Special Entry Option

The Special Entry Option allows registered nurses who earned baccalaureate degrees in areas other than nursing to work toward a master’s degree in nursing without completing the baccalaureate in nursing. This option has greater educational flexibility for registered nurses, minimizes duplication of previous learning, and provides the opportunity to obtain advanced degrees in nursing.

Program Requirements:

  1. Graduation from a regionally accredited college or university.
  2. Minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for most recent baccalaureate degree.
  3. License to practice as a registered nurse.
  4. Graduate of an associate degree or NLN accredited diploma nursing program.
  5. All Special Entry Option candidates will initially meet with the Director of RN Options or the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Nursing to discuss the requirement of the Special Entry Option. Students will develop, with the RN Program Director, a plan and timeline for completion of the pre-Master’s requirements.
  6. Students will subsequently meet with a graduate faculty member in their interest area for an admission interview, and development of a program plan for the graduate program.
  7. The student’s application and all other required materials will be reviewed by the Graduate Admission, Recognition and Progression Committee (GARP). If the student is admitted to the SEO program, full status as an admitted graduate nursing student will not be granted until all the Special Entry Option undergraduate requirements have been successfully completed with a GPA of 3.0.
  8. Students will complete 3-4 undergraduate nursing courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. These classes include NURSG 235, Community Based Nursing & Leadership, NURSG 239, Holistic Health Assessment, and NURSG 359, Community Health Nursing. Students may be required to take NURSG 356, Nursing Research, if they did not take a research course in their baccalaureate program.
  9. Students must achieve a minimum grade of 3.0 in each required undergraduate SEO course in order to achieve full status as a graduate nursing student. Students not achieving a 3.0 GPA will be required to complete the entire curriculum for the RN-BSN major, before they are candidates for the MSN program.
  10. During the semester prior to entry into graduate courses, students will meet with the Associate Dean for Graduate Nursing, who assigns a graduate advisor to match the educational goals of the student. The student will meet with the graduate advisor each semester to plan/review the student’s program of study.

For further information contact the Saint Xavier University School of Nursing at 773-298-3700.