Welcome to the JoAnne Gay Dishman School of Nursing. Our outstanding faculty, excellent Bachelor and Masters Programs, and great learning resources enable students to achieve their academic and career goals at Lamar University.

The School of Nursing offers Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Programs. If becoming a Registered Nurse is your goal, choose our Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program. If you are currently practicing and a Registered Nurse (RN), but do not have a bachelor's degree, the School also offers online RN-BSN and RN-MSN tracks.

For advanced preparation, we offer the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) online degree . You can specialize at the MSN level in either Nursing Administration or Nursing Education. There is also a dual degree MSN/MBA option.

We are proud to be the first endowed School at Lamar University and appreciate the added benefit of having wonderful benefactors. Our School also partners with over 90 clinical agencies to provide quality learning experiences in a variety of health care organizations. 

Students in our Dishman School of Nursing enjoy excellent learning opportunities through the advanced Simulation Program we provide.  The Simulation Program includes extensive experience in the Simulation Center, comprised of a High-Fidelity (high tech) Simulation Lab and two Low-Fidelity Clinical Skills Simulation Labs.  Through over two million dollars in external funding, the School of Nursing provides innovative learning experiences for students using high tech simulation equipment to gain confidence in clinical reasoning to address the needs of patients with complex health problems.  The High Fidelity Simulation Lab includes seven hospital patient rooms, an obstetric delivery room, an outpatient/clinic exam room, and an apartment for simulating home health visits.  In addition, the School of Nursing hires individuals as standardized patients to demonstrate complex health problems, so students can practice making clinical judgments regarding the nursing care needed.  The Low Fidelity Clinical Skills Simulation Labs provide students with 16 patient beds where students can practice and gain competency in performing clinical nursing skills.

We also provide educational support services to our students through The Caring Place. This nurse staffed area enables students to ask in-depth questions on a one-on-one basis and obtain additional assistance outside of class. Through The Caring Place, students can check out laptop computers with special supplemental software on numerous nursing topics. For on-campus and distance students, we provide a plethora of resources through the Virtual Caring Place which is accessible through LU Learn (Blackboard).

Undergraduate and graduate students benefit from faculty members’ research expertise on numerous topics ranging from international health care, domestic violence, reminiscence therapy, caring behaviors and presence with patients, just to name a few examples.

Students admitted into one our nursing programs can benefit from the numerous scholarships awarded by our School. You can review the different types of scholarships we offer under Students on the navigation bar on the left side of this page. In addition, we offer Graduate Assistantships for MSN students. You are encouraged to also contact the Lamar University Scholarship Office and Financial Aid Office to learn about additional financial opportunities to enable you to pursue your career goals.

We are proud of our graduates, and employers seek out our students for employment during School and after graduation. The Texas Board of Nursing has recognized the quality of our graduates by giving the Dishman School of Nursing numerous commendations for the outstanding pass rates of our students on the National Council Licensing Exam (also called state boards). 

As you can determine from these brief highlights, our undergraduate students gain the knowledge, skills and abilities to join the exciting field of nursing and graduate students are able to advance in their nursing careers. Please explore our web page and call us or send an e-mail to obtain additional information. This is an exciting time to be a nurse, and Lamar University Dishman School of Nursing can assist you in making your career goals a reality.