The Department of Nursing offers a four-year (pre-licensure) program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Built on a strong science foundation, the program includes coursework in the liberal arts and humanities and extensive clinical experiences in both healthcare settings and in the clinical simulation laboratory. The Nursing program includes a final semester intensive practicum. In addition, the Department of Nursing offers an RN to BSN Degree Completion Program for nurses who have graduated from accredited associate degree programs and are licensed as a Registered Nurse.
The department contributes to the university’s mission by developing Citizen Leaders who can meet the health care needs of our region, our state and beyond. Longwood has a chapter of the Student Nurses Association, linking our students to other nursing students nationwide.
The department and program are approved by the Virginia State Board of Nursing and the Virginia State Council on Higher Education.
The baccalaureate program at Longwood University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE).
Nursing Department Mission
- To promote excellence in nursing education and clinical competency.
- To promote the development of citizen leaders in the nursing profession.
- To promote partnerships to enhance health care and health care education in the region.
- To meet the needs of a changing health care system
- To provide the knowledge, skills, and values to transform nursing
- To improve the health of the communities that we serve.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the Nursing Program is competitive. Students will be admitted to the BSN program as freshmen or as second year internal or external transfer students. Freshmen admission will follow the same process and requirements as general Longwood University admission. Students may be considered for transfer admission into the BSN program for Fall of the sophomore year on a competitive basis as space permits, as long as all required first year courses have been successfully completed. Transfer applicants are expected to have completed at least 30 credits with a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.75. Transfer students are accepted only as space is available and students interested in transferring into the nursing program at Longwood University should seek guidance from the Longwood University Admissions Department. The program proceeds in a clearly defined pattern which cannot be easily modified. Therefore, all students will be expected to attend full time. Applications to transfer into nursing will be reviewed for admission to the program prior to the start of the upcoming semester. Applications for the spring semester will be due December 1; applications for the fall semester will be due July 1. Early decision deadline is November 1st . The application deadline for all internal transfer students is December 1st annually. Freshmen and Transfer applications are found on the LU Admissions webpage at www.longwood.edu/admissions. Internal Transfer applications are found on the LU Nursing webpage at www.longwood.edu/nursing.
Academic Progression
To ensure students have a fundamental understanding of core competencies, a minimum grade of C must be earned in every pre/co-requisite to nursing courses, all courses listed under nursing major requirements, and additional degree requirements. Nursing courses must be completed in the defined sequence (i.e. NURS 210 and NURS 220 must be completed prior to taking NURS 230). A cumulative G.P.A. of 2.75 must be achieved by the beginning of each fall semester or students will forfeit their seat in the nursing program. Students who do not progress to the next NURS course due to a grade in the prerequisite course, failure, withdrawal, or postponed enrollment for any reason will be considered on delayed progression. Students are subject to specified course grading and progression requirements listed in the Nursing Student Handbook.
