Welcome to the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions. For more than 50 years, we have educated more than 12,500 health professionals to serve at the frontline of health care. Our vision is to become the premier school of the education of health professionals in the Southeast.

A Lewis College health care education provides excellent job opportunities with undergraduate and graduate degree programs in health informatics, nursing, nutrition, respiratory therapy, field-entry-level doctorate programs in occupational therapy and physical therapy and a new B.S. degree bridge program in dental hygiene. In addition, our college offers an associate degree program in nursing through Perimeter College and the doctor of nursing practice and doctor of philosophy in nursing, making Georgia State the only university in Georgia to offer the full breadth of nursing education. We are also developing a health pathway for Perimeter students to transition into our health science degree programs.

The Lewis College offers, in partnership with the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, entry into the dynamic field of health informatics through an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree. In addition, we partner with two other colleges to offer terminal degrees in nutrition and physical therapy – the Ph.D. in chemistry with a nutritional sciences concentration and the Ph.D. in kinesiology with a rehabilitation concentration.

With these diverse academic programs, our college has experienced substantial growth. Despite the past year’s challenges, our credit hours are up 7.3 percent over Spring 2020 and 13.2 percent higher than Spring 2019. We also witnessed nearly 26 and 33 percent growth in credit hours for spring and fall semesters, respectively, over the past five years. Our new laboratories and classrooms are ready for the next phase of growth in the coming decade.

The Lewis College faculty delivers innovative teaching, immersing students in active, simulation and experiential learning. Graduates of all academic units are in high demand, so we implemented measures to increase the number and variety of graduates without sacrificing quality. We maintain clinical partnerships with various hospitals and health care providers ranging from Atlanta’s largest hospital, Grady Memorial, to up-and-coming health information technology corporations such as Athenahealth. These partnerships allow our students to have the best clinical and internship opportunities. We also use sophisticated virtual simulation models in place of some clinical experiences our students missed during the pandemic. Our bridge degree programs help health professionals in lower-paying jobs receive the baccalaureate education needed for new jobs and strengthen hospital patient care quality.

Lewis College students participate in research, present their findings, and receive college, university, and national recognition for their professional work. Our faculty receive grant support from federal, state, and private agencies for research that impacts the daily lives of individuals and communities. The Lewis College offers intramural award programs to aid faculty and students in research success. We also support non-tenure-track faculty with the Lewis College Teacher-Scholar Academy, promoting faculty excellence in their teaching and scholarship.

The Lewis College boasts a diverse faculty and student population. We are proud to say our graduates mirror the community they will serve, whether by race, gender, age, religion, or personal experience. This diversity is leveraged in service to the community. For example, nursing students and faculty give back-to-school physicals to homeless children and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations to the Georgia State students, faculty and staff. In south Georgia, physical therapy students provide treatment for musculoskeletal conditions to migrant farmworkers; in metro Atlanta, respiratory therapy students educate the public on lung disease and support stop-smoking efforts. In partnership with the Office of Student Success, nutrition students assist the university’s food-insecure students through Panther’s Pantry.

Our degree programs receive high marks for student success. The Department of Respiratory Therapy received the Apex Award by the American Association of Respiratory Care twice for achieving a 100 percent pass rate on licensure examinations over multiple years. Occupational therapy graduates maintained a 100 percent pass rate for their licensure exam, a rate held since the program’s inception. All our programs maintain licensure pass rates above national averages.

We are proud to be part of the Georgia State family, what the New York Times calls an innovative engine of social mobility, and U.S. News and World Reports ranks as the third most innovative university in the nation.

We are privileged to educate the next generation of health care professionals and are proud of the accomplishments of our students and alumni. Learn more about us and our impact by exploring our website or following us on social media. And ask your healthcare providers if they are Georgia State graduates. You’ll discover our grads are the people who care for people – and we welcome you to explore the dynamic world of healthcare as a career choice for you.

Huanbiao Mo
Dean and Professor of Nutrition

The advisory board is the chief volunteer group of Georgia State’s Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions in assisting the dean in promoting and in achieving the vision for the college. This diverse group of friends of the college and leaders in the healthcare community is willing to share their time, their talent and their resources in helping the college achieve greatness.

The Lewis College student ambassador program established by the Office of Dean provides an opportunity for outstanding Lewis College students to serve as official hosts and goodwill ambassadors for the college. Student ambassadors represent the college and the dean with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.