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Admission Criteria

UNDERGRADUATE

1. Entrance Examination: candidates for admission are required to submit scores on the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) of the College Board or on the American College Testing Program test (ACT). The test should be taken by December, since results of later tests normally arrive too late for consideration.

SAT: Applications for the SAT are available in high schools, online at http://www.collegeboard.com, or by request from the College Board, P.O. Box 592, Princeton, NJ 08541. Students should request that their official scores be sent to the Office of Admissions, code number 2765.
ACT: Applications for the ACT are available in high schools, online at http://www.act.org, or by request from the American College Testing Program, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243. Students should request that their official scores be sent to the Office of Admissions, code number 2592.
Candidates are NOT required to take the SAT or ACT if (1) 12 or more college-level credits have been satisfactorily completed at an accredited institution of higher education or (2) the candidate has been out of school two or more years.

2. Official high school transcript and/or GED diploma and scores

3. Official transcripts of work from all colleges attended

4. Official transcript of entry-level nursing program (registered nurses only)

GRADUATE

Master's

The requirements for admission to the master's program are as follows:

1. Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program or an acceptable combined score on the verbal, quantitative, and written portions of the GRE

2. An undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 (where A = 4.0). For the B.S./M.S. to Ph.D. program, an undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 is required.

3. Acceptable combined scores on the verbal, quantitative, and writing portions of the GRE, or (1) five years or more of relevant practice experience, or (2) a grade of B or better in three Rutgers College of Nursing graduate courses taken on a nonmatriculated basis, or (3) a B.S. in nursing from an accredited university within the past 12 months with a GPA of 3.2 or better

4. Current New Jersey Professional Nurse licensure

5. Three satisfactory academic and professional letters of reference

6. Completion of a descriptive/inferential statistics course and a physical assessment course* or equivalent, prerequisite to full matriculation

Post-Master's Certificate

Post-Master's certificates consist of six courses (18 credits), with the exception of the Family Nurse Practitioner and Oncology Post-Master's certificate option, which consists of eight courses (24 credits), and the Nursing Education Post-Master's certificate, which consists of five courses (15 credits). In order to be admissible to the program, students must have a master of science degree in nursing and have taken the following courses during their master's degree:

Advanced Pathophysiology
Pharmacodynamics
Advanced Health Assessment

Students are admitted to the program in the spring semester only. Interested applicants must apply online by going to http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu and clicking ''Applications and Forms."

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

The requirements for admission to the D.N.P. program are:

1. a baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program;
2. a master's degree with a major in nursing from a nationally accredited program;
3. a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.2 (where A = 4.0);
4. satisfactory combined score on the GRE (verbal, quantitative, and analytical and/or writing abilities);
5. a personal interview (a telephone interview, when appropriate, may be arranged); and
6. submission of the following materials:
         a. current registered nurse licensure
         b. an essay describing the applicant's goals for doctoral study and career goals relative to advanced nursing practice
         c. curriculum vitae with relevant work experience pertaining to the area of clinical specialization (certification in the specialization is preferred)
         d. two scholarly papers of which the applicant is sole author (this can be a published article or chapter, a paper done in the master's program, and/or a paper completed for work)
         e. three letters of reference from professional sources that support the applicant's ability to succeed in the doctoral program; two of these letters must come from nurse academicians
         f. two official transcripts of all previous college work
         g. completed application form.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The requirements for admission to the Ph.D. program are:

1. a baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program;
2. a master's degree with a major in nursing from a nationally accredited program;
3. a cumulative graduate grade-point average of at least 3.2 (where A = 4.0);
4. a satisfactory combined score on the GRE (verbal, quantitative, and analytical and/or writing abilities);
5. a personal interview (a telephone interview, when appropriate, may be arranged); and
6. submission of the following materials:
    a. current registered nurse licensure
    b. an essay describing the applicant's goals for doctoral study and career goals relative to nursing research
    c. curriculum vitae
    d. two scholarly papers of which the applicant is the sole author
e. three letters of reference from professional sources that support the applicant's ability to succeed in the Ph.D. program; two of these letters must come from nurse academicians f. official transcripts of all previous college work
    g. completed application form.

Admission for Foreign Applicants

To qualify for full graduate status, foreign applicants must meet all of the following additional criteria:

1. Completion of a college or university program equal to the unit requirements for a baccalaureate degree in nursing

2. Registered professional nurse licensure in the country of origin and registered professional nurse licensure in the state of New Jersey;

3. Completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a satisfactory score for students whose first language is not English (the Test of Written English, part of TOEFL, is required);

4. Satisfactory completion of Rutgers' English as a Second Language Placement Examination. This test is administered by the Program in American Language Studies (PALS) and is given prior to the semester for which the student is accepted. Details about taking the test are sent to the student by the admissions office along with the letter of acceptance to the program. Based upon the student's performance on this placement test, the PALS program makes recommendations that are to be followed by the graduate program in nursing;

5. Applicants in F-1 or J-1 student status must prove that they have sufficient funds to cover both their educational and living expenses.

Transcripts of courses or degrees completed at academic institutions outside of the United States must be sent to World Education Services (WES) for evaluation. Please instruct WES to forward their evaluation to the graduate admissions office in Newark.