Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing (ELMSN) Program

Effective Date

These policies become effective immediately upon final approval and shall remain in effect until revoked.

Purpose

Applicant policies are provided to inform prospective applicants regarding admission requirements. The most current policies are posted on the web page for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Policies are subject to change.

Responsibility

Each applicant is responsible for knowing and adhering to the current applicant policies for the Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing Program. The responsibility for the implementation of these policies is assigned to the Dean and faculty of the Department of Nursing.

Application Requirements

The following are requirements for full admission to the Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing (ELMSN) Program at Metropolitan State University. All application items must be uploaded or post-marked by the published application deadline. Applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree and four of the required eight prerequisites: chemistry, human anatomy and physiology, and microbiology each with a laboratory component (or equivalent courses) at an accredited college or university or equivalent by the application deadline in order to be considered for admission.

A completed application for the Entry Level MSN Graduate Program, including the (a) NursingCAS online application, (b) application fee (if required), (c) application essay, and (f) official transcripts for all previous post-secondary courses.

Applicants must have a previous baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university or equivalent, and must submit an official transcript as part of the NursingCAS application indicating completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants whose degrees or previous completed college credits are from a non-US college or university are required to have their degrees evaluated by a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) organization member credential evaluation service (such as ECE or WES) to determine equivalency to a U.S. baccalaureate degree. The full course-by-course report is required.

Applicants must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA for all previous post-secondary study and degrees, including any courses completed that did not lead directly to a completed degree.

Applicants may petition to have a transcript older than seven years from the date of program application omitted from the cumulative GPA calculation. Courses from an omitted transcript may not be used to satisfy program admission requirements.

Individuals who completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution (or equivalent) that did not assign grades or confer an official grade point average may still apply to the ELMSN Program. Such an application will be evaluated on the basis of the remaining three admission criteria: GPA for other graded college level credits, if any, prerequisite course grades, and the required application essay.

Prerequisites

There are eight admission prerequisites for the ELMSN program. If taken on the quarter system, courses that state a minimum of three semester credits need to be a minimum of four quarter credits; courses that state a minimum of two semester credits need to be a minimum of three-quarter credits.

• Chemistry (with laboratory component), minimum 3 semester credits
• Human anatomy (with laboratory component), minimum 3 semester credits
• Human physiology (with laboratory component), minimum 3 semester credits
• Microbiology (with laboratory component), minimum 3 semester credits
• Lifespan growth and development (Course must cover the entire lifespan), minimum 3 semester credits
• Human Medical Ethics, minimum 3 semester credits
• Human Nutrition, minimum 2 semester credits
• Statistics, minimum 3 semester credits: This course must be completed within the last four years prior to application deadline.

The four primary prerequisites of chemistry, human anatomy, human physiology, and microbiology, along with their associated labs, must be completed at an accredited college or university or equivalent prior to the application deadline. The Department of Nursing follows the University Transfer Policy and Procedure (2120) to evaluate prerequisite courses (applicants must maintain a cumulative prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or better).

The four prerequisites of lifespan growth and development, medical ethics, statistics, and nutrition may be pending at the application deadline. If an admission offer is made, it will be an offer of Conditional Admission, with the condition being that the remaining prerequisites must be completed with a grade of C or better by program start. Each outstanding prerequisite must be completed at an accredited college or university. An official transcript showing course completion must be provided prior to the start of the program.

Application Essay

An application essay must be uploaded as part of the NursingCAS application. Guidelines for the application essay are provided in the application materials.

Applicants are expected to use their own words and ideas when responding to essay questions. To clarify or strengthen a point, applicants may choose to include the thoughts and ideas of others when responding. In these cases, applicants are required to provide proper current APA citation of the works in which the ideas originated. Applicant essays are subject to plagiarism review, including the use of plagiarism detecting software. The consequences for essay plagiarism will be decided by the Admission Retention Committee and could result in various consequences, including the full denial of an application. It is the expectation that students write the essay and not utilize any type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool(s) to do so.

Petition for Exceptions to Polices

A student seeking an exception from a policy or requirement may do so through the College of Nursing and Health Sciences Petition process. Exception requests are considered on an individual basis considering the strength of the submitted evidence or rationale. Students should contact a program advisor in CNHS for information on the petition process.

Review of Application Materials

All submitted materials are reviewed and evaluated by the Department of Nursing Admission and Retention Committee and nursing faculty. Final admission offers are made by the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The admission process is competitive.

Admission Offer

Successful applicants will receive a letter offering admission. An applicant who wishes to enroll in the ELMSN Program must respond affirmatively by the date indicated in the letter. Failure to respond to the offer of admission by the date indicated in the letter is considered a decline.

Students offered conditional admission for any reason must satisfy the requirements outlined in the offer.

1.6.1 Pre-practicum Requirements

Students must meet all pre-practicum requirements prior to indicated deadlines and maintain these requirements throughout the program. Failure to meet the requirements prior to the indicated deadlines may result in students’ inability to enroll in or attend courses. It is each student’s responsibility to maintain and provide the required records. The requirements are determined by contracts and clinical agencies and, in general, there are no exceptions. Information on clinical requirements can be obtained at:

https://www.metrostate.edu/academics/nursing-and-health-sciences/practicum/requirements https://www.metrostate.edu/academics/nursing-and-health-sciences/practicum/requirements

Deferral

An applicant who accepts a position within a cohort and then does not enroll in courses forfeits a position in that cohort. Such applicants may submit an application in a subsequent application cycle.

P & P Approval Date: March 17, 2025