Rockford campus to launch entry-level master’s program for non-RNs
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The University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing is expanding its Master of Science in Nursing program for non-RNs to its Rockford campus. The program was recently approved by the Illinois Board of Nursing.
Students in the Rockford area who meet the eligibility requirements can apply now for fall 2025 admission. Sometimes called the “graduate-entry program,” this program is designed for students who already have a bachelor’s degree in another subject and would like to change careers to become a nurse.
“This is really a great opportunity for people in the Rockford area to have access to this program because our local hospitals are in great need of nurses, especially in the rural areas,” says campus director Laura Monahan, DNP ’16, MS ‘12, RN, MBA, OSF. “People I’ve spoken to at local hospitals are very excited about this program coming to Rockford.”
Because the program is hybrid with on-campus requirements, and because faculty arrange all clinical site placements for students, students for this program must live within commuting distance of the UIC Nursing-Rockford campus. That could be in Illinois or a bordering state.
Monahan, who graduated from the master’s program in 2012, recalls having to commute several hours from the Rockford area to attend the program in Chicago when she was a student. The program will fill a marketplace niche in the Rockford area, which doesn’t currently have an option for non-nurses seeking a master’s degree.
The UIC College of Nursing at Rockford shares a campus with UIC’s colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. A close relationship among all three colleges means nursing students have access to a skills lab, a state-of-the-art Standardized Patient Center and the full-service Crawford Library of Health Sciences.
Rockford is one of the UIC College of Nursing’s six campuses, which also include: Chicago, Peoria, Quad Cities, Springfield and Urbana.