A new coalition of nurses, universities, and nurse advocacy groups, “Nursing is STEM,” is preparing to submit a petition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) encouraging the department to reclassify nursing as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field. Reclassifying nursing as a recognized STEM profession would unlock millions of dollars in federal funding to expand the sector through recruitment and educational opportunities, particularly for international students.

If the DHS changes the classification of STEM degrees, it could potentially inspire other federal agencies and funding to follow suit. The Department of Veterans Affairs currently allows nursing students to qualify for STEM scholarships.

In the past, organizations such as the DHS and National Science Foundation have not regarded patient care degrees, such as pharmacy or medicine, as part of the STEM community because they typically don’t necessitate engineering, math, and science-driven research and technology development.