Brigid Lusk
Department Chair
The School of Nursing and Health Studies at NIU combines three strong programs to form a school which is energized by the research and teaching opportunities presented by nursing, public health, and health education programs.
Through its location, about an hour west of Chicago, NIU is well situated to attract and retain outstanding faculty researchers and well qualified students from the Northern Illinois region.
The large and respected NIU Nursing program is a regional leader in nursing education. Nursing’s award-winning faculty are engaged in gerontological, fatigue, rehabilitation, community health, nursing historical and nursing education research. The nursing program offers undergraduate and graduate coursework leading to the BS and MS in nursing. The graduate degree offers specializations in several areas of advanced practice nursing, community health, and nursing education. The school boasts a state-of-the-art Human Patient Simulation Laboratory, as well as multiple off-campus credit and continuing education programs.
Public Health programming at NIU is known for its large and vigorous undergraduate BS in Public Health and its fully accredited MPH program. The faculty research strengths lie in outcomes of treatment for substance abuse, aging issues and dementia, inequalities in health care access, obesity prevention and management, HIV AIDS prevention, and minority health. MPH students specialize in Health Promotion or Health Services Management.
Faculty in the school’s Health Education area research issues related to body image, sexuality education, and student wellness. This strong and growing program offers undergraduate coursework leading to the BS Ed in Health Education degree which allows graduates to apply for teacher certification.
Please continue to explore our site where you will find detailed explanations of our programs.
I hope to see you as a student here soon.
Brigid Lusk, PhD, RN
Professor and Chair