Master's in nursing
Program Requirements
The following are the requirements for admission into the OHSU School of Nursing Master's in Nursing degree programs. Please see the international applicant web page for additional requirements if you are a resident of a country other than the United States.
- Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Certified Nurse Midwifery
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Health Systems & Organizational Leadership
- Nurse Anesthesia
- Nursing Education- Community Health Nursing, Gerontological Nursing or Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Prior Degree
It is expected that applicants to the nursing graduate programs have a B.S. with a major in nursing or B.S.N. degree from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education.
R.N. Status
- Must be eligible for an Oregon registered nurse license upon application.
- Must be licensed in the state of Oregon prior to matriculation.
- May need to have completed at least one year of clinical practice as an R.N. (depending on individual specialty requirements).
Work Experience
Depending on your program of interest, you may need at least one year of experience as an R.N. to qualify. Below is a list of programs that require or recommend work experience:
- Certified Nurse Midwifery - recommended one year of labor and delivery experience.
- Family Nurse Practitioner - strongly recommended one year of experience as an R.N.
- Nurse Anesthesia - required one year of experience as an R.N. in a full-time, adult, critical care, ICU setting. Typically admitted applicants have two to five years of such experience.
- Nursing Education- recommended one year of experience as an R.N.
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner - recommended one year of experience as an R.N.
Grade Point Averages
Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Minimum science GPA of a 3.0 (this includes coursework from departments such as anatomy, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, physiology, etc.)
Statistics
Must successfully pass a basic statistics course with a grade of "B" or better within five years prior to entry into the master's program. Health Systems & Organizational Leadership requires a statistics course with a grade of "C" or better within five years prior to entry into the program.
Go to course equivalency guide
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores
Applicants to the advanced practice nursing programs (CNM, CRNA, FNP and PMHNP) are required to submit official Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores from the general test from ETS. The OHSU School of Nursing GRE code is 4900. OHSU recommends a minimum score of 500 in each section (verbal and quantitative) as well as a minimum analytic writing score of 4.0 for the scoring scale used prior to August 2011 or a 144 in the quantitative section, 153 in the verbal section, and a minimum analytic writing score of 4.0 to be competitive.
*Applicants who already hold a graduate degree from an accredited US institution do not need to take the GRE.
Please note that applicants to the Masters in Nursing Education and Health Systems & Organizational Leadership programs are not required to submit GRE scores.
Need help studying? Previous applicants have found this site helpful.
Letters of Recommendation
Applicants must submit three letters of reference using the OHSU School of Nursing Reference Form* as a part of the application process. OHSU prefers that applicants submit references from the following:
- A supervisor
- An instructor
- A co-worker or other
*The OHSU School of Nursing Reference Form is found within the online application.
Sample of Scholarly Work
Applicants to the Health Systems & Organizational Leadership program are required to submit a sample of scholarly writing. This can include a professional work sample that is evidence based, with citations and references, an article you have authored (and if co-authored highlight the sections that you contributed to) or, a paper from your undergraduate program that synthesizes evidence, using citations and references (this should not be a reflection type paper). If you do not have this type of work to submit, please let us know; we can arrange for you to write an article analysis in response to an article that we provide you.
Application Packet
- Applications are accepted online only at the application start page. This online application will include application essays as well as a printable signature page which should be printed and turned in with your application packet.
- Official transcripts: Request each college you have attended to send the official transcript(s) to you showing completions of all academic work. Do not open the envelopes in which transcripts are received. For our purpose they are official only if the seal is intact. Include all transcripts in your application packet.
- Current résumé or curriculum vitae.
- Letters of recommendation should be included in your packet in signed and sealed envelopes.
- GRE scores.
- Sample of Scholarly Work (Health Systems & Organizational Leadership only).
- A $120.00 nonrefundable application fee made payable online by credit or debit card.
2012 Graduate Program Interview Dates
The following graduate programs have set aside the following dates to conduct interviews for selected applicants. Interviews will be held on the OHSU campus in Portland, Oregon and we encourage all selected candidates to attend the interview in person. This is an important step in the selection process and we request that you hold the following dates open in case you are selected to participate. If you are selected for an interview you will be contacted directly by the selection committee with an interview request. This is for your informational purposes only and should not be construed as an invitation to interview.
Certified Nurse Midwifery Program - January 26 or 27 or February 2 or 3
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Program - February 2 & 3 or February 10
Family Nurse Practitioner Program - February 10 or February 17
Health Systems & Organizational Leadership - February 24 (In Person); March 1 or 2 (via Adobe Connect)
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program - February 7 or February 14 or February 21
Nursing Education - Interviews not conducted
