Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Overview

MSN Core

• NUR5000 Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice: Expanded Practice, Communication, and Collaboration
• NUR5005 Population Health in a Global Society, Legislation and Social Policy
• NUR6000 Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice

Direct Care Core

• MED5005 Advanced Clinical Pharmacology
• MED5000 Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology
• NUR6010 Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning (45 clinical hours offsite) 

FNP Clinical Component

• NUR6030 Primary Care for Adolescents and Adult Patients
• NUR6035 Clinical I: Advanced Practice Nursing in Adolescents and Adults Care (180 clinical hours offsite with 2 onsite simulations)
• NUR6040 Primary Care for Geriatric Patients
• NUR6045 Clinical II: Advanced Practice Nursing in Geriatric Care (135 clinical hours offsite)
• NUR6050 Primary Care for Pediatric Patients
• NUR6055 Clinical III: Advanced Practice Nursing in Pediatric Care (90 clinical hours offsite)
• NUR6060 Primary Care for Maternal-Child
• NUR6065 Clinical IV: Advanced Practice Nursing in Women’s Health and Perinatal Care (90 clinical hours offsite)
• NUR7035 Advanced Practice Nursing in Family Practice Capstone (90 clinical hours offsite)

SAMPLE PROGRAM SEQUENCE - FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER - PART-TIME

SAMPLE PROGRAM SEQUENCE - FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER - FULL-TIME

The Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner specialization track is designed for clinicians who have experience in direct patient care, defined as nursing care provided to individuals or families intended to achieve specific health goals or achieve selected health outcomes. Direct care may be provided in a wide range of settings, including acute and critical care, long-term care, home health, community-based settings, and educational settings. Nurses who work in indirect patient care are not eligible for this specialization track. Indirect patient care refers to nursing decisions, actions, or interventions that are provided through or on behalf of individuals, families, or groups and while they may be responsible for nurses providing direct care, they do not provide direct care themselves, making them ineligible for the program. The following will be the admission requirements for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner specialization track. The admission requirements are used to identify those students who are most likely to complete the program.

1. Applicants must provide authorization for a criminal background check prior to being accepted into the program. In instances where a student’s criminal background check contains information related to past criminal activity, Berkeley College may not make an offer of Admission into the program or guarantee that it will find suitable clinical placement(s) since the decision to allow students to complete clinical rotations is at the sole discretion of the clinical affiliate.
2. Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, including course work in statistics, research, and physical assessment.
3. GPA 3.0*: Minimum GPA of 3.0 from all previous institutions attended for undergraduate degree, including if they attended Berkeley College, (but all transcripts are reviewed regardless of the program) and past performance in sciences are strong indicators.
4. Possess a current unencumbered, unrestricted license as a registered nurse (RN) in the state of residence or APRN certification in states where the APRN is an upgrade of the RN license resulting in only one license that is both an RN and an APRN license.
5. A personal Goal Statement to reflect personal and professional career goals for graduate education (rationale and goals for the selected area of advanced practice must be included).
6. Two letters of recommendation from professionals at the Master's or Doctoral degree level, such as a nurse or physician, who can attest to the applicant’s ability to be successful in our program, aligning with program outcomes.
7. Applicants must submit a recent curriculum vitae (CV) listing all professional experience. Also, applicants must be employed as a Registered Nurse in a direct patient care setting at the time of application.
8. Current BLS, ACLS and PALS certification.
9. Final acceptance into the program will be determined by the Graduate Nursing Programs Admissions Committee composed of nursing and School of Health science faculty, nursing administrators, and MSN Admission Director.

An offer of admission will be valid for 12 months from the start date of the program. Applicants denied admission will be allowed to reapply after 180 days. 

* Applicants not meeting GPA requirement of 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission with the following provision: Student will take six (6) credits of graduate courses at Berkeley College. Students will be required to demonstrate successful graduate work with a GPA of 3.0 at the end of the first semester in order to progress in the program. Students not achieving a 3.0 GPA at the end of the first semester will be dismissed from the program.