The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded the Rush University College of Nursing a $100,000 grant toward scholarships for the pre-licensure generalist entry master's program in nursing.

The program is designed for students with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree or higher. Students receive a generalist education in nursing at the graduate level, graduate with a master's degree and are eligible to apply for registered nurse licensure and clinical nurse leader certification.

Students will be eligible for The Robert Wood Johnson scholarships if they are African-American, Hispanic, American Indian or male (groups underrepresented in nursing) or they are from disadvantaged educational or financial backgrounds. Each student will receive $10,000, beginning in January 2011.

The College of Nursing will also provide $10,000 grants to additional students in the program who meet the same criteria and are in financial need.

"We believe these scholarships will make a significant impact in reducing student debt, while increasing the opportunity for diverse or disadvantaged students to receive a graduate education in nursing," said Lisa Rosenberg, director for academic advancement, associate professor in the Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing and one of the co-directors for this new grant.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing created The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing, a scholarship program to help alleviate the nursing shortage in the U.S. and increase the diversity of nursing professionals. Through grants to schools of nursing, the program provides scholarships to college graduates without nursing degrees who have been admitted into accelerated baccalaureate and master's nursing programs.