Bachelor of Science in Nursing
4-year degree program that combines classes in nursing, related healthcare topics, and general liberal arts electives. 570 clinical hours are required. Our admissions process is holistic.
Prepare for clinical excellence
Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing
The Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing
Our Vision
The Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing prepares highly skilled professional nurses who are culturally responsive, practice clinical excellence with ingenuity, and proactively improve whole-person healing to advance health equity and social justice.
Our Mission
Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing embraces academic excellence through fostering a caring culture during students' preparation for entry into professional Registered Nurse practice. Our graduates will partner with others, serving as culturally responsive leaders who value intellectual inquiry to act wisely in the provision of ethical and compassionate whole-person and whole-community care that promotes human flourishing. They will provide this care with ingenuity, dignity, and respect for diverse populations to advance health equity and social justice.
Programs
Master of Science in Nursing
This 21-month degree program combines classes in nursing and related healthcare topics. 570 clinical hours are required. We have a holistic admissions process.
Why Nursing at St. Thomas?
Clinical Excellence and Ingenuity
- Emphasis on ethical, evidence-based care, encompassing the science and art of nursing
- A strong scientific foundation that students apply in clinical placements across a range of health care settings, ensuring “real-world readiness”
- Gain professional and interpersonal skills to excel in the field and to support the well-being of the patients and communities nurses serve
- Co-creation of curriculum with community partners, including health systems, nonprofits and health experts to ensure students gain relevant skills for nursing practice
- Develop agility to continually improve performance in rapidly-changing environments
- An emphasis on continuous social innovation to improve and restore health and well-being
- Work with emerging technology to develop an adaptive mindset
- Curriculum includes the moral, ethical and legal challenges that accompany technology
Teamwork and Collaboration
- Interprofessional teamwork (beyond accreditation requirements) included as a core principle from its inception
- Develop leadership and communication skills working in teams to solve issues
- Work alongside social work, psychology and health science students to gain a first-hand understanding of the value of collaboration with other professions in promoting sustainable health and well-being
- Overlapping classes, clinical experiences and shadowing opportunities
- Graduate with confidence to identify the resources needed to improve outcomes
- Simulations, case studies and field placements within health and community settings
- Learn diverse roles for contemporary nursing: public health, disease prevention, home care, case management, etc.
- Explore administrative functions of health care (e.g., business, finance, analytics, public policy, law)
- Collaboration and mentorship opportunities between graduate and undergraduate students
Investment in Success
- Customized learning experience including innovative nursing projects, clinical practice, research scholarship, and fellowships
- Strong relationships with clinical partners and 1-on-1 mentorship to enhance clinical placements
- Outstanding professors provide personal attention and mentorship, with a majority of courses having small class sizes
- Understand the breadth of opportunities in nursing while also gaining skills needed for entry into the practice
- A collaborative community that shares a passion for healing people and communities and that challenges one another to promote the highest level of clinical excellence and ingenuity
- We help students understand their own beliefs, critically assess their own convictions and explore diverse perspectives to succeed in a complex world
Whole-Person Care
- Focus on addressing the physical, mental and spiritual needs of patients and the intersection of support systems, including families, communities and spirituality
- Develop an understanding of the continuum of care and the many factors affecting health (e.g. health care access, poverty, affordable housing, nutrition, environment, socioeconomic status, human behavior and more) to serve in diverse settings
- Students learn to provide a high-touch, empathetic approach to care to help reassure and comfort patients facing health challenges
- Opportunities to practice using informatics and health care technology while still providing high-touch care
- Integration of Catholic social teaching
- Dignity of life/humans
- The belief that every person deserves love and support
- Social justice
Health Equity for All
- Develop cultural humility and responsivity to address health needs in a respectful manner, bridging differences to enable effective health care
- Clinical experience in underserved urban and rural communities
- Service-learning opportunity included as part of the curriculum
- Learn to see family from the perspective of patients and who they define as family
- Learn to provide population-based health care, identify factors that influence poor outcomes and ways to address these issues, including outcomes-based analytics and systems-thinking
- Learn about health policy and regulations and their influence on nursing, and gain tools to champion systemic change
- Partnerships with civic advocacy organizations where students engage with policy
- Program access built to recruit student cohorts from a variety of backgrounds to diversify the nursing profession
- Partnerships with health systems, where those working in “supporting” roles have opportunities to extend their education and move into nursing roles
Clinical Excellence and Ingenuity
- Emphasis on ethical, evidence-based care, encompassing the science and art of nursing
- A strong scientific foundation that students apply in clinical placements across a range of health care settings, ensuring “real-world readiness”
- Gain professional and interpersonal skills to excel in the field and to support the well-being of the patients and communities nurses serve
- Co-creation of curriculum with community partners, including health systems, nonprofits and health experts to ensure students gain relevant skills for nursing practice
- Develop agility to continually improve performance in rapidly-changing environments
- An emphasis on continuous social innovation to improve and restore health and well-being
- Work with emerging technology to develop an adaptive mindset
- Curriculum includes the moral, ethical and legal challenges that accompany technology
Teamwork and Collaboration
- Interprofessional teamwork (beyond accreditation requirements) included as a core principle from its inception
- Develop leadership and communication skills working in teams to solve issues
- Work alongside social work, psychology and health science students to gain a first-hand understanding of the value of collaboration with other professions in promoting sustainable health and well-being
- Overlapping classes, clinical experiences and shadowing opportunities
- Graduate with confidence to identify the resources needed to improve outcomes
- Simulations, case studies and field placements within health and community settings
- Learn diverse roles for contemporary nursing: public health, disease prevention, home care, case management, etc.
