The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies ranked in the Top 25 of the nation’s best online graduate nursing programs by U.S. News & World Report for the fifth year in a row.
UMKC’s No. 21 ranking, released today, is the highest of any university in Missouri. Last year, UMKC also ranked high at No. 23.
“UMKC online graduate nursing programs are consistently among the best in the country,” said Ann Cary, dean of the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies, who was recently appointed to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “UMKC was a pioneer in distance learning in nursing because we saw the need to offer busy professionals a high-quality but convenient way to access advanced degree programs to further their careers and meet the needs of an evolving health care system.”
The UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies has been offering online graduate programs since 2002. The school’s pioneering program is designed to offer classroom-quality instruction with the reach and convenience of web-based learning. Online students are expected to participate in online discussions as if they are present in the classroom. Technology allows two-way communication in real time via multiple modes, including webcams, microphones and/or simply typing comments. Students also experience on-site learning through summer institutes where they are required to attend clinical training or dissertation work sessions, and deliver presentations to classmates and faculty.
UMKC offers a variety of online graduate nursing tracks, including Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and other options:
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
- Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Educator
U.S. News began ranking online education in 2012. The categories include faculty credentials and training; student engagement; admissions selectivity; peer reputation; and student services and technology. U.S. News began their data comparisons with more than 500 institutions that had accredited graduate degree programs in nursing. Among the ones that replied, 144 said they offered online graduate nursing programs. The number of online nursing programs is continually growing nationwide.
To read more about the rankings, go to usnews.com/online.