There are many universities that offer online nursing degree. One of them is the University of Illinois Online, which was formed in 1997. The Online Nursing Degree was offered by the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

To earn the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, students are required to complete 120 credit hours. This can be earned from Associate's Degree in Nursing program, transferable literal arts and science credit hours and the nursing coursework from the Online Nursing Degree in University of Illinois.

Most of the students who register for the Online Bachelor Degree in Nursing in University of Illinois had already satisfied the prerequisites as part of their Associate's Degree in Nursing (ADN). They then only need to take four to six courses beyond their AND and/or Registered Nurse licensure.

The curriculum of the 30-credit-hour online nursing degree consists of Health Assessment, Concepts/Processes for Contemporary Nursing, Clinical Concepts/Processes in Population-Focused Nursing, Exploring Complementary/Alternative Practices, Introduction to Nursing Research/Statistics for Evidence-Based Practice, Nursing Informatics, Nursing Leadership and Management in Health Care and Issues in Nursing Practice.

To be admitted into the online nursing degree, candidates must have an overall transferable GPA of 2.5 and natural science transferable GPA of 2.0 to 4.0 scale and a current Registered Nurse license. Students must also complete some Liberal Arts ad Sciences courses.

Candidates are also required to complete some of the following courses, depending on whether the student is enrolled into the online nursing degree prior or after September 2009: Cultural Diversity; Social Sciences; Humanities; Understanding the Individual & Society; Understanding the Past; Understanding the Creative Arts; Exploring World Cultures; or Understanding U.S. Society.

Students must also complete an upper division science or social science or humanities course, which may be taken concurrently while enrolled at the Global Campus.

International students would have to submit satisfactory TOEFL scores and a Full Education Course-by-Course Report Evaluation of Foreign Credentials from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS).

The tuition and fees of the Online Nursing Degree are $18,495 for Illinois residents and $20,550 for non-Illinois students.

Some of the financial aids available for the online nursing degree include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct loan, Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, Graduate PLUS loan, Federal SMART Grant and the State of Illinois Monetary Assistance Program Grant (for Illinois residents).

The University of Illinois Online Global Campus also offers a self-guided Virtual Career Development Center. The Career Development Center enable you to use the interactive tools and resources to assist you with:

" Gaining Self-Awareness (identification of interests, skills, values, etc.)

" Options to Explore (occupations, labor markets, companies, etc.)

" Active Decision Making (interviewing, corporate shadowing, mentoring, networking, etc.)

" Launching your Career (job search, job interviewing, salary negotiation, job offer evaluation, etc.)

" Self-Reflection (evaluating current employment status, career transition, career path, etc.)

The University of Illinois Online provides Transfer Guide for the following colleges: College of DuPage, College of Lake County, Danville Area Community College, Elgin Community College, Harper College (William Rainey Harper College), Highland Community College, John A. Logan College, Joliet Junior College, Kankakee Community College, Oakton Community College, Parkland College, Richland Community College, Sauk Valley Community College, Shawnee Community College, Triton College and the Truman College (Harry S. Truman College).

To sum up, the University of Illinois Online Nursing Degree does not require any residency at campus and is delivered entirely online. However, potential students have to complete many prerequisite courses prior to acceptance to the online nursing degree.