Graduate Entry Pathway

The Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP) program is for individuals with a baccalaureate degree in a field other than nursing, leading first to registered nurse licensure and then to advanced nursing specialties.

Graduate Entry Pathway Year 1: Pre-licensure

During their first year, students complete the courses and clinical experiences required for licensure as a registered nurse. Upon successful completion of pre-licensure requirements and enrollment in the subsequent 500- and 600-level courses in the first part of the GEP Year 2, the GSN will issue qualifying students a Certificate of Completion so that they may sit for the National Certification Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Graduate Entry Pathway Year 2

In the fall semester of the second year students transition into the coursework of the traditional Master of Science program. In addition to traditional master’s courses, GEP students take NG520A Community Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations; NG520B Community Health Clincal Practice; and NG521 Transition to Professional Practice Seminar I in the fall semester. In the spring semester, GEP students take NG522 Transition to Professional Practice Seminar II concurrently with the master’s courses and their mentored nurse residency. The nurse residency begins post-licensure, during which students are employed as a licensed professional registered nurse. This residency, which bridges Years Two and Three, allows students to gain clinical skills while taking core graduate and advanced practice nursing core coursework.