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Two VCU School of Nursing online graduate programs are among the best in the country in their categories, according to new rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The magazine’s annual rankings of “Best Online Programs,” released Jan. 25, placed VCU at No. 9 for Nursing Administration Programs and No. 20 for Best Online Master’s in Nursing.

Laura Stevens discovered she was interested in women’s health and childbirth during her service in the United States Army. But it wasn’t until she began working in the lab of Virginia Commonwealth University researcher Patricia Kinser, Ph.D., that she was able to connect that interest with research. Stevens, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and will graduate this month with an Accelerated B.S. in Nursing degree from the VCU School of Nursing, has been helping Kinser test an app for pregnant and postpartum individuals to see if self-management of their pregnancy has an effect on perinatal and postpartum mood disorder.

VCU School of Nursing ranked at No. 23 on the U.S. News and World Report undergraduate nursing programs list for 2022, putting the school in the top 4% of 694 ranked programs.

A decade ago, Stephanie Buxhoeveden was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It changed her life. At the time, she was a competitive athlete and a successful critical care nurse in neurology. Now, Buxhoeveden, 34, is a Ph.D. candidate at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing and has dedicated her career to understanding and treating the disease. To help in that effort, in July Buxhoeveden became one of just four nurse practitioners nationwide to earn a grant this year from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, which will help fund her research.

A new offering at Virginia Commonwealth University will provide students who have earned a bachelor’s in nursing a streamlined, more affordable way to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, the highest clinical nursing degree. The State Council of Education for Virginia recently approved the VCU School of Nursing to offer a post-baccalaureate pathway to its Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program, with applications opening this fall. VCU’s new B.S. to DNP program allows students to take master’s- and doctoral-level courses in the same program to earn their DNP degree faster. Application opens Sept. 1 for enrollment in fall 2022.

The School of Nursing recognized 201 new graduates at the Spring 2021 Commencement Ceremony on May 14 at the Siegel Center. This was the first in-person graduation since the COVID-19 pandemic.