The Direct Entry Masters’ program offers a student with a bachelor’s degree in another field to leverage that education and experience and enter as a graduate student Nursing. The program consists of two portions. The first 16 months is devoted to nursing-specific classes (undergraduate and graduate levels) including clinical rotations to meet the requirements for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN). During this initial phase of the program, financial aid will be awarded on an undergraduate level. Once the BSN is completed, the student is eligible to sit for the nursing licensure exam or NCLEX. Successful completion of this examination results in a Registered Nurse (RN) license.

1 or 2 year(s) of full-time experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) is required prior to beginning Nurse Practitioner practicum rotations dependent on the student’s specific specialty track. All DE students in the BSN portion of the program are required to maintain a grade of  “B” or better in all clinical didactic and practicum courses to transition seamlessly into their specialty track. However, if a student receives less than a 3.0 (B)  in one of these courses, the student should contact the Specialty Track Director who will determine whether the student should continue in their track.

The second portion of the master’s degree level of the program varies in length and course requirements according to the specialty track selected. Most tracks take approximately two years of full time study to complete. At the end of this program the student earns a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree and is eligible to sit for specialty certification in the selected track.

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
•  Nursing Administration/Leadership in Healthcare Delivery (MS or MS/MBA)
• Primary Care 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 December 1. 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.
• 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 prerequisites must be completed as a full semester course (14 weeks) at an accredited college or university (including accredited community colleges) with satisfactory grades of a “C” or better.

• Introduction to Chemistry with Lab (1 course)
• Anatomy and Physiology I & II with Lab (2 courses)
• Microbiology with Lab (1 course)
• 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 or Sociology course).
• Nutrition

It is preferred that Science classes (chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and microbiology) are taken on-ground.  Virtual labs  are preferred to be on-ground courses, but may be accepted with the approval of the Direct Entry Program Director.

*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 (with lab)
  • BIO 1601 Lab for BIO 1600
• Anatomy and Physiology 2 to be offered
• CHM 1100 General Chemistry 1 (with lab)
  • CHM 1101 Lab for CHM 1100
• BIO 2100 Microbiology(with lab)
  • 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 1100 Foundations of Psychology

*All lab courses must be a CPS “Traditional ” course format

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

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

YES, you may apply to the program without having completed all of the pre-requisites; however, your prerequisite courses must be completed before you begin the program in the Fall semester. It is preferred that science courses are completed prior to submitting your application.  Please include a letter with your application indicating where and when you will be completing the remaining prerequisite courses. If you are unsure if 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: bouvegrad@neu.edu.