The RN to MS(N) is designed to assist selected registered nurses with good academic records to move smoothly through the RN to BSN curriculum directly into MS(N) study for advanced nursing roles.
Normally, the student would take eight semester hours of WCU undergraduate upper-division electives to complete the BSN, and this program reduces costs and work load for completing the MS(N) by allowing use of core MS(N) classes as undergraduate electives.
Students interested in the RN to MS(N) program should contact Sandra Brown, Student Services Specialist at slbrown@email.wcu.edu.
Admission requirements:
I. Associate’s degree or diploma in nursing from an approved nursing program
II. Current unrestricted license to practice as an RN in NC
III. A total of 65 semester hours of credit before starting the RN to MS(N) track, including
a. Completion of all 5 nursing prerequisites with a grade of C or better (18 hours)
(BIOL 291/292, HSCC 260, PSY 150, one college-transfer chemistry with a lab)
b. Completion of the WCU Liberal Studies requirements (42 hours)
c. Electives as needed to total 65 semester hours
Note: Previous nursing course credits are not included in this total.
IV. Completion of at least 12 of the required 24 hours of RN to MS(N) courses, with projected completion of the remaining hours before or during the semester of application to the WCU MS(N) program.
The two popular plans of study are:
| Full-time | Part-time |
| Sem 1: NSG 301, 302, 305, 384, 398, 399 (12 hrs) | Sem 1: NSG 301, 398, 399 (6 hrs) |
| Sem 2: NSG 460, 483, project, Research (12 hrs) | Sem 2: NSG 460, 483, project (6 hrs) |
| Sem 3: NSG 302, 305, 384 (6 hrs) | |
| Sem 4: NSG Research (6 hrs) |
a. RN to BSN. students receive 31 hours of equivalency credit for their lower-division nursing courses on successful completion of NSG 399.
V. Additional criteria required for enrollment in the RN to MS(N) entry option
a. Notify the RN to MS(N) coordinator of your intent to pursue the RN to MS(N) program after completing 12 hours of Nursing courses
b. Take the GRE and submit GRE scores to the Graduate School
c. Complete a basic statistics course (from any discipline)
d. Maintain a GPA of 3.00 on last 60 hours or cumulative post-secondary GPA of 2.85
Enrollment in the RN to MS(N) entry option does not guarantee admission to the MS(N) program. Admission to the graduate MS(N) program is contingent upon successful completion of the BSN.
Available MS(N) tracks include:
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Educator
- Nurse Anesthesia
Applications to the RN to MS(N) entry option are accepted 3 times a year: Feb. 15th, April 15th and Oct. 15th.
If RN students are accepted into the RN to MS(N) entry option, WCU undergraduate upper-division electives needed for the RN to BSN track are replaced with up to eight hours of MS(N) graduate credits. The BSN is then awarded by WCU (upon successful completion of all degree requirements).
If RN students are accepted into the RN to MS(N) entry option at WCU but elect not to finish it, they may apply any combination of WCU undergraduate upper-division electives with WCU MS(N) graduate credits for a total of eight hours to complete the BSN.
If RN students are not accepted into the RN to MS(N) entry option at WCU, they may still complete the BSN by taking eight hours of WCU undergraduate upper-division electives and may then apply to the MS(N) program.