The School of Nursing, a baccalaureate program, was authorized in 1977. In 1978, the School was granted both state and national provisional accreditation and admitted the first students into the program. The initial curriculum was developed for generic baccalaureate students and non-baccalaureate registered nurses to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Full state accreditation was granted with the first graduating class in 1981 and national accreditation was received in 1982 from the National League for Nursing.

In 1993, the School of Nursing received appropriated funds by the Mississippi State Legislature to begin a master's program to assist in alleviating the shortage of nursing faculty and nurse practitioners in the rural Delta area. The first graduate nursing students were enrolled in January 1995 and graduated in December 1995 with 100% passing on the national certification exams. The Nurse Administrator track was added in the Fall 1999, at the request of health care administrators in the Delta. In October 1999, the School of Nursing received continuing accreditation for the baccalaureate program and initial accreditation for the master’s program from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.

The School was the first program in the state to receive national accreditation from the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education, that “ensures the quality & integrity of baccalaureate and graduate education program preparing effective nurses.” Retrieved June 26, 2002, from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/accreditation/standrds.htm