UCLA Reopens Undergraduate Nursing Program, Expands Master’s Degree Program
University of California-Los Angeles officials recently announced plans to reopen the university's bachelor's degree program for nursing next fall after closing it in 1995, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials said they are reopening the program to help address the demand for nurses in the state.
The UC Board of Regents has allocated $5.2 million to fund the undergraduate program and expand a master's degree program for nursing at UCLA. Fifty students are expected to be admitted to the program in the first year, and 50 students likely will enroll in a new entry-level master's program.
UCLA officials hope to double the university's current capacity of 300 nursing students within five years and plan to hire 22 more faculty members.
The undergraduate program curriculum must be approved by faculty, but is expected to include courses in case management, cost analysis and leadership, along with basic clinical training. Student nurses will also complete 40 hours of clinical work per week at UCLA Medical Center and other local hospitals.
The new entry-level master's program is for students with no nursing experience, as well as those who are already licensed nurses.
In addition, UC-Irvine is working to gain approval for a nursing program that would include an undergraduate nursing degree, according to the Times (Trounson/Silverstein, Los Angeles Times, 11/27).