D'Youville College (Department of Nursing) - Overview
The College
D'Youville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts and professional college offering students a high-quality education in more than thirty undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Founded in 1908 by the Grey Nuns as the first college for women in western New York to offer baccalaureate degrees to women, it was named for their founder, Saint Marguerite D'Youville. The current enrollment is 3,000 men and women. Students' learning is facilitated by the low 14:1 student-faculty ratio. The College is committed to helping its students grow not only academically but also in the social and personal areas of their college experience.
The Department of Nursing
D'Youville College has been educating and preparing professional nurses for careers since 1942; the first Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) class graduated in 1946. In 1957, the RN to B.S.N. degree program was initiated, offering a specialized curriculum for the working professional nurse. All programs offered by the nursing department are fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the New York State Education Department.
The nursing faculty members are committed, dedicated educators who pride themselves on providing individual attention. Faculty members, the majority of whom are prepared at the doctoral level, represent diverse backgrounds, both clinically and educationally, providing numerous specialty areas for the students to draw upon.
Programs of Study
D'Youville College has been growing and attracting students from all over the world since 1908, playing a leadership role in the areas of professional health training. D'Youville offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, and students who are interested in pursuing careers in nursing also have the option of completing a dual-degree, five-year sequence to graduate with both a baccalaureate and a master's degree. It is a direct-entry program in which accepted students do not have to reapply or requalify for upper-division courses. The B.S.N. degree program combines a liberal arts foundation with professional nursing course work. Students begin their clinical experiences at area hospitals and health facilities in their sophomore year. Areas of clinical experience include geriatrics, pediatrics, OB/maternity, and medical/surgical nursing. To hone their clinical and research skills, students participate in internships during the summer of their junior year. The two-year RN to B.S.N. degree program includes an RN to B.S.N./M.S. option and an RN to B.S.N./M.S. in community health nursing option, in which RNs complete an additional year of study and graduate with both degrees. Convenient class scheduling provides working nursing professionals with the opportunity to study full-time by attending only two days a week. This alternative scheduling allows students to continue working in their professions while earning their degrees.
At the graduate level, nursing programs include the Master of Science (M.S.) in community health nursing, with concentrations in advanced clinical nursing, high-risk parents and children, nursing management, and nursing education; the M.S. in nursing, with choice of clinical focus; and the Master of Science in family nurse practitioner studies as well as a post-master's certificate in family nurse practitioner studies.
Affiliations with Health-Care Affiliations with Health-Care Facilities
Specific facilities with which D'Youville has affiliations include Catholic Health System, which encompasses Mercy Hospital of Buffalo and Kenmore Mercy Hospital; Erie County Medical Center; WNY's Level I Trauma and Burn Center; Buffalo Psychiatric Center; Kaleida Health Care System, which comprises Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo General Hospital, Millard Fillmore Hospital, and the Visiting Nurses Association of Western New York; BryLin Hospital; and the world-renowned Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
Academic Facilities
D'Youville's modern Library Resource Center, which was completed in 1999, contains 154,000 volumes, including microtext and software and subscriptions to 870 periodicals and newspapers. The multimillion-dollar Dr. Pauline M. Alt Building houses laboratories, including those for anatomy, organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, and computer science. It also houses classrooms, faculty offices, and development centers, including one for career development. In addition, an academic center opened in 2001.
Location
D'Youville is situated on Buffalo's residential west side. The College is within minutes of many social attractions, including the downtown shopping center, the Kleinhans Music Hall, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, two museums, and several theaters that offer stage productions. Seasonal changes in the area offer a variety of recreational opportunities. Buffalo is only 90 miles from Toronto and 25 minutes from Niagara Falls.
Student Services
The College offers a full range of student services. The D'Youville Freshman Experience (DFX) is designed to help make the students' first year exciting, fun, and challenging. At orientation, students are assigned a College mentor and register for the FOCUS Freshmen Seminar. There are also activities and leadership opportunities (D'Youville Leads) as well as a peer mentor program coordinated through the Leadership Development Institute. The College also has a Career Services Center, the Learning Center, the Multicultural Affairs Office, and the Personal Counseling Center. A new apartment residence opened in January 2005.
The Nursing Student Group
D'Youville has both traditional and nontraditional students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds in the nursing program, enhancing the educational and social experiences. Nursing organizations on campus include the National Student Nurse Association (NSNA), which is open to all nursing students. Students who excel academically may be invited to join the Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
Costs
For 2009-10, tuition was $9900 per semester, and room and board cost $4900 per semester. A $230 general College fee is required and is based on credit hours taken. Graduate tuition for 2009-10 was $725 per credit hour. Students in the B.S.N./M.S. programs pay undergraduate tuition.
Financial Aid
All students enrolled in the RN degree-completion program are offered a 50 percent tuition reduction. Ninety percent of D'Youville freshmen receive financial aid. This includes nearly $2 million in grants and scholarships. Grants include Federal Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, the New York State Tuition Assistance Program, and the Aid for Part-Time Study Program. The Federal Work-Study Program, federally insured loans, and flexible payment plans are also available. All applicants are reviewed for academic scholarships at the time of acceptance. D'Youville's new Instant Scholarship Program offers scholarships with total values up to $62,000 for undergraduate and dual-degree programs.
Applying
D'Youville admits students on a rolling admission basis; therefore, applications are reviewed as they are received by the Admissions Office. Undergraduate applicants must submit a completed application along with a $25 processing fee; official high school transcripts or, for transfer students, official transcripts from colleges previously attended; SAT or ACT scores; and letters of recommendation.
Applicants to the master's program must present a baccalaureate degree in nursing from an accredited college or university program; a valid New York state or provincial license to practice nursing; evidence of an undergraduate course in statistics and an undergraduate course in computer science or its equivalent; and evidence of capability to succeed in a graduate program, as shown by an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 (based on a 4.0 system); an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 2.7, with a 3.0 or better in the upper half of undergraduate work; an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 2.7, with a 3.0 or better in the major field; or a baccalaureate degree in nursing plus a master's degree in another field from an accredited college or university with an overall GPA of at least 3.5. Candidates for the post-master's certificate program in family nurse practitioner studies must have a master's degree in nursing.
Correspondence and Information
Department of Nursing
D'Youville College
320 Porter Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14201-9985
Phone: 716-829-7613
Fax: 716-829-8159
E-mail: admissions@dyc.edu
Web site: http://www.dyc.edu