Admissions

• Fill out a VAP application form.
• Applicants should designate admission to the nursing major and must meet the equivalent of the required pre-requisite courses for the nursing program.
• Submit military coursework and experience as a portfolio for individual course credit evaluation by nursing faculty
• Complete a UNCG undergraduate application AFTER being accepted into the Veterans Access Program. For those who are active duty, you only apply to the University AFTER being accepted into the VAP and your acceptance into your military branch program commission program.

• Students must hold a current, active unrestricted RN license in North Carolina or in a state covered by the multi-state Nurse Licensure Compact before enrolling in the required Nursing courses and maintain licensure at all times while enrolled in the Nursing courses. For questions, see the NC Board of Nursing website.
• The minimum GPA requirement for University admission is a cumulative 2.0 transfer from all previously attended higher education institutions.

Applicants to the Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration program must have or provide the following:

• Completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher in nursing science from a U.S. college or university accredited by an institutional accrediting association or completion of a bachelor’s that is equivalent to a U.S. degree from an international college or university recognized and approved by the Ministry of Education or Commission responsible for higher education in the country where the degree is earned.  
• To help ensure a diverse and equitable admission process UNCG school of nursing utilizes a “Holistic admission” process that considers a number of factors for admission that may not be captured in a traditional admission process (such as prior experience as a nurse and involvement with professional and community organizations). 
• Current unrestricted RN license. If not NC RN, license or compact state license, applicants would need to acquire NC RN license prior to start of the program. 
• Current/Updated Resume/CV 
• Three professional recommendations that attest to applicant’s academic ability, readiness for graduate school, professional competency, and character with at least one reference from a healthcare provider (RN, DO, MD, NP, PA). 
• Transcripts from each institution where applicant earned (or will earn) a degree, studied for 1 semester or more, earned 12 or more credit hours, or took classes related to graduate study interests 
• Any applicant who has never studied at a U.S. institution must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Scores must not be more than 2 years old. UNCG SON will consider IELTS score of 7.0 or a minimum TOEFL score of 100 (Internet-based test) with minimum sub-scores of 22 in Reading, 22 in Listening, 26 in Spelling and 24 in Writing. 

Applicants to the Nursing Leadership and Management Concentration must have or provide the following:

• Current unrestricted licensure as a registered nurse in one of the fifty states or validated credentials by CGFNS for international applicants. Residents of North Carolina must hold unrestricted North Carolina licensure as a registered nurse.
• Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency. 
• A satisfactory score must be achieved on the Graduate Record Exam or Miller Analogies Test taken within 5 years, if the BSN GPA is less than 3.2.
• Minimum of one year of full-time clinical experience.
• A personal statement is required for consideration of admission.
• An interview is required for selected applicants.
• Nonresidential international students are required to participate in a telephone interview.

Post-Baccalaureate DNP-AGPCNP applicants must meet the following Application and Admission Requirements:

• Current unrestricted licensure as a registered nurse in one of the 50 states or validated credentials by CGFNS for international students. Residents of North Carolina must hold unrestricted North Carolina licensure as a registered nurse.
• A baccalaureate degree in Nursing from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
• An inferential statistics course, a chemistry course, and health assessment course at the undergraduate level are required prerequisite courses.
• To help ensure a diverse and equitable admission process UNCG School of Nursing utilizes a “Holistic admission” process that considers a number of factors for admission that may not be captured in a traditional admission process (such as prior experience as a nurse and involvement with professional and community organizations).
• A resume.
• A personal statement of 400 words or less that discusses the applicant’s nursing background and discusses future goals.
• Three professional nursing references (mix of educational and professional sources).
• An interview is required for applicants.
• Nonresidential international students are required to participate in a telephone interview.
• Minimum of one year full time clinical nursing experience.

