Program Admission
Admit Terms and Deadlines
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. See Application Deadlines.
The university takes an average of 2-3 weeks to make admission decisions. Therefore, the response time from the School of Nursing may be longer depending on the submission date and application deadlines.
In addition to the School of Nursing Graduate Admission processes, all acceptance offers will include the Gap Analysis and Summary of Requirements.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.
Program Requirements
Applicants must also meet the following program requirements. Requirements may be more stringent than the minimum graduate school requirements.
- Document an earned Master of Science in Nursing from an accredited institution.
- Have at least a cumulative 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) college GPA. (Applicants may seek conditional admission with a GPA of 2.75).
- Have a current unrestricted license to practice as a professional registered nurse in the U.S. or eligibility to obtain a Michigan license.
- Have completed an approved basic statistics course that includes descriptive and inferential statistics within the last ten years.
Also, the following documents are required and need to be submitted with the application.
- Current licensure as a registered nurse in the state in which practice will occur (Applicants who are eligible for a license may apply for conditional admission)
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- A two- to three-page (< 500 words) personal statement describing your desire and preparedness for becoming an Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist, plans, and professional goals. Essays will be evaluated based on fit with our program, the ability to express yourself, the degree of scholarly content, spelling, grammar, and use of the current American Psychological Association style.
- Syllabi for non-EMU courses that meet seven (7) prerequisite courses.
***All documents above should be submitted with the application, and any transcripts from other universities or colleges previously attended.
Gap Analysis
Students pursuing the Post-Master’s Certificate in Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist must submit transcripts, syllabi, and verification of clinical hours (if requesting CNS clinical hours’ accommodation) from their previous MSN programs.
A gap analysis will be conducted by faculty/staff to ensure that all prerequisites for the certificate program are met within their prior MSN coursework. The purpose of the gap analysis will be to evaluate students’ previous coursework against current standards. Specifically, students will be required to have completed the following courses or equivalents with a “B” or better within the last ten years (pharmacology within the last five years).
Under special circumstances, the Associate Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Nursing may grant equivalency if substantial evidence is provided that an individual has met the competency for a particular course.
Application
Your application will be submitted using NursingCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.
Domestic Applicants Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript from all previously attended institutions.
International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.
For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.
Critical Graduation Information
Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.
Graduate Certificate requirements must be completed within three (3) years of first enrollment in a course applicable to the certificate. Dually enrolled students (certificate and master’s program) must complete both degrees within six years of first enrollment in the master’s degree.
In the event a student does not complete the graduate certificate degree requirements within three years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.
The following are the minimum requirements for all graduate certificate degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.
- A graduate certificate must require a minimum of 12 credit hours.
- No more than six credits of independent study courses and 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
- Residency Requirement - For students admitted to a graduate certificate program, at least nine graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the program must be earned at EMU. Students completing multiple certificate programs must have a minimum of 9 unique credit hours per certificate.
- Application of completed certificates toward prior degree credit - Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours of the master’s program.
- The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
- Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
