam, succeed in graduate-level study, and advanced into more senior roles within nursing over the long course of their careers in this growing field. Arkansas offers four programs that have dual regional and professional accreditation for nursing students.
Henderson State University
Ellis College of Arts and Science
Unique among Arkansas universities, Henderson State is the only institution in the state that currently enjoys membership in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. That’s because HSU strongly believes that the best form of education is a liberal arts education that blends interdisciplinary learning with professional skills in fields like business, nursing, and many others. As a result, all nursing students will be required to blend their nursing studies with an extensive general education curriculum. Students will also be required to seek clinical experiences throughout their four years on campus, and will enjoy access to small class sized, doctoral faculty, and helpful academic and career advisors, giving them a competitive edge as they enter the workforce.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
For their first two years on campus, students will take roughly 18 credits of nursing courses and 42 credits in the university’s liberal arts core. They will begin small with clinical experiences, typically logging between three and 10 hours per week in various clinical settings around Arkadelphia. As they advance into the final two years of the degree program, nursing students will enroll in advanced anatomy and physiology classes, as well as courses in advanced pathology, at-risk population care, family care, elderly care and treatment, and even elective credits n areas like Alzheimer’s care, labor and delivery, and pediatric nursing. Clinical experience may range up to 20 hours per week toward the end of the program, giving students valuable hands-on experience before they begin seeking full-time employment.
Accreditations
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
Henderson State University
Ellis College of Arts and Science
1100 Henderson St.
Arkadelphia, AR 71999
Phone: (870) 230-5000
Email: admissions@hsu.edu
Website: http://www.hsu.edu/interior4.aspx?id=585
University of Arkansas
College of Education and Health Professions
The University of Arkansas is home to more than 25,000 students, and serves as the state’s most prestigious, flagship public institution. More than 188 majors are offered on-campus, of which nursing is on of the most popular. Students are given access to an extensive list of elective courses that they can use to specialize their degree, and they’re primarily taught by doctoral professors with extensive nursing experience and a wealth of research that informs their knowledge of undergraduate nursing topics. All students will be required to seek clinical experience during the final three years of the nursing program, building their experience in advance of a post-graduation job search.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN Generic Program)
In order to be admitted to the University of Arkansas’ nursing program, BSN candidates must successfully complete between 30 and 60 credits as a pre-nursing student. During this period, they must achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Once they have done so, they can apply for admission to the regular nursing program, which will see them take more advanced coursework in healthcare law, human pathology, disease care and treatment, elder and infant care, and several other crucial areas of the profession. All nursing students admitted to the program will be required to log at least 15 hours of clinical experience per week, though many students log as much as 20 hours per week in clinical work outside of the classroom.
Accreditations
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
University of Arkansas
College of Education and Health Professions
Room 324
Graduate Education Building
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Phone: (479) 575-3208
Website: http://nurs.uark.edu/1347.php
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Nursing
Though the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is part of the state’s University of Arkansas System, its colleges and programs stand apart from the University of Arkansas itself. The school is dedicated solely to the medical profession, and educates a significant number of Arkansas nurses. In fact, the school educates almost as many nurses as the University of Arkansas itself, despite its smaller overall size. Professors are all doctoral-level at UAMS, giving students access to a wealth of practical experience and academic research that will benefit their own patient care practices in the future. A combination of clinical experiences and excellent career services helps students network and seek entry-level employment after graduation, giving the school a very high job placement rate for recent graduates within six months.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
General education classes are limited in scope at UAMS, with the curriculum more heavily weighted in favor of professional experiences that build students’ ability to handle diverse patient care scenarios. All nursing students will be required to know medical, patient, and privacy laws that regulate their field. They will also learn human anatomy, physiology, and pathology, along with specialized types of patient care. Clinical experiences are logged throughout all four years of the program, with students required to log at least 15 hours per week during their final two years of enrollment.
Accreditations
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Nursing
4301 W. Markham St.
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-5374
Email: Comments@UAMS.edu
Website: http://nursing.uams.edu
University of Central Arkansas
College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
The University of Central Arkansas is the state’s third largest public university system, and is home to tens of thousands of students across various disciplines. The nursing program is highly competitive at UCA, and hinges largely on student admissions test scores, completion of nursing program pre-requisites during the freshman year, and prior nursing education experience, if applicable. The faculty is primarily doctoral, with a few adjuncts and graduate assistants to help with class sizes and office hours. Clinical experiences are required, especially during the last two years of the program, though these are a boon to post-graduation job prospects and professional competence.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
During their first year on campus, students must complete general education classes in psychology, biology, biochemistry, and college algebra, among others. Students must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 during their first year on campus and take a nursing entrance examination in order to be admitted to the traditional nursing program. During their second, third, and fourth years on campus, students will log clinical experience hours and take classes in pathology, physiology, anatomy, patient treatment and disease care, healthcare law, and professional ethics. Electives, which constitute up to 12 credits of the program, focus on specific types of patient care and the management of at-risk groups.
Accreditations
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
University of Central Arkansas
College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
201 Donaghey Ave.
Conway, AR 72035
Phone: (501) 450-5000
Website: http://uca.edu/nursing/bsn-track-descriptions/
Whether it’s to start a four-year nursing degree program or to convert an RN to a BSN, there are great programs in Arkansas that can help students accomplish their goals. Both public and private institutions offer excellent nursing degree programs and clinical experiences to students, with accreditation that gives the program added prestige and professional power. Choose one of the various, accredited nursing degree programs in Arkansas, in order to successfully enter into the nursing profession and enjoy a rewarding career helping patients of all ages.
