UNC School of Nursing receives $2.7 million from the state to prepare more nurses

Chapel Hill, N.C. – The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing received nearly $2.7 million from the University of North Carolina System Office as part of a legislative goal to increase the number of nursing graduates in the state by 2026. 

The school will use this funding to expand enrollment in its degree programs by up to 50 percent in the future, employ more nursing faculty, outfit the upcoming Nursing Education Building with world-class simulation equipment and technology and establish new prelicensure pathways, allowing students to obtain a nursing degree on an accelerated timeline. 

Dean Valerie Howard, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, said this funding aligns with the school’s new strategic plan to foster responsible growth and to fulfill its core mission to advance health for all. 

“Nurses are vital to the health and well-being of our state, and we don’t have enough of them. Expanding enrollment is a critical component of combatting the nursing workforce shortage in North Carolina, and as a recognized leader in nursing education worldwide, Carolina Nursing is uniquely positioned to meet this growing need for our population,” she said. “With this important investment from the System, we can sizably increase the pipeline of the nation’s best nurses and improve care and access for the patients they will serve.” 

UNC’s nursing programs are continually ranked as some of the best in the country, most recently No. 4 for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs and in the top ten for graduate nursing programs, according to U.S. News & World Report, which also ranks the school’s nursing administration, family nurse practitioner, psych-mental health nurse practitioner master’s and doctoral programs among the nation’s best.  

“Nurses are vital to the health and well-being of our state, and we don’t have enough of them. Expanding enrollment is a critical component of combatting the nursing workforce shortage in North Carolina, and as a recognized leader in nursing education worldwide, Carolina Nursing is uniquely positioned to meet this growing need for our population.”

Dean Valerie Howard, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN

In 2026, the school will open a new Nursing Education Building, a 110,000 square-foot facility equipped with the latest technologies to enable graduates to enter the workforce equipped to provide the kind of innovative and compassionate care patients deserve. This building will help expand the size of our programs and allow the school to recruit more exceptional nursing leaders to the faculty. 


About the UNC School of Nursing 

Established in 1950, the UNC School of Nursing is part of a cutting-edge, research-intensive university with top-ranked schools of medicine, public health, pharmacy, dentistry and social work located just steps away and adjacent to the renowned UNC Hospitals. A globally top-ranked public school of nursing, Carolina Nursing provides a diverse, energetic and collegial environment for participating in world-class interprofessional education, scientific inquiry and practice opportunities. The school offers BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD degree programs, and post-graduate certificate programs. As a leading provider of bedside nurses and nurse practitioners, educators, researchers and leaders devoted to public health and access, the UNC School of Nursing is uniquely positioned to serve the front lines of the most pressing health care challenges we face today. 

For more information, visit nursing.unc.edu