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The Kentucky State University Board of Regents met on campus Monday, Feb. 24, and took action on two proposed degree programs. The board approved the Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Behavioral Sciences and the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program.

The university began work on developing the Doctor of Nursing Practice program following the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ approval of KSU’s move from a Level III to Level V classification, so that KSU can now offer up to three doctoral degree programs. SACS is the regional accrediting body of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.

Housed in the School of Nursing, the nursing practice program will be offered online with a focus on gerontology. Students accepted into the doctoral program must have earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and have an active registered nurse license. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examinations in geriatric content through the American Credentialing Nurses Center.

KSU’s new master’s degree program in Interdisciplinary Behavioral Science will have a concentration in psychology and law/forensic psychology. The program will be the first graduate-level degree program offered by the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The university anticipates the program will accept 12 full-time and six part-time students this fall. With this graduate degree, the psychology graduates could work in a number of fields, including in the health care industry and the criminal justice system.