Peru State College will have up to four student slots annually in the UNMC College of Nursing as an extension of UNMC’s Rural Health Opportunities Program. Since 2012, Peru State has been offered three student slots annually in the UNMC College of Pharmacy.
RHOP, which began in 1989, is designed to address the special needs of rural Nebraska by encouraging rural residents to pursue health care careers.
The agreement between the colleges will allow up to two eligible students to be accepted into the Lincoln division of the UNMC College of Nursing and up to two in the Omaha division.
Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, said expanding access to nursing education at Peru State College is an important approach to eliminating the shortage of registered nurses in rural parts of Nebraska.
“We thank Peru State College for their dedication to making these educational opportunities available to students and look forward to working with their faculty, staff and students on this important new initiative,” she said.
Peru State President Dan Hanson called the Rural Health Opportunities Program an important commitment to rural health care by UNMC.
“Peru State is proud to be a part of this prestigious program, which not only benefits our students but all of southeast Nebraska,” he said. “The quality and strength of our science program and our faculty, as well as the support of area health care providers, have been instrumental in securing these nursing RHOP seats. We look forward to building an even stronger relationship with UNMC and bringing more RHOP seats in more health care fields to southeast Nebraska.”
Prospective students must:
- Have a minimum 3.2 high school grade point average and score of 24 or higher on the ACT or 1270 or higher on the SAT.
- Be from a rural area, defined as living outside an “Urbanized Area” as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau (less than 50,000 people).
- Graduate from a Nebraska high school.
- Be committed to practicing in rural Nebraska.
If selected, students will receive a full tuition waiver while enrolled at Peru State and acceptance into the UNMC College of Nursing
Applications for the 2014 school year are available here. The deadline for applications is Dec. 1. Students will be notified the following spring if they are accepted into the program.
For more information about the RHOP program, click here.