Honors Program

Why Honors Nursing?

• Academic and social interactions with other Honors students
• Live in Honors dorm
• Smaller Classes
• More interaction with faculty
• Involvement with faculty research
• Anatomy lab section includes cadaver lab
• Additional clinical experiences earlier in the curriculum
• Clinical experiences at multiple sites during senior year courses

Please download the current Nursing Honors Program Curriculm here.

Please download the current Nursing Honors Award and Degree Opportunities here.

What our honors students are saying:

• We had the rare opportunity to perform a cadaver dissection in the anatomy lab and it was an amazing experience. We took a field trip to the Body Worlds exhibit in Pharmacology, then we picked something that grabbed us and wrote a paper on the subject and the experience as a whole. In Community we got a behind the scenes look at nursing public policy by working on a local campaign for a nurse attorney. This helped us to envision the role of the nurse outside of the hospital. For my individual honors contract, I visited a local funeral home and was given a behind the scenes look at the funeral process. This included the following: pertinent forms needed, the embalming process, reconstructive makeup, cremation, burial and service options. I presented my experience to the class as part of a formal presentation which opened the floor for discussion. On the last class, many students voiced their wish to have been offered the same experience.
  – Marissa Alligood Merson, candidate for Honors Degree with Distinction, Class of 2012
• "I think that honors nursing is a great experience. I was originally hesitant to do the Honors Program here at Delaware, but I am so thankful that I did. I loved living in the honors dorms with students from all different majors, but still having the honors commonality with them."
  – Colleen O'Connor, Class of 2014
• The nursing program is undeniably challenging, but it also includes so many awesome opportunities to expand your reach as an individual, particularly if you are in the honors program! I am currently pursing Honors Nursing with a Chinese minor as well as fulfilling pre-medical prerequisites. Nursing can be a tough major to pursue, but if that's what you're designed to do, it is always worth it. As advice, definitely come to school with the mentality of working extremely hard, knowing that your career will help others thrive and even survive. How incredible is that!"
  – Jenny Fei, change of major, premed, Class of 2014
• "Being an honors student in the nursing program adds a fun flair to an already top notch program. I'd say the best part about being in the Honors Program is the relationships I've developed with my professors. No doubt, being in the honors program makes you a step ahead in getting yourself to stand out in the UD nursing community!
  – Brittany Drazich, Class of 2013
  
• "The honors program within the school of nursing has allowed me to expound upon what I am learning in class. The extra projects, field experiences, and "hands-on" learning experiences have challenged me and pushed me to better understand the material and apply it practically!
  – Emily Holian, Class of 2013
• "I was able to get access to clinical experiences before most of my classmates, which proved very beneficial. I specifically enjoyed the pharmacology experience where we were able to get into a hospital pharmacy, and watch medications be prepared. In addition, we then got to choose a medication we were interested in and watch it be administered. Overall, I found the honors program very useful and helpful throughout my years. It truly expanded my knowledge and allowed me the opportunity to grow.
  – Jaci Crowley, Class of 2011
• "With several classes, including health assessment and pharmacology, we were able to participate in extra field experiences in the hospital and various health settings. I was able to spend a day at Nurses N’ Kids, a facility that provides day care along with medical care for children with chronic conditions. I was also able to spend extra time observing the Operating Room at AI duPont Hospital for Children, and had experience observing cardiac diagnostic testing, such as stress tests and endoscopies. For our psychosocial nursing clinical, the honors section was able to have two extra experiences besides the normal four-week long clinical at an in-patient facility. We were able to spend time at a facility for eating disorders and a facility for alcohol and drug abuse treatment. Both of these experiences enhanced our clinical, and I felt that I was able to see a greater variety of facilities available for mental health disorders. Overall, the honors program for nursing allowed us to enhance our classroom and clinical time with extra field experiences, research, and discussions. I feel that being in the honors program as a nursing student was a beneficial and important experience at the University of Delaware for me.
  – Elizabeth (Liz) McLean, Class of 2011

• "I have absolutely loved having an honors nursing experience at UD. It has allowed me to work closely with professors, engage in small group discussions with other students, and have opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. Because of the Honors Program, I dissected a cadaver as a freshman, interviewed nurses at the National Institute of Health as a sophomore, spent time in the NICU as a junior, and experienced Psych nursing at multiple settings instead of just one as a senior."
  – Sarah LaFave, Candidate for Honors Degree with Distinction, Class of 2011
  Sarah founded the organization “Lori’s Hands” in her memory of her mother, at the University of Delaware in 2009. Lori’s Hands volunteers serve elderly individuals and families affected by chronic illness.

The School of Nursing Honors Program builds on and reflects the UD Honors Program. The program values and promotes unique opportunities for the Honors students including increased depth of exploration of course content, working side-by-side with faculty on their research, experiencing clinical practice at more than one site for a course. In addition, the Honors students have initiated and been major contributors to service-learning endeavors.