CHARLOTTE — In 2024, Johnson & Wales University will launch an accelerated second degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program after receiving approval from the North Carolina Board of Nursing in May 2023 and the North Carolina Board of Governors in September 2023.
“North Carolina, like the rest of the country, is experiencing a critical shortage of nursing professionals,” said Richard Mathieu, Ph.D., president of the Charlotte Campus, Johnson & Wales University. “Between the COVID-19 pandemic and retirements, our healthcare system has been pushed to its limit. We are proud to offer this program to make nursing more accessible to those interested in a career change.”
The accelerated, four-semester program is intended to be a secondary degree program for students with an undergraduate degree. To be considered for this highly competitive program, students must have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their undergraduate program and completed prerequisite courses including human anatomy and physiology and chemistry. For interested students without required prerequisites, JWU will offer the opportunity to complete selected prerequisite courses before beginning the nursing program.
Once fully accepted into the program, students will be required to complete in-class instruction, as well as faculty supervised clinical hours through agreements with healthcare providers across the state.
“Johnson & Wales is committed to providing a well-rounded, patient-centered curriculum,” said David Hudson, DNP, RN, JWU Charlotte Campus’s director of the nursing program. “Our innovative program will allow our students to get the training they need on an accelerated timeline and prepare them to join the healthcare workforce to meet industry demand.”
“We’re thrilled to kick off our 20th anniversary year of Johnson & Wales University being in Charlotte, by welcoming our first nursing cohort in May 2024,” said Mathieu. “This program is just another example of our university’s commitment to help fulfill workforce development needs. We look forward to our nursing students utilizing our new state-of-the-art nursing lab and completing clinical internships with local partners, to help bring highly qualified and trained nurses into the healthcare sector.”
As is the case in all health and wellness degree programs offered at JWU, nursing students will be required to complete nutrition coursework, leveraging the university’s culinary strength and history to provide a full-body approach to wellness.
The proposed program was approved by the North Carolina Board of Nursing in May.
To date, the university has invested $1.3 million in labs and equipment for the new program. JWU will welcome the first class of students in May 2024. Read more about the program here.
The new degree program further solidifies Johnson & Wale’s strong commitment to health care education. JWU Charlotte offers degrees in a variety of in-demand healthcare areas, including culinary nutrition, public health, and exercise and sports science. The university’s decades of hospitality and culinary excellence provide the foundation for JWU’s patient-centered, empathetic, and holistic approach to healthcare education.
