Honors Program

The purpose of the Honors Program is to encourage scholarly achievement in talented and highly motivated students in nursing; promote a high level of achievement in nursing education and practice through curricular enrichment and freedom to work independently; provide mentorship to students to promote commitment to further education in nursing; stimulate creative and critical thinking; and facilitate acquisition of research and leadership skills. BSN and MSN students may participate in the School's Honor Program. Students must meet the eligibility requirements to apply. 

Goals 

• To provide opportunities for talented students to engage in nursing research 
• To stimulate creative and critical thinking 
• To facilitate acquisition of research and leadership skills 
• To provide meaningful scholarly experiences for students 
• To encourage growth and lifelong learning in the discipline of nursing 
• To provide opportunities for interprofessional scholarly collaborations 
• To provide students with opportunities for professional development 

Eligibility Requirements

Students interested in participating in the Honors Program should meet the following requirements when applying:

• Be enrolled full-time as a BSN or MSN student at the CSON. 
• Must have completed at least one semester at the CSON with a minimum 3.7 cumulative GPA in CSON coursework. 
• Must be able to complete at least one semester in the Honors Program. 
• Submit an electronic application which includes an application statement. The application statement should be no longer than one page and should describe the candidate’s career goals, the reason for applying to the Honors Program, and include a research interest. The candidate’s interest will be used only to facilitate placement with a particular mentor. However, identifying a specific interest does not guarantee placement with that type of research mentor.
• Two nursing faculty recommendations from didactic, clinical faculty, or clinical preceptors submitted electronically by the nursing faculty. Nursing faculty must have an email associated with a university/college to validate their role as nursing faculty.

Maintenance Requirements

• Maintain a GPA of 3.7 in nursing schoolwork
• Be enrolled full time as a BSN or MSN student in the School of Nursing 

The Honors Program Coordinator will inform students each semester of when applications are due and the process of how to submit an electronic application and the electronic nursing faculty recommendations. Students who submit an incomplete application or who do not have two recommendations submitted from faculty will not be eligible for the program. Students who meet the selection criteria will be notified of acceptance into the Honors Program and mentor assignment by the start of the semester. During each of the semesters the students are in the Honors Program, students will enroll in a one credit-hour Honors Independent Study course, complete 45 contact hours (for BSN students) and 60 contact hours (for MSN students) each semester on mutually agreed upon activities with a faculty mentor and participate in dissemination activities with their mentor whenever opportunities are available. 

Contact Information

For more information on the Honors Program, please contact:

Sandra M Branson, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE

Associate Professor (Email)