The University of Southern California (USC),  one of the world's leading private research universities, and 2U, Inc., an education technology company that partners with top colleges and universities to bring their degree programmes and credit-bearing courses online, announced plans to develop an online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) for aspiring family nurse practitioners (FNPs). Programme graduates will help meet the increasing nationwide demand for advanced practice nurses in primary care settings.

The MSN programme, which will be called Nursing@USC, has a projected class start in fall 2016 and will be offered through the USC School of Social Work’s newly created Department of Nursing. Through 2U’s state-of-the art learning management system, the online programme will provide registered nurses across the country the opportunity to participate in live, face-to-face classes with fellow students and USC faculty. Each student also will engage in multiple clinical rotations in a variety of health care settings to gain experience assessing, diagnosing and managing health problems across the patient lifespan. These clinical rotations will be selected and supervised by USC faculty.

The USC School of Social Work’s Department of Nursing aims to be a leader in addressing health care needs in the context of society, combining the nursing profession’s traditional scientific foundation, holistic approach and commitment to competent care with the wide-ranging vision and expertise of social work. These unique capabilities will position students to apply new understanding of the biological, socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral and social factors that influence health to practical interventions on behalf of patients, particularly those in vulnerable populations.

“The USC Department of Nursing will provide students with an unmatched and exceptional educational experience through an approach to nurse practitioner training that emphasizes nursing’s core traditions while infusing dynamic new fluency and consideration for the social influences on patient health,” said Dean Marilyn Flynn.

The FNP curriculum will go through internal review and then be submitted for accreditation by both the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.