Nursing: Direct Entry Graduate Programs

Requirements of all prerequisites

For Fall 2025 applicants: All prerequisites must be completed within TEN YEARS (not seven). Additionally, you may apply with THREE prerequisites outstanding. Please reach out to [email protected] with specific questions.

• You must complete all prerequisites within seven years before the application deadline.
• All prerequisite courses must have grades; pass/fail or audit courses, AP (Advanced Placement), IB, or CLEP scores do not fulfill prerequisites.
• You need to take prerequisites at a regionally accredited institution or a post-secondary institution abroad that is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country.
• You must have a cumulative GPA (of all institutions attended) of 3.0, and a 3.0 or “B” in all prerequisites.
• If you have exceeded two prerequisite retakes (either two separate course repeats or one prerequisite course repeated twice) within the past seven years, you are not eligible to apply to the Simmons University Direct Entry (MSN) program.

Prerequisite courses (based on semester systems) required for admission

• Statistics: One semester of statistics, can be taken in a math, psychology, or science department. Course content must include principles of probability, binomial and normal distributions, sample statistics, estimation and testing of hypotheses, and linear regression and correlation.
• Developmental Psychology: One semester of developmental psychology. Course content must span birth to death; general psychology does not meet this requirement. A series of appropriate courses in combination could fulfill the prerequisite, such as prenatal to adolescence, young-middle adulthood, aging, and dying.
• Microbiology: One semester of microbiology with a lab.
• Human Anatomy and Physiology: Two semesters of human anatomy and physiology with lab. Animal physiology will not meet this requirement.
• Pathophysiology
• General Chemistry with lab (one semester)

For questions regarding specific prerequisite courses, please email the School of Nursing Graduate Admission Office ([email protected]) to confirm the courses meet the requirements. Include the course name and number, when and where it was taken, if a lab is included, and if it was an online or onsite course.

Please note if applicants are/were enrolled in institutions that use(d) quarter or trimester systems, two or three quarters/trimesters may be required to equal one semester.

Applying with Missing Admission Prerequisites

If you are an international student requiring an F-1 visa, you must complete all admission requirements before or by the application deadline, as an I-20 cannot be issued for pre-admission courses nor part-time enrollment.

While US citizens or permanent residents may apply without having taken any of the prerequisite courses, it is strongly recommended that you take as many science prerequisites as possible before applying. This allows the admission committee to evaluate your ability to handle science content. If you have not completed any science prerequisites before application, you will be at a disadvantage in the admission review process in this competitive program.

If you apply with missing prerequisites and plan to complete them at another regionally accredited US institution in the summer before the program starts in September, you can be admitted provisionally if academically qualified. However, it is imperative that you first check with our office before registering for such courses. 

We encourage you to connect with a current graduate nursing student on our Chat with a Current Graduate Student page. Schedule a time to connect with by clicking the calendar icon, or simply choose "Chat Now" to start a conversation. Filters are available to help you find students in the program you're exploring. Don't see a student in your area of interest? Simply contact [email protected], so we can connect you with a student.

The School of Nursing welcomes your application for the Direct Entry Nursing programs. 

Visa Requirements and Full-Time Academic Status

If you require a student visa to study in the US, you must be enrolled full-time in a degree-granting academic program. If accepted, as a F-1 visa holder, you must maintain full-time enrollment in the Direct Entry program for its entire duration.

Additionally, if you are currently in the US and have any visa other than an F-1, you must check with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding procedures for changing your visa status. 

If you require an F-1 visa, you cannot enroll in non-degree courses, or online programs, or be admitted provisionally pending completion of admission requirements.

Because the Direct Entry MSN PMHNP and Direct Entry DNP PMHNP programs require semesters of solely online courses, you are ineligible to apply if you need an F-1 visa.

The Direct Entry Graduate Nursing programs are designed to prepare individuals with a baccalaureate degree but without a nursing background for professional nursing roles. The program starts each September and incorporates an innovative curriculum with clinical experiences tailored for students like you.

After completing the pre-licensure segment of the program (or after the MSN-RN or “MEPN” program), you are eligible to take the nursing licensure examination (NCLEX). 

DE MSN RN (or “MEPN”) Program:

You must be enrolled full-time for the entire DE MSN RN or “MEPN” program. After the program, you may take the NCLEX (RN licensure exam).

DE MSN FNP and DE DNP FNP programs:

Full-time enrollment is required for the pre-licensure portion of the DE-MSN-FNP and DE-DNP-FNP programs. You must pass the exam for the designation of RN (registered nurse) before beginning the graduate primary care clinical sequence. Clinical rotations will provide you with the experience you need before beginning primary care.

Upon completion of the pre-RN licensure portion of the program, you will take the NCLEX exam. Upon earning the RN, you must work at least eight hours per week for the duration of the program to gain valuable experience to bring to your advanced nursing courses. If you hold an F-1 visa, you will be able to work after obtaining your RN and submitting the required documents to the Simmons International advisor and the Massachusetts Board of Nursing. You will work with the International Student Advisor to apply for work authorization as required for the program.

The curriculum of the second portion of the program (post-licensure) is the same FNP curriculum as for people with RNs. While this part can be completed part-time, F-1 and J-1 visa holders must be enrolled full-time to maintain their status.

In year two and year three of the program, two semesters require 8 credit hours of coursework. Full-time status in the School of Nursing is defined as enrollment in 9 credit hours each semester. However, during these two semesters, you will complete a clinical rotation. Eight hours of clinical experience is worth one course credit hour. Thus, you will be considered full-time during these semesters.

Upon completing the program, you will be awarded an MS degree but not a BSN degree. You will be prepared to take the Family Nurse Practitioner certification exam offered by the professional credentialing organization.

