Northern’s School of Nursing prepares registered nurses at the pre-professional level, bachelor degree level, doctorate level nurses and advanced practice.
As early as 1939, nursing courses were offered at NMU as pre-professional courses designed to prepare future nurses for additional schooling. Between 1963 and 1968, a baccalaureate nursing program was developed. In 1969, a baccalaureate nursing curriculum was offered to students. Margaret Rettig and Lulu Ervast were instrumental in establishing the four-year nursing program at Northern.
The School of Nursing and Allied Health was created by the NMU Board of Control in 1968. In 1974, the name was changed to the School of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. The name was changed to College by Board action on July 1, 1992. Throughout that time period nursing and all related allied health programs, including all of the clinical sciences programs, were together as an administrative unit. In 2000, the College of Nursing and Allied Health was dissolved with the nursing programs creating the School of Nursing within the College of Professional Studies now called the College of Health Sciences and Professional Studies.
Nursing has always been one of the most popular majors at NMU. In fall 2007, it was the most popular undergraduate program with more than 580 bachelors and practical nursing students.
Source: A Sense of Time: The Encyclopedia of Northern Michigan University.