Graduate Entry Curriculum

The Graduate Entry option MS Nursing curriculum has four pillars: the pre-licensure curriculum, the graduate core curriculum, the specialty core courses and a clinical experience. The pre-licensure curriculum prepares graduate students for basic nursing practice. The core curriculum is designed to ensure that you attain mastery of a base of knowledge that is critical to all graduate-prepared nurses. The specialty core courses allow you to achieve mastery in a specialty area, preparing you for national certification in that specialty. In addition, the advanced clinical experience gives you the opportunity to practice at an advanced level. The program provides preceptors in a wide variety of geographic locations and clinical sites throughout Ohio. Students work with clinical preceptors in ambulatory primary care and inpatient settings. Clinical experience also provides the precepted hours necessary for certification. Students are required to complete two to four semesters of clinical coursework depending upon the specialty requirements. Students attending in the state of Ohio will be provided their clinical sites and preceptors.

The program is three years in length. Students attend full-time and year-round. Students are not able to pursue this program at a part-time pace. The program is a mix of online and on-campus classes. Most of the pre-licensure courses are offered in a classroom-based format, while the nursing core curriculum is offered as either classroom-based or online study options. Student should plan to live in the Columbus, Ohio area throughout the program. However, those pursuing the Clinical Nurse Leader or Neonatal Nurse Practitioner specialties could live outside of the area after the pre-licensure portion as the master’s courses for these specialties will be completely online.

Pre-licensure courses

The following courses are required prior to taking the NCLEX for RN licensure:

• Nursing 6100 Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice
• Nursing 6240(S) Concepts in Community Health Nursing
• Nursing 6260 Nursing Care of Children and Their Families
• Nursing 6270 Nursing Care of Adults and Older Adults I
• Nursing 6271 Nursing Care of Adults and Older Adults II
• Nursing 6280 Nursing Care of Women and Their Families During Reproductive Transitions
• Nursing 6340 Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
• Nursing 6410 Introduction to Health Assessment
• Nursing 6420 Life Span Development of Individuals Within a Family Context
• Nursing 6430 Cultural Competence in Health Care: US and Global Contexts
• Nursing 6480 Quality and Safety Initiatives in Clinical Practice

MS Core and specialty core courses

• Nursing 7403 Innovation Leadership in Advanced Nursing
• Nursing 7483 Quality Improvement and Informatics
• NRSPRCT 8490 Health Promotion, Theory, and Population Health
• NRSPRCT 8500 Nursing Policy for Doctoral Nursing Practice
• Nursing 7780 Evidence-based Nursing Scholarship
• Nursing 7*** Pathophysiology (see specialty core courses)
• Nursing 7*** Advanced Health Assessment (see specialty core courses)
• Nursing 7*** Advanced Pharmacology (see specialty core courses)

In addition, each specialty has its own required coursework.

Online study

The program is a mix of online and on-campus classes. Most of the pre-licensure courses are offered in a classroom-based format, while most of the nursing core curriculum is offered as an online study option.

Clinical experience

Clinical experience provides the precepted hours necessary for certification. Preceptors are available in a wide variety of geographic locations and clinical sites throughout central Ohio and outside the state. Students are required to complete two to four semesters of clinical coursework depending upon the specialty requirements.