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Creativity and vision are at the foundation of nursing education at UCF. The College of Nursing has developed a range of academic programs to prepare nurses for work in an increasingly complex health care system. Service-learning is promoted throughout the curricula and students are encouraged to engage in nursing research with faculty mentorship. The college prepares leaders to serve the public by improving health, promoting quality of life, patient advocacy, research and public service.

The College of Nursing baccalaureate and master's programs are accredited by:
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 530
Washington, DC 20036-1120
Telephone: 202-887-6791
Internet: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/accreditation

The baccalaureate program is also approved by the:
Florida Board of Nursing
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin CO2
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3252
Telephone: 850-245-4125
Internet: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa

The faculty is committed to providing quality multidisciplinary educational programs for a diverse student population at the undergraduate level. This population includes students seeking initial education as nurses and registered nurses seeking completion of the undergraduate nursing degree. Graduates of the baccalaureate nursing program who are not already registered nurses are eligible to sit for licensure examination as registered nurses. Students at UCF represent many educational pathways. Students might be recent high college graduates for whom this is their first time in college, or individuals who have completed prior course work which may have resulted in receipt of a diploma in nursing or Associate of Science, Associate of Arts, baccalaureate or graduate degrees. The faculty supports strong articulation arrangements for access to upper division education for all students.

The baccalaureate preparation in nursing provided by UCF serves as the foundation for collaborative care through direct care delivery, leadership and management roles in nursing, and progression to graduate studies. An ability to delegate care and work in an interdisciplinary team is integral to this approach. Undergraduate nursing education at UCF is built upon a solid foundation of general education requirements that includes course work in the foundational knowledge areas of communication, culture and history, mathematics, behavioral, natural and social sciences. Courses and laboratory experiences in the major reflect a community-oriented approach, which are applied across the continuum of care and throughout the lifespan. The curriculum and progression of learning experiences prepare the graduate to meet health promotion, restoration and rehabilitative needs of clients.

The master's program of the College of Nursing provides a solid base for advanced practice, leadership in health care and progression to doctoral studies. Nurses completing the master's programs are eligible to sit for national certification examinations. Graduates who complete nurse practitioner programs and the clinical nurse specialist program are eligible to apply for state licensure as an advanced registered nurse practitioner. Increasing access to advanced practice preparation is supported by the program development activities of the faculty within and beyond the master's program.

Advanced practice preparation at the master's degree level prepares nurses for increasing responsibility for the provision of health care services and for service as a change agent in the health care system. Advanced practice nurses prepared as nurse practitioners are able to plan, design and implement systems of nursing care that address the health care needs of a wide range of clients across the lifespan. With nursing leadership and management preparation at the master's degree level, nurses are prepared to manage and administer the nursing systems that address the health care needs of diverse client populations.

Clinical Nurse Specialists are nurses with an in-depth understanding of complex clinical problems, as well as interventions to manage and improve patient care.  Clinical Nurse Leaders are master's prepared generalist nurses who are prepared to fulfill leadership roles and organize the delivery of care at the point of care.  These nurses are equipped with the tools needed to lead interdisciplinary teams, evaluate patient outcomes and engage in cost-benefit analysis of nursing interventions.  Nurse Educators are provided with the knowledge and skills to teach in a college setting or a health care agency.  Within the final semester of study, students participate in an internship experience.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing PhD program is designed to prepare nurse scientists to assume positions as nursing faculty members, leaders in the application of innovative technologies to nursing education and clinical care, executive leaders in health care systems and scientists who contribute to the body of nursing knowledge through their research.

The PhD program has three areas of focus:
1) Vulnerable populations within Florida's multicultural environment; 2) Application of innovative technologies to nursing education and clinical care; and 3) health-care systems and policy.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice DNP Program is designed to prepare expert nurse clinicians and scholars with in-depth clinical expertise for leadership roles in a specialized area of advanced practice.  Employment opportunities for graduates will include clinical education, management, practice, clinical outcomes research and administration.

