Historically Black Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Florida College of Nursing have entered into an agreement that allows up to five students from the state’s first historically Black college or university to join the University of Florida’s College of Nursing’s accelerated bachelor’s degree program in nursing at the university’s Jacksonville campus.
The accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing program is designed for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in another field to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The selected students would take their prerequisite courses at Edward Waters University, followed by the rest of the required courses at the nearby University of Florida Jacksonville campus.
Edward Waters University does not have a nursing program. This partnership gives qualified biological sciences majors at Edward Waters University who are interested in a nursing career the option to pursue a nursing degree at the University of Florida. This is the first partnership between an HBCU and the University of Florida College of Nursing.
“We are tremendously excited to enter this historic and incredibly impactful partnership with the University of Florida’s College of Nursing,” said A. Zachary Faison Jr., president of Edward Waters University. “We believe that this first-of-its-kind focused academic and health-related collaborative initiative between EWU and UF will operate to positively address our state’s growing need for more nursing and health care professionals overall and support the increasing promulgation of the same, particularly amongst African-Americans and other communities of color.”
