Frequently Asked Questions

• Georgia is facing a critical nursing workforce crisis, with a projected 21% shortfall in registered nurses by 2035. This widening gap is driven by a combination of factors, including an aging population, disparities in healthcare access between rural and urban communities, and a severe shortage of doctoral prepared nurse educators. With only 8.47 registered nurses per 1,000 residents, well below the national average of 9.43, Georgia is falling short in its ability to meet current and future healthcare needs.
• Georgia’s healthcare system urgently needs more nurses to keep pace with rising demand and ensure quality care for all residents. With a growing and aging population, increasing rates of chronic illness, and persistent nursing shortages in urban and rural areas, the state faces vital challenges that cannot be addressed without a strong and stable nursing workforce.
• The current and projected shortages threaten patient outcomes, strain existing staff, and limit access to care, especially in underserved communities. To build a healthier future, Georgia must invest in expanding nursing education, addressing faculty shortages, and creating pathways to recruit and retain qualified nurses.
• Strengthening the nursing workforce is essential to delivering high- quality, accessible, and effective healthcare for all Georgians.

The School of Nursing is projected to enroll its first class of students in Fall 2027.

Augusta University will teach-out students who enroll in the BSN program on the campus in Athens prior to Fall 2027, when UGA enrolls its first class of BSN students.

• UGA stands among a select group of institutions nationally that offer a comprehensive “One Health” portfolio, encompassing life sciences, plant sciences, medical sciences, and veterinary medicine. This integrated approach not only positions UGA as a leader in interdisciplinary research and education but also reinforces its role in addressing complex health challenges that intersect human, animal, and environmental systems.
• Further, Ph.D.-prepared nurses are crucial in driving healthcare innovation and advancing evidence-based practice. Georgia’ paucity of nursing Ph.D. programs and researchers may limit the state’s contributions to nursing science and the adoption of best care practices. States with robust research-focused nursing programs often lead to healthcare innovation.
• Georgia’s nursing faculty shortage has created a vicious cycle: Too few educators lead to limited nursing school enrollment, which contributes to an inadequate nurse supply and widespread healthcare gaps. Strategic investment is needed in the nursing education pipeline to break this cycle, focusing on Ph.D. programs that prepare future nurse educators. Strengthening these programs is essential to expanding faculty capacity and meeting the state’s growing healthcare needs.
• UGA demonstrates substantial institutional readiness and resources to launch a graduate-level nursing program successfully. UGA’s Carnegie R1: Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production classification underscores a strong and rapidly expanding research infrastructure, evidenced by $628.1 million in research expenditures in FY24. This robust research capacity provides an excellent foundation for a graduate nursing program with valuable research and doctoral mentoring components.

• Initially, the School of Nursing would be located at the site of the current Augusta University College of Nursing’s Athens Campus, which is in the renovated Kellett Building at 1905 Barnett Shoals Road. This facility supports undergraduate nursing education through a well-designed environment that aligns with national standards for nursing pedagogy and simulation-based learning. The building includes high capacity classrooms equipped with advanced audiovisual systems, ample power access, and reconfigurable layouts designed to facilitate active learning for up to 66 students per class.
• Long-term growth, such as expanding BSN enrollment and launching graduate programs, requires constructing a 67,000- square-foot School of Nursing facility on UGA’s Health Sciences Campus.

UGA maintains a presence in all 159 counties of Georgia and has developed robust partnerships with numerous rural communities and organizations. These collaborations exemplify UGA’s land-grant mission of public service and show UGA’s commitment to extending knowledge, resources, and support to every corner of the state.

• Many UGA undergraduates are interested in nursing and transfer to other institutions, signaling a missed opportunity to retain and cultivate homegrown talent.
• A significant portion of University of Georgia (UGA) students show early interest in health-related fields, with about 25% of incoming students indicating an interest in pre-health or pre-medicine. However, despite nearly 1,300 students expressing an initial interest in pre-medicine each year, only about 200 ultimately matriculate into MD programs. This gap underscores the importance of developing alternative health-related pathways, such as nursing, that align with students’ academic and career goals. Currently, 447 students at UGA are flagged as pre-nursing, and each year, 25–40 students transfer to nursing programs at other institutions, most often between their sophomore and junior years.