Nursing — Post-Master’s

Admission to the Certificate of Advanced Study in nursing is competitive. The graduate program in nursing seeks candidates whose previous academic preparation, scholastic achievement, professional experience, interest, motivation, and references are predictive of successful graduate study.

Each student’s application for admission will be evaluated based on a composite of the following recommended standards:

• A master’s degree in nursing from a program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the National League for Nursing.
• A minimum graduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or a B average.
• For a non-APRN applicant, Pathophysiology, Pharmacotherapeutics, and Physical Assessment coursework must be taken at USM within 2 years of starting clinical practice.
• Practicing APRN, the transcript must reflect the coursework in Pathophysiology, Pharmacotherapeutics, and Physical Assessment as individual courses.
• Two years of acute care RN experience required for the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate of Advanced Study program.

A personal interview with graduate faculty of the School of Nursing may be requested following a preliminary review of all required admission materials.

In addition to the application materials, applicants to the post-master’s CAS are required to submit copies of all syllabi from the initial master’s program in nursing, documentation of total clinical hours, and identification of individual courses to which clinical practicum are embedded.