Nursing Excellence
The Smart Start Nursing Pathway is a partnership between the College of Nursing and the South Carolina Honors College. Students who are accepted into the Honors College as incoming freshman and declare nursing as their major are automatically admitted into the Smart Start Pathway by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Students in the Smart Start Nursing Pathway have automatic admission into the upper division*. Smart Start students will complete dedicated nursing honors classes beginning freshman year. Students will have opportunities to impact patients and families through clinical work and research.
Studies will be enhanced by mentorship and innovative teaching strategies, including at our state-of-the-art simulation center. Students can benefit from education abroad experiences, gaining a deeper understanding of different health care systems.
Undergraduate Research
Students will have access to nurse scientists who are conducting cutting-edge research, expert nurse clinicians, and a network of 12,500+ nursing alumni who work across the nation and around the world. Students will join a college with exceptional graduate and doctoral programs focused on nursing practice, research and leadership.
Go deeper
- Program of study tailored to fit your interests and help you discover new ones.
- One-on-one academic mentoring and thesis preparation from College of Nursing honors faculty. Complete our mentor match form so we can help identify potential faculty mentors for your research experience.
- Opportunity to join either the Honors Community or the Galen Health Fellows, both offering enriching interprofessional living-learning experiences.
- Honors Community: Become part of a close-knit, academically motivated honors cohort with access to themed programming (such as sustainability, fine arts, and health), leadership events and in-hall study spaces.
- Galen Health Fellows: Learn and live alongside fellow nursing students, as well as other health science majors in a collaborative, health-focused environment.
- Learn from among the best in the field. Professors in this program are national and global experts in their fields.
- Embedded cohort model throughout pre-nursing allows students to form a community early within their major.
- Professional development events and enriching activities for Smart Start Nursing students across all four years.
- Recognition from the College of Nursing at Convocation.
*Reminder: To be eligible for the Smart Start Nursing Pathway, students must be accepted into the University of South Carolina Honors College as incoming freshmen. All accepted Honors College students who declare Pre-Nursing as their major will automatically be enrolled in the Smart Start Nursing Pathway. Smart Start Nursing students who are not successful in meeting Honors College requirements will lose their guaranteed status but will remain eligible for admission under the competitive upper division admissions process.
Smart Start students must complete CITI training before conducting research.
