Applications are now open for the first-ever graduate classes offered through the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis.

To encourage the best and brightest students to pursue graduate education, the school is offering generous financial support to each student admitted to the inaugural classes, which is made possible by the founding $100 million commitment from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

“I am delighted that the vision of UC Davis and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is becoming reality,” said Heather M. Young, associate vice chancellor for nursing for UC Davis Health System and founding dean for the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. “Together as partners, we will transform health care through nursing education, research and leadership. We seek students who want to make a difference, who want to lead the transformation of health care and who want to unleash the power and passion of nursing.”

The first classes at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing mark a significant achievement for UC Davis in its second century of service, said Chancellor Linda Katehi.

“All aspects of health care, from delivery to diagnostics and treatment to prevention, will be a significant focus for the next 100 years,” Katehi said. “UC Davis Health System continues to connect its excellence in health with other disciplines at the university. The addition of these graduate nursing programs will increase that impact, ultimately expanding our capability to positively affect the health of communities we serve locally, nationally and globally.”

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis was established following the 2007 $100 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The school opens in September through the Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Group, which offers Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Other degree programs, such as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, will be phased in over the coming years. This is the first doctoral nursing program to be offered in the inland Northern California and Central Valley areas.

Setting this graduate program apart from others, the Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Group prepares nurse leaders, researchers and faculty in a unique interdisciplinary and interprofessional environment. As with other graduate groups at UC Davis, this program engages faculty from across the campus with expertise in nursing, medicine, health informatics, nutrition, biostatistics, public health and other fields.

“This new graduate degree program builds on UC Davis’ strengths in collaborative and interdisciplinary graduate education,” said Jeffery Gibeling, dean of the UC Davis Office of Graduate Studies, which coordinates UC Davis’ 48 interdisciplinary graduate degree groups. “UC Davis is now providing an interdisciplinary Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership program that will play a key role in our contributions to the economic and social well-being of communities.”

The Ph.D. program prepares graduates to serve as health-care and health-policy leaders and nurse faculty/researchers at the university level. Graduates of the professional master’s degree program will be well prepared for health-care leadership roles in a variety of organizations and as nurse faculty at the community college and prelicensure education levels.

Young said the school seeks a diverse student population with varying backgrounds and work experiences; which is why the school is offering each student admitted generous financial support for tuition/fees and additional expenses. Master’s degree students will receive $6,700 per quarter for a minimum of five quarters and doctoral degree students will receive at least $20,000 per quarter for 12 quarters.

“Together with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, we are committed to supporting the development of the leaders of tomorrow,” Young said. “Substantial financial support will give talented students the opportunity to study at UC Davis.”

To learn more about the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and the Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Group, visit http://nursing.ucdavis.edu.

About the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis

For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and to transform the world. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis was established in March 2009, UC Davis' first major initiative to address society’s most pressing health-care problems in its second century of service. The school was launched through a $100 million commitment from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the nation’s largest grant for nursing education. The vision of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is to transform health care through nursing education and research. Through nursing leadership, the school will discover knowledge to advance health, improve quality of care and health outcomes, and inform health policy.

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is part of the UC Davis Health System, an integrated, academic health system encompassing UC Davis School of Medicine, the 613-bed-acute-care hospital and clinical services of UC Davis Medical Center and the 800-member physician group known as the UC Davis Medical Group.