Application Deadlines

It is imperative that if you have studied or are studying abroad, you begin your application process at least six months before the deadline. If you are residing abroad and earned a degree abroad, you must have completed all prerequisites before applying to the program. Please allow ample time for the pace of international postal systems, obtaining visa documents, arriving in the US, and transitioning to a new environment. You will not be allowed to enroll if you arrive after the official start of the term.

Required Academic Records

A "college" abroad usually means a secondary institution whereas in the US, a college is an institution providing higher education. A college can be part of a larger university or represent a singular institution such as Simmons University. You do not need academic records from overseas colleges, which are actually secondary schools (high schools in the US) as part of your application. Courses taken at the secondary level do not fulfill the prerequisite requirements for application and admission to a graduate program. A baccalaureate in the US is a first university degree. Many overseas systems award baccalaureates that represent the completion of secondary education or a year beyond.

If you have earned a post-secondary degree abroad, you must submit a credential evaluation, which includes an official transcript (“marks sheet”) in the original language. If the evaluation service can verify they received an official transcript to complete the evaluation, a separate official transcript is not needed.

You must submit grades (marks) for each course, not just end-of-year exam results or a copy of the degree earned. Additionally, educational documents should clearly indicate the degree and date awarded. 

Your overseas post-secondary institutions must be recognized by the Ministry of Education in the country where the institution is located. 

Evaluations must be in English and include US equivalencies of all transcripts, including a course-by-course evaluation with grades. Evaluations should also include a copy of your official transcript.

If you have earned a graduate degree from a US Institution (master’s degree or PhD), you may not need to submit all of the aforementioned requirements. Please reach out to [email protected] to inquire about what you may need to supply to complete your application.

Please note ALL evaluation documents must be from an approved service provider or NACES-approved service provider, including a course-by-course evaluation in order for the evaluation to be accepted by Simmons.

Credential Evaluation Agencies*

Examples of approved credential evaluation agencies include: 

• AACRO International Education Services
• Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute
• Academic Evaluation Services
• Center for Applied Research, Evaluation and Education, Inc
• Center for Educational Documentation
• CGFNS International
• Credential Evaluation World
• Education Credential Evaluation
• Education Evaluators International
• Education Perspectives
• Educational Records Evaluation Services
• Evaluation Services
• Foreign Academic Credential Services
• Foreign Credential Service of America
• Foundation for International Services
• Global Credential Evaluators
• Globe Language Services
• International Academic Credential Evaluators
• International Consultants of Delaware
• International Education Evaluations
• North American Educational Group
• International Education Research Foundation
• Josef Silny- International Credential Evaluation Institute
• Spantran the Evaluation Company
• Validential
• World Education Services (WES)
• Scholaro

For Graduate Health Sciences applicants, if you use WES to evaluate your transcript, please use the WES ICAP evaluation service.

Required Standardized Test Results

GRE scores are not required for our graduate nursing programs at Simmons University.

If your primary language is not English, you must submit official English language test scores taken within two years before the application deadline. These include the TOEFL, Duolingo English Test, Pearson Test of English, and IELTS. Other English proficiency exams can be considered on a case-by-case basis. This requirement is based on native language, not citizenship.

This requirement is waived if you have graduated at the bachelor's or master's level from a regionally accredited US institution or a post-secondary institution abroad that is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the host country in English-speaking countries only.

Official scores are required; copies of student score reports are not acceptable. The TOEFL code is 3761. A minimum score of 570 (paper-based), 230 (computer-based,) or 88 (internet-based) is required. The TOEFL should be taken well in advance of the application deadline for the official scores to be received in time; it takes 5-6 weeks to receive scores from ETS. Further information about TOEFL can be obtained by contacting Educational Testing Service (ETS) by telephone at 609-771-7670 or by visiting their website.

Information about the Duolingo English Test can be found by visiting their website.

Required Financial Documentation

If you are a non-US citizen who will require a student visa to study in the US, you must provide accurate and current evidence of your ability to pay for the cost of a Simmons education. These costs are variable (but include fixed and living costs beyond tuition) and are outlined on the Certification of Finances Form. This form will be available in your Simmons application portal. This form must be completed and submitted within the portal. In addition, an original signed statement from your sponsor indicating a willingness to provide financial support and a statement from the sponsor's bank verifying the availability of sufficient funds must be submitted. All documents must be signed in original ink, and written in English, and funds must be shown in US dollars ($).

It is very important that you inquire about the regulations in the home country concerning the transfer of funds. You may submit these forms during the application process or after being admitted to the program. Please keep in mind that the documents cannot be older than six months. This information is required to process an I-20 to obtain an F-1 student visa.

Academic Year

For each academic semester, you receive grades for each subject (course) taken. The first (fall) semester generally starts in early September and ends in mid-December. The second (spring) semester begins in mid-January and ends in mid-May. Additionally, there are summer sessions lasting from May to August. Most programs begin in the fall (September) semester.

Grading and Credit Hours

The School of Nursing at Simmons University awards letter grades for all completed courses: A=Excellent, B=Good, C=Fair, D=Poor, F=Fail, and P=Pass. Each letter grade is assigned a value: A=4.00, B=3.00, C=2.00, D=1.00, and F=0. Each course carries a certain number of credit hours, where usually, one credit is equal to one hour of classroom instruction. Graduate courses are usually worth three credits although some are worth four, two, or one. The total number of credit hours required to obtain a specific degree will determine the number of courses a student needs to complete the program.

Arrival at Simmons University

It is important that you plan properly to arrive at the required time to commence your studies. Allow ample time for obtaining immigration documents, shipping personal items, and adjustments due to time and climactic changes. You will NOT be allowed to enroll in classes if you arrive after classes have officially started. Allow adequate time for moving, student orientation, and establishing contacts.