Change the future with Edson College of Nursing
and Health Innovation
Equipping health professionals for growing global needs
Right now, our world needs more nurses to bring their unique skills to bear across a diverse range of fields.
Demand for nurses and health care professionals is rising as our population ages, chronic disease prevalence increases and mental health awareness grows. Assistance is especially needed in rural regions.
At the same time, many other entities — including biotech companies, legislative institutions and schools — require more nurses and other health care professionals than ever. Their unique expertise is crucial to developing tools that improve health, advance effective health care policies and educate the next generation.
Nurses are indispensable in today’s world — not just as health care providers, but as leaders, researchers and innovators. That’s why Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is reshaping the narrative on what it means to be a nurse and health care provider.
Together, we can cultivate a new generation of health care professionals who are prepared to realize their ambitions and drive positive change.
Edson students benefit from hands-on learning and the latest nursing technology.
Nursing is in high demand, both in Arizona and across the nation.
Flexible education for all learners
Our college has a rich history of preparing future health care leaders — and a bright future as a leader in patientcentered, state-of-the-art nursing education.
Built on a legacy of care and driven by discovery, we serve more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. They receive an education that is as rigorous as it is flexible — designed to meet them where they are and prepare them for where they’re going.
Through diverse pathways and immersive learning environments, our students earn nursing and health degrees aligned with their unique experiences and goals.
Through Changing Futures®, we will make a difference — in Arizona and across the globe. We will attract and prepare more health care professionals through strategic investments in immersive learning, innovative degree programs and leading-edge educational technologies.
Transforming access to education everywhere
Edson College is educating nurses across the workforce, filling critical care gaps in local communities and elevating nursing perspectives in global dialogues.
Learn Where You Live
Expanding nursing education in remote areas ensures every community has skilled nurses. Learn Where You Live brings high-impact training to aspiring nurses throughout Arizona through innovative technologies and partnerships.
Nursing Mobile Simulation Lab
The Nursing Mobile Simulation Lab replicates real-world health care challenges, sharpening students’ medical knowledge and problem-solving skills.
“In a simulation lab, you can feel like you’re in an emergency room, battlefield or school — even if you’re a student in rural Arizona and your educator is in downtown Phoenix,” says M. Margaret Calacci, clinical associate professor at Edson College.
The campaign will also broaden students’ perspectives on where they can leverage their nursing expertise.
“Our philosophy is to expose students to as much as possible — community clinics, homeless shelters, schools — so they see nursing holistically,” says Salina Bednarek, assistant clinical professor.
Center for Southwest Border Health
The Center for Southwest Border Health at the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation advances solutions to substance use and related health challenges through an integrated, community-centered approach. We recognize that health is deeply connected to social and economic factors that shape well-being.
Grounded in Phoenix and the Southwest border region, the center leverages digital health innovation, cross-border partnerships and workforce development to expand access to care and strengthen communities.
Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging
Edson College’s Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging, in partnership with The ASU Roybal Center, advances interdisciplinary research and communityengaged solutions that support health, independence and well-being as people age.
Together, the centers bridge research and real-world practice. They develop, test and scale innovative interventions that respond to the evolving needs of older adults, caregivers and communities, especially
those experiencing health disparities. This collaboration strengthens Edson College’s leadership in aging research and accelerates the translation of evidence into meaningful, equitable impact.
Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
The Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation conducts community-engaged research, outreach and training aimed at improving health and preventing disease in vulnerable populations across the lifespan.
Established in 2015, the center brings together faculty, students and community partners to translate evidence into action and address health disparities through collaborative, transdisciplinary work. The center advances the priority of use-inspired research and innovation with impact.
Edson graduates are prepared to work in a wide variety of nursing environments.
Your BSN helps above other applicants the
interview process,
I do feel like I am prepared than
helps you stand applicants in process, and am more
—Charlotte Lange, ’23 BSN in nursing who earned her RN through Scottsdale Community College while earning her BSN online at ASU
health care changemakers Support the next generation of
“Nurses innovate on the job every single day, making processes safer, more logical and more efficient,” says Katherine Kenny, associate dean of academic affairs at Edson College. “ASU is dedicated to ensuring there are more nurses in different environments around the world so they can positively impact health in a variety of ways.”
At Edson College, we’re ready to propel more nurses forward so they can fulfill their potential and leave a lasting impact on society.
Virtual and extended reality can build real-world competency in a low-risk environment.
“Edson College instructors are really invested in what you are doing as a student. They give specific feedback that helps you become a better student and think about things in a new way.
You learn, and then you can immediately implement it the next day.”
— Yvonne Membrila, ’19 MA in health innovation, who earned her master’s degree online at ASU while working full-time as a nurse
Change futures by supporting
Transform global education
The Center for Southwest Border Health advances innovative, community-driven solutions to substance use and related health challenges across the Southwest border region. By integrating digital health technologies, cross-border collaboration and applied research, the center serves as a living-learning environment. Here, students engage directly with complex, real-world health systems.
Through hands-on training, workforce development and community partnerships, students gain the skills to deliver culturally responsive care while strengthening pathways to services. This approach is improving health outcomes while preparing the next generation of health professionals to work effectively at the intersection of innovation, equity and lived experience.
Nursing schools in the world’s most remote regions often lack access to educational resources, and Edson College students stand to gain invaluable skills by partnering with fellow learners across the globe. ASU SolarSPELL empowers learners worldwide by connecting our students with nursing schools in communities with limited access to health care and education to collaboratively build digital libraries of localized health education information.
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation
Empower community resilience
There is a shortage of nurses in rural Arizona, due in part to insufficient local learning opportunities for future health care professionals. Through Learn Where You Live, regional medical center clinical partnerships will help address this shortage. These partnerships will significantly increase nursing education and training opportunities in rural Arizona by enabling Edson College to secure urgently needed clinical placements for its students. This will allow them to train in their communities and contribute to the local workforce.
Build the future of health
ASU ranks lower than many states in terms of health care quality and access. ASU’s new nurse-led primary care clinics will not only provide more high-quality care in our state but also serve as multifaceted learning opportunities for Edson College students. These clinics will strengthen the pipeline of local health care providers and enhance our ability to address major health needs in Arizona.
Personalized patient care through a comprehensive medical AI platform that analyzes specific patient, lifestyle and environmental data in light of foundational treatment protocols will underpin precision medicine.
Change futures by supporting
Advance technology for good
Opportunities for nursing students to practice their clinical skills in an interactive, collaborative setting are limited and carry significant risks when patients’ lives are at stake.
The Center for Extended Reality in Healthcare Delivery and Research at Edson College is pioneering the use of immersive technologies, including virtual and augmented reality, to deliver hands-on, simulation-based training. This blends virtual environments with real-world objects to prepare future nurses for patient care in a safe, highly accessible setting.
Changing Futures represents a meaningful shift in nursing practice, integrating clinical expertise with technological innovation to prepare graduates for increasingly complex health challenges.
As part of this work, Edson College is piloting an agentic nursing AI assistant to evaluate how AI can safely and effectively function as part of the primary care team, with attention to usability, acceptability and satisfaction for both patients and nurses.
Nationally recognized for redefining health education, the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is grounded in ASU’s charter of inclusion, collaboration and impact. Through technologyenabled, community-embedded learning — ranging from immersive simulation to interprofessional, team-based care — Edson College continues to push the boundaries of nursing education and practice.
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation
About us
The Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation is distinguished as a model for excellence and inspiration in nursing and interprofessional practice, education and research. We advance knowledge, innovative practice models and new solutions to optimize the health and well-being of our diverse local, national and global communities.
ASU Charter
ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.