• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from a Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) accredited school of nursing.  
• BSN and/or MSN degree obtained from a non-US college must be evaluated and be equivalent to a US nursing degree. 
• Prior to admission to the graduate program, applicant must be legally licensed to practice nursing in one of the 50 US states.
• Preference will be given to applicants who have completed at least one-year full-time work experience as a registered nurse. Experience with the specialty population is valuable.
  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care: One year of critical care experience as an RN required; two years of experience preferred.
  • Adult-Gerontology Primary Care: One year of experience (prefer 2000 hours) as an RN in a nursing clinical role or site (e.g., hospital, nursing facility or community nursing/home care).
  • Family: Prefers two years of experience as an RN.
  • Peds Primary: 2,000 hours of experience as an RN.
  • Peds Primary and Acute Care: 2,000 hours in acute care setting with critical care experience preferred.
  • Psych: One year of psychiatric nursing experience as an RN. Psychiatric experiences in rural health hospitals and clinics will be evaluated on an individual basis.
  • Women’s Health: One year of experience as an RN in any area of women’s health; prefer 3 years or greater as an RN in women’s health.

Full details as to admission requirements according to the UNMC College of Nursing policy can be found at:  Admission Policies for Master’s Degree.

Minimum GPA:

• MSN: 3.0 cumulative GPA
• PGC: 3.0  cumulative GPA

Graduate Record Examination (GRE):

No GRE exam score is required for admissions

English Proficiency:

Applicants from countries where English is not the primary language must present official TOEFL or IELTS scores at the time of application.

For students who already have earned an MSN degree, it will take from one to two years to complete a PGC. For students with a BSN, it will take about three years depending on choice of specialty.  

The College of Nursing offers MSN degrees in 9 specialty areas. Seven of the specialties lead to a nurse practitioner role, while two lead to non-nurse practitioner roles.

All nurse practitioner role specialties except the Pediatric Primary & Acute Care NP (Dual) are also available as a Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC).

If you've always wanted to teach — or perhaps just thought about teaching your profession — you may combine the nurse educator training with your program. This is an ideal way to acquire credentials in a care specialty and as an educator.

Read about specialties.

Nurse Practitioner Role Specialties

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP
• Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP
• Family NP
• Pediatric Primary Care NP
• Pediatric Primary & Acute Care NP (Dual)
• Psychiatric Mental Health NP
• Women's Health NP

Non-Nurse Practitioner Role Specialties

• Clinical Nurse Leader
• Nurse Leader/Executive (available for ADN-prepared nurses)*
• MSN-Leadership and MBA Dual

* Nurse Leader/Executive: RN to MSN – an accelerated path for RNs with an associate degree (ADN/ASN) or diploma in Nursing. Must meet the prerequisite requirements for the BSN program. Students complete two bridge courses from our RN to BSN program and then continue on to MSN coursework. Upon graduation both a BSN and MSN will be awarded.

Contact a student services representative who can provide guidance on MSN specialty track choices, part time and full-time plans of study, as well as walk you through the applications and admissions process.

APPLY TO ONE PROGRAM ONLY

Some MSN specialty tracks admit students each semester; others admit once annually. For details, see MSN key dates/calendar.

Read full admission details before applying.

UNMC processes applications to its nursing program through NursingCAS, the centralized application service for nursing. Visit nursingcas.org to start an application and go to the Add Program page to select our program and complete the steps to fill out and submit your application. Full details per admission criteria are provided on the application.