Entrance Requirements

  • Bachelor of Science degree in nursing or related field from an accredited university (NLNAC, CCNE, or regional accreditation).
  • A minimum GPA of 3.0 in nursing and supporting courses.
  • Satisfactory completion of undergraduate courses in biostatistics or statistics (including inferential statistics) and chemistry (three semester hours each).
  • Satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within the past five years. Scores below the 50th percentile may not be considered acceptable.
  • Completion of the Casper assessment.
  • Submission of CCRN score report.
  • Current licensure as a registered nurse - (NC licensure required for matriculation).
  • A minimum of one year (2,080 hours) of full-time experience within the two years prior to application in an intensive care or coronary care unit Clinical experience must be direct patient care which demonstrates independent decision-making (time in orientation or in managerial positions is not applicable). Management of vasoactive infusions, invasive monitors, ventilator modalities, sedative and paralytic drugs and blood test interpretation are examples of experiences most applicable to nurse anesthesia study. Nurse practitioners functioning in a high acuity intensive care setting will be considered based on a program review of the setting and job description of the nurse practitioner. The program director will have final decision making authority of whether the applicant(s) work history is acceptable to be considered for admission.
  • Certification in BLS and ACLS.
  • The ability to comply with all hospital policies and the ability to meet the defined technical standards for program admission.