• Degree requirements:
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
  • Entry level MSN also accepted
• GPA:
  • Minimum 3.2 GPA (cumulative)
  • Undergraduate science grades are reviewed carefully
  • Science GPA minimum 3.0
• GRE:
  • Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT) within five years of application.
  • Scores should be competitive in the > 50% percentile range
  • This requirement may be waived for applicants who have earned master’s degrees at the Program’s discretion
• Nursing License:
  • Current unrestricted licensure as a registered nurse in one of the 50 states or validated credentials by CGFNS for international students. Residents of North Carolina must hold unrestricted North Carolina licensure as a registered nurse.
• Certifications:
  • Basic Life Support (BLS); Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) & Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification must be from the American Heart Association. ACLS alone does not meet the BLS certification requirement.
  • PALS course completion is preferred prior to the time of interview. However, as long as the PALS course date has been scheduled and documentation is provided by the applicant, we will schedule an applicant to interview.
• Required course work:
  • Health Assessment
    • Satisfactory completion of an undergraduate Health Assessment course.
    • In an undergraduate Health Assessment course, students are introduced to the body’s organ systems and functions and must show mastery through hands on demonstration of physical assessment skills for each organ system. 
    • Course content should include collecting and interpreting verbal and observational data from the patient and/or family/caregiver, interpreting lab and other noninvasive and invasive testing data, collecting and interpreting patient history data, and interpreting data collected from the hands-on physical assessment of the patient.
    •  If you have taken a course that is not listed as a Health Assessment course, specifically, UNCG will need to review the course syllabus and the course description for the course you completed in your undergraduate nursing program to determine if it meets the prerequisite criteria.
    • There are no expiration dates for prerequisite course work.
  • Chemistry:
    • Satisfactory completion of undergraduate Chemistry (three semester hours minimum). Biochemistry may be accepted in instances where an undergraduate Chemistry course was not part of the plan of study for the degree.
    • Chemistry courses must meet undergraduate GEP (general education program) requirements and include a lab component.
    • High School AP coursework and “testing out” at college acceptance is not accepted
  • Statistics:
    • Satisfactory completion of an undergraduate course in Statistics. 
    • High School AP coursework and “testing out” at college acceptance is not accepted.
    • Statistic courses must meet undergraduate GEP requirements
• Clinical experience:
  • A minimum of one year of continuous full-time acute care experience in a critical care setting – adult experience is required- MICU, SICU, CCU, CTSU, Neuro ICU, etc.
  • PACU and ED experience is not considered to be acute care experience in a critical care setting
• Shadowing:
  • A minimum of 2 shadowing experiences with a CRNA.
  • The CRNA should document the type of shadowing experience or experiences, sign and date and give to the applicant.
• CCRN certification
  • Applicants will not be considered for admission until they have received their CCRN certification.
• References:
  • Three (3) references are required as part of the application process- 1 from an immediate supervisor and 2 from colleagues
  • References should come from individuals who work with you on a daily basis and can attest to your work ethic and experience.
• Admission to the nurse anesthesia concentration program is competitive. Prior to enrollment, all students accepted to the program must furnish, before enrollment, complete immunizations, vaccinations, licensure, TB testing, flu shots, drug screen, and background check as requested by the UNC Greensboro Graduate School.
• To help ensure a diverse and equitable admission process UNCG School of Nursing utilizes a “Holistic admission” process that considers a number of factors for admission that may not be captured in a traditional admission process (such as prior experience as a nurse and involvement with professional and community organizations).
• The UNCG DNP nurse anesthesia concentration program does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, creed, veteran status, any protected classes, or any factor protected under state or federal law in its programs or activities. This is required to maintain our accreditation with the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.
• The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policy:

Linda Stone, DNP, CRNA
Program Administrator/Concentration Coordinator
UNCG Graduate School of Nursing
DNP Nurse Anesthesia Concentration
124 East Gate City Blvd
Greensboro, NC 27406
336-553-6084

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act, which applies to the clinical sites where students are required to work, specifically states that religious exemption from medical examinations, immunizations, or treatment does not apply for healthcare provider if these examinations, immunizations, or treatments are necessary for the protection of the health and safety of others.

Post-Master’s DNP applicants must meet the following Application and Admission Requirements:

• Current unrestricted licensure as a registered nurse in one of the 50 states or validated credentials by CGFNS for international students seeking to study in the U.S.  Residents of North Carolina must hold unrestricted North Carolina licensure as a registered nurse.  International students who complete their entire course of study outside the U.S. must be approved to practice as a Registered Nurse or the equivalent title in their home country.
• Master’s degree in Nursing with the specialty of Nursing Leadership/Administration, Clinical Nurse Leader, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nurse Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist, Nursing Informatics from a program accredited by a nationally recognized nursing accrediting agency.  International students who complete their entire course of study outside the U.S. must hold a Master’s Degree in Nursing from an approved University in their home country. Additionally, they must have clinical experience in an advanced nursing role in their home country.
• All APRNs must hold national certification appropriate to their specialty. If national nursing specialty certification is not available in the home country, this certification is not required to apply for the DNP.
• Applicants with a Master’s degree in Nursing with a focus in Nursing Education from a program accredited by a nationally recognized nursing accrediting agency are eligible for admission after successful completion of the UNC Greensboro School of Nursing 15-credit Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nursing with the Nursing Leadership and Management specialty.
• An undergraduate statistics course is a required prerequisite course for the Post-Master’s DNP
• To help ensure a diverse and equitable admission process UNCG school of nursing utilizes a “Holistic admission” process that considers a number of factors for admission that may not be captured in a traditional admission process (such as prior experience as a nurse and involvement with professional and community organizations).
• A resume.
• A personal statement of 400 words or less that discusses the applicant’s nursing background and future goals.
• Three professional nursing references (mix of educational and professional sources).
• An interview may be required.
• Nonresidential international students are required to participate in a telephone interview.

Applicants must have the following credentials:

• Upon admission to the PhD program, students are expected to submit a current unrestricted RN license. International students must submit a nursing license from their home country validated by CGFNS.  Even though not required, Ph.D. students are recommended to obtain RN licensure in North Carolina in the event that the license is required for research assignments or, assistantships or dissertation data collection. 
• Satisfactory TOEFL scores for international applicants. 
• An inferential statistics course within the past five years or permission by the Program Director.  
• A Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in nursing from a school accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency. If your master’s GPA is 3.2 or greater you do not need to take GRE. If your master’s GPA is lower than 3.2, please contact the Director to discuss. 
• In addition to the application materials required by The Graduate School, applicants must submit a 300-word statement of research goals in doctoral program related to promotion of optimal health for ethnic minorities, women, children, or older adults. 
• Selected applicants must participate in an interview with Graduate Nursing Faculty. 
• Please refer to the preceding enrollment requirements for all graduate nursing students.