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Accelerated Options

Fast-track into the nursing profession.

Students in our accelerated programs benefit from the same world-class faculty, research opportunities, clinical experiences, and general advantages a Penn Nursing education has to offer. These programs typically suit students with ambition to expedite their education in order to enter a chosen career path as soon as possible.

Program OptionsStudents in the Penn Nursing Sim Lab, 2011

The BSN Second Degree Program  is designed for students who already have a non-nursing baccalaureate degree. It allows students to capitalize on their completed education and frees them to focus completely on their nursing studies.

The Direct Entry BSN/MSN Program is for students who know from the start that they’d like to pursue a specific master’s specialty and are not planning to work between earning their BSN and MSN degrees.

Our Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation is designed for highly motivated students to move directly from our bachelor’s program into completing their PhD in Nursing.

**The Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is coming to an end and we are no longer accepting applications.**

Why Our Accelerated Program?

  • <div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,105,560,665/9602_David_Norris.rev.1564000194.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9602 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,105,560,665/9602_David_Norris.rev.1564000194.jpg 2x" data-max-w="560" data-max-h="840"/>Penn Nursing offers Returned Peace Corps Volunteers an opportunity to apply for the Coverdell Fellowship, which has allowed me to share and reflect upon my experiences from my host country of Ethiopia. Aside from this, the school offers state-of-the-art simulation experiences, intimate clinical rotations, and global opportunities. As students here, we refine our skills and think innovatively before we even get our first job as a nurse…and if we want to transition into the advanced practice programs, the process is really easy. In my career as a nurse, I hope to incorporate my background in exercise science and global public health into my everyday patient care, ultimately practicing as a CRNA in underserved populations across the US and internationally.</p><p> – David Norris</p></div>
  • <div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,646,2133,2777/9550_Penn_Nursing_ad-166.rev.1561406069.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9550 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,646,2133,2777/9550_Penn_Nursing_ad-166.rev.1561406069.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,646,2133,2777/9550_Penn_Nursing_ad-166.rev.1561406069.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="3200"/>Why did I choose Penn Nursing’s Accelerated program? I was immediately enticed by the School’s state of the art <a href="/academics/a-penn-nursing-education/learning-through-simulation/">simulation facilities</a>, the opportunities for a <a href="/global-health/student-opportunities/">global experience</a>, and the draw for an intellectually engaging educational experience. I also wanted to be part of a school that believed in fostering interdisciplinary partnerships, as I appreciate the diversity of perspectives other disciplines would add to my nursing experience. Choosing Penn Nursing’s ABSN program was the most efficient path for me as it offered me a BSN within 1.5 years, and the flexibility to complete my <a href="/family/">Family Nurse Practitioner Program</a> within 5 years time, which is critical in helping me develop my nursing expertise.</p><p> –Christina Yee</p></div>
  • <div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,217,2133,2348/9549_Penn_Nursing_ad-65.rev.1561406069.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9549 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,217,2133,2348/9549_Penn_Nursing_ad-65.rev.1561406069.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,217,2133,2348/9549_Penn_Nursing_ad-65.rev.1561406069.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="3200"/>Being a student in the Accelerated program has provided me with so many opportunities! I’m the leader of the Baby Transitions initiative under the <a href="/community-champions/">Community Champions</a> program, and had an opportunity to teach a Baby Basics class focusing on discharge and safe transitions home. While in the Accelerated program, I’ve also been able to provide breastfeeding education, and facilitate parent time, with a focus on developmental milestones for babies of parents in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve shadowed Certified Nurse Midwives who are current faculty members and alumni of the program. I was also a research assistant in the <a href="/chopr/">Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research</a> at Penn Nursing, assisting with various research projects on inequalities in healthcare. Lastly, I began working as a Women’s Health Clinical Research Assistant within the <a href="https://www.pennmedicine.org/departments-and-centers/obstetrics-and-gynecology/divisions/reproductive-endocrinology-and-infertility" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Penn Medicine</a>. </p><p> –Danielle Hounshell</p></div>
  • <div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="250" height="250" alt="" data-decoration="true" src="/live/image/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,55,560,614/9600_Abigail_Shiroff.rev.1564000163.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image9600 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/27/width/250/height/250/crop/1/src_region/0,55,560,614/9600_Abigail_Shiroff.rev.1564000163.jpg 2x" data-max-w="560" data-max-h="840"/>I describe my time at Penn as drinking from a fire hydrant. With access to such a large hospital system as well as so many experts at our fingertips, plus the various clinical experiences and skills that we get to apply to diverse clinical populations, there really is no end to what you can learn. One of my favorite experiences since I’ve been here was taking part in the iLEAPP program with the Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and the University of the Sciences pharmacy school. We followed a patient for a year and half and saw the medical system from their perspective. I loved it—getting to know what my peers in medical and pharmacy school learn and where they are coming from in their educations has really helped my relationships in the clinical setting.</p><p> – Abigail Shiroff</p></div>

Admissions contacts:

Filomena Circelli
Associate Director of Enrollment Management
Accelerated (Second Degree, BSN/MSN, RN Return) & Transfer Programs
(215) 573-3047
filomena@nursing.upenn.edu

General Admissions Inquiries
(215) 898-4271
admissions@nursing.upenn.edu