The Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) provides the nation with the highest quality advanced practice nurse clinicians, scientists, and scholars dedicated to federal health service and health readiness. For more than 25 years, we have provided the nation with highly trained advanced practice nurse clinicians, scientists, and scholars uniquely prepared to lead in the military and federal healthcare systems.

We were originally founded in 1993 in response to pressing national concerns over the growing lack of independent nurse practitioners, clinical specialists, and other registered nurses with advanced graduate training. USU’s President at the time, Dr. James Zimble, heeded those warnings, and in his efforts to ensure patients in the federal services received the highest quality care, proposed establishing a Graduate School of Nursing alongside the nation’s military medical school. A mere four months after announcing his proposal, the first Family Nurse Practitioner students arrived on campus, and we have been growing steadily since.

The GSN DNP program prepares graduates in 5 specialty areas: AGCNS, FNP, WHNP, PMHNP, and Nurse Anesthesia. Our students and faculty explore and provide evidence-based solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the military and federal health systems. In addition, USU GSN graduates leave the university prepared to meet the needs of our healthcare agencies but also to provide exceptional, patient-focused care in extremely challenging environments, both here at home and across the globe.