Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership FAQs

1. The Need for Nurses
2. The Power of Partnership
3. Complete Education
4. Getting In
5. Rewarding Investment
6. Housing
7. Financial Information
8. Transfer Students
9. Graduation
10. What's Next?

The Need for Nurses

 The need for new nurses in our nation today is critical, and it is growing. In Tennessee and across the nation, the health care industry is adding registered nurse positions at the same time the number of nurses is declining. And by the year 2020, an additional 50 million people are expected to need health care. Hospitals will place a premium on nurses with broad-based competencies developed in a distinctively Christian, liberal arts context. (back to top)

The Power of Partnership

Lipscomb University and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) have formed a partnership that will allow you to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Lipscomb with courses taken at Lipscomb and Vanderbilt. In this program, your first five semesters of studies will be offered at Lipscomb, providing the foundation for nursing courses and clinical experiences to be provided during your last three semesters by Vanderbilt. (back to top)

Complete Education

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offers a unique combination of study in Lipscomb's distinctively Christian, intimate liberal arts environment, and the health sciences environment at Vanderbilt, one of the nation's leading research universities. This combination will provide you with training in nursing, strongly complimented by extensive study in the humanities and social sciences. You will be well educated to function as a bachelor's degree nurse and have the necessary foundation to pursue master's degree or doctoral studies in nursing. (back to top)

Getting In

Enrollment in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program requires you to complete the normal application and admission process required for all students who enter Lipscomb University. Admission into the upper-level Lipscomb nursing program will be considered by a joint admission committee comprised of Lipscomb and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) faculty representatives. You will be required to meet the same criteria as other students in the VUSN generalist nursing courses, with the exception that Lipscomb students will not have to take the Graduate Record Exam. (back to top)

Rewarding Investment

Earning your Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Lipscomb is an investment that will pay dividends for a lifetime. But we want to do everything possible to make this education affordable for all qualified students. Lipscomb offers a wide range of scholarships in addition to state and federal assistance that may be available. Academic scholarships awarded at Lipscomb will remain in effect while you attend upper-level nursing courses at Vanderbilt as long as you meet the scholarship criteria. And other exciting options are available as well! Several major health-care providers have partnered with Lipscomb to pay the tuition of selected students during their Vanderbilt coursework in return for working in one of their facilities for a period of time following graduation. It's a great opportunity -- paid tuition and a guaranteed job after graduation for those who successfully complete the program. (back to top)

Housing

Students will be required to meet all housing requirements of Lipscomb University. Students may continue to live on campus at LU during course work taken at Vanderbilt during their last three semesters. (back to top)

Financial Information

For the first five semesters, the costs of pre-nursing courses will be the same as any other Lipscomb undergraduate student (see Lipscomb University Undergraduate Catalog). These costs will include Tuition, Technology Fee, Student Government Fee, Car Registration, and Books. Room and Board charges will also apply if a student lives on campus.

For the last three semesters, the costs of the nursing courses will be assessed at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing at tuition and fees rates applicable at the time of admission to the upper division nursing courses. However, any academic scholarship money received from Lipscomb University for the first five semesters will also apply for the last three semesters*. The remaining difference between Lipscomb tuition costs and Vanderbilt tuition costs may be paid by Vanderbilt University Hospital** if the student will agree to work at Vanderbilt Hospital for two years. In other words, if a student will agree to work at Vanderbilt Hospital (at the salary of BSN graduates) for two years, the hospital will pay the difference between the cost of attending Lipscomb University and the cost of attending Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. (The offer of this contract is contigent upon need, availability, and qualifications of the student - not a guarantee.)

This arrangement will depend on Vanderbilt's (or other hospitals/agencies) estimated available jobs at the time of the agreement.

*Exception: Sports scholarship and Faculty/Staff discount

**Other hospitals and agencies are also negotiating to participate in this program. (back to top)

Transfer Students

A student transferring into the Lipscomb nursing program must take a minimum of 58 hours of Lipscomb courses (excluding the 47 hours of nursing courses taught at Vanderbilt). The math and science courses, which are prerequisites for the nursing courses, must be taken at Lipscomb. (back to top)

Graduation

Graduation requirements for a BSN will be completion of 85 semester hours in the general education and core curriculum requirements for Lipscomb University and 47 semester hour credits in the nursing major for a total of 132 semester hours. A minimum acceptable cumulative grade point average for graduation is a 3.0 and a grade of "D" is an unacceptable grade in any course required for the nursing degree. Students must also achieve a grade of "B" in all clinical nursing courses. (back to top)

What's Next?

To learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Nursing studies at Lipscomb, contact Sonya Colvert, at 615.966.6650, 800.333.4358, ext. 6650, or sonya.colvert@lipscomb.edu . To begin the admission process, call our Admissions Office at 615.966.1776 or toll-free at 877.LUBISON (877.582.4766).

You may apply online at admissions.lipscomb.edu, or e-mail admissions@lipscomb.edu for more information. We look forward to helping light the way for your future at Lipscomb! (back to top)

The collaboration between Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and Lipscomb University is a unique model for the country. The ability of a liberal arts university to offer a baccalaureate nursing degree by utilizing the baccalaureate equivalent courses of Vanderbilt's accredited, advanced nursing program is extraordinary.

Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D.
Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

Nursing photos by Dana C. Johnson/VUSN
X-Ray photo by Amber R. Stacey, Lipscomb University
McFarland Hall of Science by Robin Hood