MSN ADMISSION AND TRANSFER OF STUDENTS

A.            For admission to the University, candidates must meet the following requirements:

1.             Meet general admission standards for graduate education at the University of Saint Francis.

2.             Hold a baccalaureate degree in nursing or other discipline.

3.             Hold a current license as a Registered Nurse.

4.             Have an undergraduate GPA of 3.20 on a four-point scale.

5.             GRE is required if GPA is less than 3.0. A minimum score of 400 on the verbal and 400 on the quantitative must be achieved. 

6.             Satisfactorily complete a graduate or undergraduate statistics course within the past 5 years.

7.             Submit a resume or curriculum vitae.

8.             Submit three (3) letters of reference.

9.             Complete and submit the USF Graduate Nursing Essay (Written Goals).

"The essay should be typed, 1-2 pages in length and address the following questions: (1) What are your professional goals? and (2) How will a graduate degree impact your nursing practice?"
 

10.         Complete Graduate Nursing Admission Interview (Personal Interview).

"Prospective students who do not meet all of the above criteria may be admitted "provisionally". These graduate students must earn a GPA of 3.20 in the first 6 hours of graduate nursing courses at USF to be fully admitted to the Graduate Nursing program.

The student who has been denied admission to the graduate nursing major must wait one academic year before reapplying. Any student who has been denied admittance must complete the GRE as part of the admission criteria when reapplying to the major. A score of 400 on the verbal and 400 on the quantitative areas must be achieved.

B.             Students with an ASN or diploma and bachelor’s or master’s degree in another field take 8 credits of nursing courses to prepare for the Graduate Nursing Program. These courses include:

1.             Two nursing courses taught in an intensive block format. Nursing courses are offered on the same night of the week throughout the fast track using a hybrid model that involves both campus and web-based meetings:

a.             NURS 500 Professional Nursing Concepts I (4cr. theory)

b.             NURS 503 Professional Nursing Concepts II (4cr. theory)

Students will not be awarded a BSN at the completion of the nursing courses, but will be able to begin Graduate Nursing coursework at USF.

C.            Students with an ASN or diploma who do not have a bachelor’s degree in another field take a 16 credit package of courses to prepare for the Graduate Nursing Program. These courses include:

1.             Two general education courses:

a.             ENGL 102 English Composition II and MATH 302 Statistics

2.             Three nursing courses taught in an intensive block format. Nursing courses are offered on the same night of the week throughout the fast track using a hybrid model that involves both campus and web-based meetings:

a.             NURS 502 Professional Communication (2cr. theory)

b.             NURS 500 Professional Nursing Concepts I (4cr. theory)

c.             NURS 503 Professional Nursing Concepts II (4cr. theory)

The ASN/Diploma nurse must have completed 1000 hours of clinical practice before taking NURS 570/572 in the MSN-FNP track.

Students will not be awarded a BSN at the completion of the nursing courses, but will be able to begin Graduate Nursing coursework at USF.

D.            For admission to the University, transfer students must meet the following requirements:

1.             Be admitted to graduate status by the University of Saint Francis.

2.             Be admitted into the graduate nursing program.

3.             One to nine (1-9) credits of graduate level courses may be transferred from an accredited college or university.

a.             Students must request in writing that credit be transferred to the University of Saint Francis.

b.             The MSN Program Director must approve and request acceptance of the credits from the Dean of the Graduate School.

c.             The Dean of the Graduate School will provide written acceptance or denial of the credit to the student.

E.             Post-Master’s FNP Students’ Academic Requirements

1.             Post-master’s students admitted to the USF FNP Track within the Graduate Nursing Program will complete the same 39 credits of didactic and clinical courses that non-master’s students complete which encompasses the following courses.

      NURS 530 (3 cr) Advanced Pharmacology

      NURS 532 (3 cr) Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology

      NURS 535 (3 cr) Health Assessment of Adults

      NURS 537 (1 cr) Clinical: Health Assessment of Adults

      NURS 555 (3 cr) Primary Care of Children

      NURS 556 (2 cr) Clinical: FNP-Primary Care of Children

     NURS 562 (3 cr) Communities Populations and Systems: Theoretical Perspectives

      NURS 570 (3 cr) Primary Care of Adults

      NURS 572 (2 cr) Clinical: Primary Care of Adults

      NURS 575 (2 cr) Primary Care of Women

     NURS 578 (1 cr) Clinical: FNP-Primary Care of Women

     NURS 595 (6 cr) Clinical: Advanced Practice Residency & Synthesis

NURS 694 (2 cr) Theory, Practice and Research Synthesis

NURS 510 (2 cr) Advance Practice Roles & Issues

NURS 581 (3 cr) Primary Care of Adults and Aging

NURS 582 (2 cr) Clinical: FNP-Primary Care of Adults and Aging

2.     Upon successful completion of the above 39 credits, students will receive a Post-

        Master’s Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of Saint

        Francis.

3.     USF FNP courses may be waived only if the student’s transcript indicates that the required NP course or its equivalent has already been taken.  Students will submit a copy of course descriptions and syllabi upon request to the MSN Program Director.

F.             Nurse Practitioners Expanding into the Family Nurse Practitioner Specialty

1.             Graduate nurses who have already attained a graduate degree that encompassed a nurse practitioner specialty area other than family nurse practitioner and wish to expand their specialty to become family nurse practitioners will participate in the following procedure:

        a.     Submit an official transcript, copies of course descriptions, and course syllabi for all previously completed courses to the MSN Program Director for review.

        b.     The MSN Program Director, in conjunction with graduate faculty, will review the materials for comparability to USF FNP course requirements.

               c.     The MSN Program Director will meet with the prospective FNP student to

                        discuss previous academic work and create an individual plan of study that

                        is based on completed didactic courses and supervised clinical experiences.