Big Sky Times

The University of Providence is now accepting applications for its first on-campus nursing program.

The 4-year, traditional BSN degree program is sponsored by a generous gift from the Vander Werff family and will accept priority deadline applications for its first cohort up to Apr. 1, 2023. Enrolled students will begin their first courses in the fall semester of 2023 and their first nursing courses in the fall of 2025.

The traditional BSN program will join the University’s already established catalog of bachelor’s degree programs in nursing – including the Accelerated Pre-Licensure in BSN program in Lewistown, MT, and Anchorage, AK, and the Online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN) program.

“The UP and Great Falls community are excited to welcome students selecting the nursing major on campus,” said Associate Dean of Nursing Andrea Houser. “The Vander Werff nursing program is the only BSN program in a 100-mile radius, and there are no other programs reaching high school students in this region.”

The Vander Werff Nursing Program will be the first School of Health Professions program to reside on-campus, joining a predominately online degree catalog. The traditional nursing program will combine core curriculums from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Health Professions to create a unique, hands-on opportunity for traditionally aged students to apply to a four-year nursing program.

“From the Sisters’ establishment of Great Falls’ Columbus Hospital School of Nursing in 1894 to the Vander Werff program launching in 2023, the Sisters and their university are building on a 130-year legacy of working to meet the healthcare needs of Montana and beyond by continuing the healing ministry of Jesus.” Said Matthew Redinger, University of Providence’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Students enrolled in the traditional BSN program will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in nursing skills through a soon to come, new, state-of-the-art nursing facility made possible by a generous donation from Ric Oberholz, whose donation to UP will provide a renovated lecture hall and a new nursing simulation lab, allowing students to get hands-on experience and familiarize themselves with the nursing practice.

The University of Providence (UP) is a private Roman Catholic Liberal Arts University founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Providence. The University of Providence honors the Sisters’ vision today by providing a mission-driven education to those that need it the most. UP is located in Great Falls, Montana, and offers both undergraduate and graduate-level liberal arts programs and health programs.

For more information, visit the University of Providence website

Original source can be found here.