The Direct Entry Masters’ program offers a student with a bachelor’s degree in another field the option to leverage that education and experience and enter as a graduate student in Nursing.

The first segment of the program (RN pre-licensure) is 64 credit hours and prepares you to take the registered nurse licensure exam. The Master’s segment requires approximately 36 to 42 credit hours depending on the specialty track chosen.  

Yes, students completing the prelicensure segment (first 16 months) of the program are awarded a BSN degree.

After completing the first part of the program and becoming licensed RNs, students choose to continue to work part-time or full-time as a RN and take courses in the Master’s segment of the program.

Students may choose from the following specializations:

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
• Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (Acute Care Pediatric Track is NOT a DE program option).
• Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Since the program is competitive, to transition seamlessly into a specialty track a student in the pre-licensure portion of the program should maintain a B or better  in all undergraduate clinical nursing courses (didactic, lab, and clinical). If a grade in any of the courses is below a B, approval and progression is at the discretion of the Specialty Track faculty.

No. Nurse Anesthesia is not one of the graduate specialty options at this time.

The Direct Entry program enrolls once a year. The application deadline is November 15. The application is for entry into the program the beginning of the  following September.

• Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree from an accredited college or university
• A Bachelor’s Degree GPA of 3.0 or better
• Three letters of recommendation, either 2 academic and 1 professional or 1 academic and 2 professional.  Letters of recommendation from family or friends are not accepted as official recommendations.
• Personal Goal Statement including interest in nursing, advance practice nursing, and future goals.
• Completion of the following prerequisites with a minimum grade of C or higher. Science prerequisites with lab (microbiology, anatomy, physiology and chemistry) must have been completed within the last 7 years. Prerequisite courses: Nutrition, Statistics, Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan, and Social/Behavioral Science courses must be completed within 10 years. Prerequisites may be in progress at the time of submission of the application.
• Experience in patient care, volunteer or paid, is highly recommended
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required for all applicants who do not hold undergraduate or graduate degrees from U.S. institutions or institutions where English is not used. #3629 college code. The required IBT TOEFL score is 100.

Yes, students are admitted to a specific specialization track. Selection of specialty track is confirmed upon acceptance into the program.

No, GRE’s are NOT required.

The following science prerequisites must have been completed within the past 7 years at an accredited college or university with a satisfactory grade of “C” or better. It is preferable they are taken over a full semester (14 weeks). However, a condensed term course (7-8 weeks) will be accepted.

• Inorganic Chemistry with Lab (1 course)
• Anatomy and Physiology I & II with Lab (2 courses)
• Microbiology with Lab (1 course)

The following non-science prerequisites must have been completed within the past 10 years.

• Statistics (1 course that includes inferential statistics and hypothesis testing)
• Social / Behavioral Sciences (2 courses – 1 of the 2 courses must be Human Growth and Development or Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan.  The second course can be either a Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology course).
• Nutrition

It is preferred that Science courses (chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and microbiology) with associated lab are taken on-ground.  However, online courses with online labs will be accepted.

*If an applicant plans to take the prerequisite courses through Northeastern University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CPS) please see the FAQ below for further details on course requirements.

YES. Northeastern University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CPS) offers full semester prerequisite courses. The required prerequisite courses to fulfill the Direct Entry Nursing Program prerequisites through CPS are :

• BIO 1600 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1
  • BIO 1601 Lab for BIO 1600
• BIO 1700 Anatomy and Physiology 2
• BIO 1701 Lab for BIO 1700
• CHM 1100 General Chemistry 1
  • CHM 1101 Lab for CHM 1100
• BIO 2100 Microbiology
  • BIO 2101 Lab for BIO 2100
• MTH 2310 Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
• HSC 1200 Nutrition
• PSY 3230 Development across the Life Span
• PSY 1001 Introduction to Psychology

For further information, you can contact CPS at 617-373-2400 or visit their website, www.cps.northeastern.edu.

We require a “C” grade or better in prerequisite courses for credits to be accepted from an accredited institution.

You may apply to the program without having completed all of the pre-requisites; however, your prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of June prior to enrolling in the program. It is preferred that science courses are completed prior to submitting your application. If you are unsure whether the college or university where you are taking the pre-requisite course is accredited, contact the respective college or university.

Yes, the Director of the Direct Entry Nursing Program can provide you further information on this process.

The Direct Entry Nursing Program is competitive. When assessing a candidate, factors such as GPA (3.0 or >), three strong recommendations, a compelling personal goal statement, and a positive personal interview by faculty  are all considered. Experience in patient care, whether paid or volunteer, is highly recommended and will make an applicant a stronger candidate.

The pre-licensure part of the program has a flat fee rate for each of the first four semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall). There is no tuition fee when the student is on the RN work experience between the pre-licensure and Master segments of the program. When returning to the Master’s portion of the program the tuition is based on the graduate credit fee for individual course credits. To obtain current tuition costs, refer to http://www.northeastern.edu/financialaid/studentaccounts/tuition.html.

Applications and application materials can be obtained and submitted  via NursingCAS at https://nursingcas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login.

View the dates and time of the Graduate Open House schedule at https://bouve.northeastern.edu/grad/openhouse.html.

Contact the Graduate Admissions Office at telephone number: 617.373.2708 or email: [email protected].