Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has educated nurses since the early 1940s, when the Newark and Camden campuses offered courses in public health nursing. Established in 1952, the nursing program at the Newark campus received accreditation by the National League for Nursing in 1955. Supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a master's degree program in psychiatric nursing was established in 1955. On March 6, 1956, the School of Nursing became the College of Nursing, with Ella V. Stonsby appointed as its first dean. In 1974 a master's degree program in community health nursing, parent/child nursing, and medical/surgical nursing was added, followed by a doctoral program in nursing in 1989. In 1977, the College of Nursing Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) was started and continues to be the only nursing EOF program in the state.Today, Rutgers College of Nursing offers a broad range of academic programs, including many nurse practitioner clinical specialties and the first doctoral degree in nursing in New Jersey. In addition, there are several new clinical programs that address the health needs of at-risk communities. Its research-oriented faculty, which include 13 fellows of the American Academy of Nursing, have recently been awarded numerous federal research grants.
Nursing students can study at the university's three campuses in Newark, New Brunswick, and Camden (graduate only), and RNs can complete their bachelor's degree at the Monmouth Higher Education Center in Freehold.