- Explore administrative functions of health care (e.g., business, finance, analytics, public policy, law)
- Collaboration and mentorship opportunities between graduate and undergraduate students
Investment in Success
- Customized learning experience including innovative nursing projects, clinical practice, research scholarship, and fellowships
- Strong relationships with clinical partners and 1-on-1 mentorship to enhance clinical placements
- Outstanding professors provide personal attention and mentorship, with a majority of courses having small class sizes
- Understand the breadth of opportunities in nursing while also gaining skills needed for entry into the practice
- A collaborative community that shares a passion for healing people and communities and that challenges one another to promote the highest level of clinical excellence and ingenuity
- We help students understand their own beliefs, critically assess their own convictions and explore diverse perspectives to succeed in a complex world
Whole-Person Care
- Focus on addressing the physical, mental and spiritual needs of patients and the intersection of support systems, including families, communities and spirituality
- Develop an understanding of the continuum of care and the many factors affecting health (e.g. health care access, poverty, affordable housing, nutrition, environment, socioeconomic status, human behavior and more) to serve in diverse settings
- Students learn to provide a high-touch, empathetic approach to care to help reassure and comfort patients facing health challenges
- Opportunities to practice using informatics and health care technology while still providing high-touch care
- Integration of Catholic social teaching
- Dignity of life/humans
- The belief that every person deserves love and support
- Social justice
Health Equity for All
- Develop cultural humility and responsivity to address health needs in a respectful manner, bridging differences to enable effective health care
- Clinical experience in underserved urban and rural communities
- Service-learning opportunity included as part of the curriculum
- Learn to see family from the perspective of patients and who they define as family
- Learn to provide population-based health care, identify factors that influence poor outcomes and ways to address these issues, including outcomes-based analytics and systems-thinking
- Learn about health policy and regulations and their influence on nursing, and gain tools to champion systemic change
- Partnerships with civic advocacy organizations where students engage with policy
- Program access built to recruit student cohorts from a variety of backgrounds to diversify the nursing profession
- Partnerships with health systems, where those working in “supporting” roles have opportunities to extend their education and move into nursing roles
The Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing in The Morrison Family College of Health
Informed by Catholic social teaching, the University of St. Thomas Morrison Family College of Health educates health providers and leaders to skillfully, compassionately, and collaboratively advance the physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Meet the Executive Director
Dr. Annette Hines
Dr. Annette Hines brings over 40 years of nursing experience to St. Thomas. Dr. Hines previously served as a faculty member with Queens University of Charlotte since 2000. She was also a nurse scientist at Novant Health, served as chair for graduate studies for five years and as director of the Presbyterian School of Nursing for five years. Her research interests include health promotion in families with a child with chronic illness, asthma as a health disparity, and teaching strategies in classroom and clinical settings.
Featured Faculty
Heather Anderson
Assistant Director of Nursing Simulation Education
Heather Anderson is the assistant director of nursing simulation education for the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing. She joined St. Thomas from the HealthPartners Institute, where she served as lead simulation education specialist. She also has experience as a critical care nurse, medical/surgical nurse, and adjunct nursing faculty member.
Dr. Ashley Walker
Clinical Faculty & MSN Program Director
Dr. Ashley Walker obtained her DNP, MSN and RN at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and her BA at St. Olaf College. She is a practicing adult acute care nurse practitioner and a pediatric acute care nurse practitioner with clinical experience in emergency medicine, orthopedics and pediatrics. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, especially watching her three kids play their many sports.
Dr. Laura Ingalsbe
Assistant Professor & BSN Program Director
Dr. Ingalsbe comes to St. Thomas from Gustavus Adolphus College, where she taught clinical and didactic courses for the past six years. She believes students and newly licensed nurses need opportunities to practice in a supportive and psychologically safe learning environment where they can express ideas, apply new skills, and make mistakes without repercussions.
Laura Beasley
Clinical Faculty
With over 26 years of experience in healthcare, Laura Beasley has served in various roles, including medical assistant, Registered Nurse (bedside practice), leadership in higher education, and nurse education in the classroom, lab, and clinical environments.
Latest Updates
Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing Names New Executive Director
Dr. Annette Hines joins St. Thomas from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, where she has served as faculty member since 2000 and as director of the Presbyterian School of Nursing since 2019. She officially steps into the role in January 2024.
Society for Simulation in Healthcare Grants Provisional Accreditation
The Society for Simulation in Healthcare recently granted the University of St. Thomas Center for Simulation provisional accreditation.
Creating a Tech Center for Nursing
Simulators play a key role in educating a new generation of nurses at the University of St. Thomas in the new Center for Simulation.