Departmental Self Review - UCLA Academic Senate

PurposeThe purpose of the pre-licensure nursing programs at University of California at Los Angeles,School of Nursing is to prepare graduates to provide therapeutic nursing care to all entrusted tocare regardless of race/ethnicity, age, gender, culture, religion, or social status. At the prelicensurelevel, two programs are offered, the Bachelor of Science-Generic/Pre-licensure (BS-G)program and the Master of Science in Nursing-Masters Entry Clinical Nurse (MECN) program.This Handbook provides information to facilitate the progression of pre-licensure students in theUCLA School of Nursing. Students are also expected to read and utilize information containedin the UCLA School of Nursing’s Announcement, the UCLA General Catalog, the GraduateDivision Program and Degree Requirements, and the UCLA Schedule of Classes.History of the SchoolIn 1949, the Regents of the University of California authorized the School of Nursing as one ofthe professional schools of the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences. This action paved the wayin 1950 for the opening of an undergraduate generic program in nursing to award a Bachelor ofScience (B.S.) degree and made possible the establishment of a graduate program to award aMaster of Science (M.S.) degree in Nursing in 1951. In 1966, the Master of Nursing (M.N.)degree was established as an alternate option to the M.S. degree. The M.S. degree program wasdiscontinued in 1969. The Regents approved the Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.) degreeprogram in 1986, and in 1987 the first doctoral students were admitted. In 1996, the Office ofthe President and the Regents approved the change in the master’s degree designation from M.N.to Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.); the change in doctoral degree designation fromD.N.Sc. to Ph.D. in Nursing was approved in 1995.The original generic B.S. program curriculum was revised in 1997 to meet the educational needsof students with registered nurse credentials that hold an Associate Degrees or diplomas innursing.In 2006, the School of Nursing reinstated the BS-G program with admission at the freshmanlevel and concomitantly launched the MECN program option within the M.S.N. degree program,designed to educate pre-licensure students with bachelor’s degrees in another discipline.The School of Nursing pre-licensure (BS-G and MECN) and master’s programs are approved bythe California Board of Registered Nursing. In 2001, the Commission on Collegiate NursingEducation (CCNE) accredited the existing bachelor’s and master’s degree programs for a term of10 years.151