Provide excellence in nursing education, research and service to develop clinicians, leaders and scholars who promote the health of diverse populations at the local, state, national and international level.

This mission is accomplished by:

Focusing on vulnerable populations, innovative technology and health systems and policy

Creating interdisciplinary and community partnerships

Providing multi-modal, multi-site access for career advancement and professional development

Our faculty believes nursing is a humanistic, scientific and practice discipline. Nursing research contributes to the discipline’s knowledge base to improve the health of individuals, families, groups and communities. This philosophy embodies the constructs of nursing, health, person and environment, which are manifest in nursing education, nursing practice and nursing research.

Nursing encompasses the promotion of health and the diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of human responses to actual or potential health problems across the life span.  The domain of nursing is based on the synthesis of biological, behavioral, social and nursing sciences. Clients may be individuals, families, groups or communities.  Nurses assist clients to achieve their human potential by promoting or restoring health or by supporting them to achieve a peaceful death. Nurses assume accountability and responsibility for the delivery of evidence-based nursing care.  Professional nurses provide services independently and in collaboration with other health care providers and consumers of health care.

Health is a dynamic state in which the potential of each person is realized to the fullest extent possible.  The ability to maintain optimal health status is influenced by the interaction among physiological, psychosocial, spiritual, individual, family and community factors.

Persons are holistic and culturally diverse with integrated body, mind and spirit existing within the context of families, groups and communities. Each person is unique and has dignity, self worth, the potential for change, and the right to self determination.  A person has the inherent capacity to grow and develop throughout the life cycle.  As unique individuals with different capacities and vulnerabilities, all persons have the potential to affect their own responses to actual or potential health problems and health patterns. 

Environment is broadly defined as having physical, social, cultural, economic and political dimensions that have an impact on health.  Each person lives within and interacts with a changing environment.  The environment can be altered to positively affect a person’s health by changing or removing unhealthy stressors and enhancing or providing health promoting resources. 

These beliefs provide the foundation for decision-making in program and curriculum development in the College of Nursing.

University - The University of Central Florida is one of eleven public universities within the Florida Board of Education's Division of Colleges and Universities. The University was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University. The name was changed to the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 1978. UCF serves an eleven-county area. Since its inception, UCF has grown to meet the needs of the Central Florida metropolitan area. Fall 2007 enrollment at the University exceeded 48,500 students.

College of Nursing - The University received authorization from the State of Florida Board of Regents (BOR) and the Board of Nursing to initiate a nursing program in 1978. The College of Nursing began as the Department of Nursing, and admitted its first class of undergraduate students in 1979. The college was approved to offer the BSN degree to both Basic BSN and RN to BSN students on the Orlando campus, and the RN to BSN program on UCF campuses at Brevard and Daytona Beach. An Accelerated Second Degree BSN option for non-nurse college graduates began in May 2003.

Other Significant Dates:

In 1992, the BOR approved planning for the master's program and the MSN program started in 1995. The MSN program includes tracks for Adult, Family & Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Leadership & Management, and Clinical Nurse Specialist.

In 1995, the Department of Nursing became a School of Nursing.

In 1997, web-based RN to BSN courses were developed and an RN to MSN program option was initiated.

From 1998-2002, the School of Nursing expanded the basic BSN program to Brevard and the RN to BSN program was offered totally web-based.

In 1999, graduate certificate options were offered in Nursing and Health Professional Education, and Post-MSN Nurse Practitioner.

In 2005, two new master's tracks were offered: Clinical Nurse Leader and the Nurse Educator.

The Doctor of Philosophy Program commenced in 2003. The program has three areas of focus: vulnerable populations, application of innovative technologies to nursing education and clinical care, and healthcare systems and policy.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program commenced in 2007.

The School of Nursing became a College of Nursing on July 1, 2007.