BSN Honors Program

Pre-licensure BSN students in the Freshman Direct-Entry, Albuquerque or Rio Rancho Campus (sophomore entry) options are eligible for the BSN Honors program.

The BSN Honors program is designed to provide students with unique opportunities to enrich their BSN education through active engagement and immersive, mentored experiences in a broad range of nursing scholarship. This includes nursing research and leadership skills, translating evidence into nursing practice, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Elevate Your Nursing Journey

Students will have opportunities to cultivate leadership skills and values through community service learning and Honors program activities.

The BSN Honors program also provides opportunities for the development of foundational skill as a researcher in your area of interest and for graduate education.

The program is designed not only to promote nursing scholarship but also to support students in growing and excelling in their intellectual and professional journey.

Why enroll in the BSN Honors program?

Work directly with a faculty member or a community leader on a meaningful scholarly project.
Engage with faculty and community leaders in small group settings.
Learn through Honors seminars and other scholarly activities.
Collaborate with other motivated, talented and creative undergraduate students.
Develop and refine scientific writing and presentation skills.
Build a strong academic toolkit in preparation for successful graduate study.

What does the BSN Honors program involve?

Two Pathways

Selected Pre-licensure BSN students in the Freshman Direct-Entry, Albuquerque or Rio Rancho Campus (sophomore entry) options have two pathways to earning Departmental Honors in nursing.

Pathway A

Earn a Certificate in Honors Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts from the UNM Honors College and College of Nursing Departmental Honors.

Students complete:

6 credit hours of honors study at the College of Nursing:
- NURS 495 Honors Seminar in Nursing
- NURS 496 Honors Capstone in Nursing
9 additional credit hours from the UNM Honors College
A final capstone project with a scholarly product, such as a scientific poster and/or written paper, along with an oral presentation at a scholarly venue.

Students completing this program earn both a Certificate in Honors Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts from the UNM Honors College and College of Nursing Departmental Honors.

Pathway B

Earn College of Nursing Departmental Honors ONLY.

Students complete:

6 credit hours of honors study at the College of Nursing:
- NURS 495 Honors Seminar in Nursing
- NURS 496 Honors Capstone in Nursing
9 additional hours of coursework and/or nursing-designated honors experiences approved by the Honors Program Coordinator
A final capstone project with a scholarly product, such as a scientific poster and/or written paper, along with an oral presentation at a scholarly venue.

Students completing this program earn College of Nursing Departmental Honors.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for the BSN Honors program, students must meet the following criteria:

Be accepted into the UNM College of Nursing Pre-licensure BSN program through the Freshman Direct-Entry, Albuquerque or Rio Rancho Campus (sophomore entry) option. Students in the Accelerated BSN or Dual-Degree BSN options are not eligible at this time. Students accepted into the UNM BSN Honors program are dually accepted by the UNM Honors College.

A minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA.
Complete and submit the BSN Honors program application, which includes several essays on service to others, scholarly curiosity and leadership. Applications are reviewed by a College of Nursing faculty panel.

APPLICATION COMING SOON!

BSN Honors Contact

Office of Admissions & Recruitment

College of Nursing
Building 214
Suite 1501
1 University of New Mexico

505-272-4721

HSC-CON-Admissions@salud.unm.edu

Mindy Tinkle, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, CNE, FAAN
BSN Honors Program Coordinator
Associate Professor
mtinkle@salud.unm.edu