Master of Science in Nursing - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Applicants to the program must meet the following standards
1. Completion of the application for admission.
2. Complete all university admissions requirements.
3. Completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an ACEN, CCNE, or CNEA accredited program, with a 3.0 GPA or better
4. A valid and unencumbered license as a registered nurse in any US State or territory in which the student is licensed, including the State in which the student completes all assignments for the program.
a. Military, federal, and foreign-educated nurses must meet this State requirement for nursing licensure.
b. An active and unencumbered RN license(s) must be maintained throughout the program.
c. A domestic or foreign medical degree is not equivalent to a nursing degree.
5. Submit official transcripts from a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, by the add/drop date of the student's first term.  Applicants can be conditionally admitted into the first week of the program by providing unofficial transcripts or a copy of the conferred nursing degree.  Official transcripts which meet the requirements set forth must be received by the end of the add/drop period in order to be admitted into the program.

Additional Academic Transcript Requirements

Applicants who have completed the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree or higher at an institution outside of the United States are required to provide official third-party course-by-course evaluations of those academic credentials, verifying the Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale. These evaluations must be completed by a recognized accredited organization such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), or the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE). Examples of acceptable evaluation services include:

International Consultants of Delaware (https://www.icdeval.com/)

World Education Services (https://www.wes.org/)

International Education Research Foundation (https://ierf.org/)

In addition, those students applying to any of WCU’s MSN and Nurse Practitioner programs [Adult-Gerontology Acute Care; Adult-Gerontology Primary Care; Family, and Psychiatric Mental Health] must have their transcripts from nursing degrees awarded outside the United States reviewed by CGFNS International, Inc. and must submit an official CGFNS evaluation including computed equivalent grades [course-by-course] and computation of GPA. It is the student’s responsibility to pay any fees associated with this evaluation. It is the student’s responsibility to cooperate with WCU in providing all essential required documentation for CGFNS and other national certification agencies such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), American Association of Critical Care (AACN), etc. This is to ensure that their foreign course(s) are recognized as if earned in the United States. A written confirmation must be provided to WCU of the student’s eligibility to sit for national certification upon successful completion of the program. If the courses are not recognized as equivalent by national certification bodies such as those mentioned above, they will not meet West Coast University eligibility.

*West Coast University requires proof of English Proficiency. Applicants for whom English is not their primary language should refer to the University Admissions Requirements section of the catalog.

In addition to the admissions requirements above, applicants to the Master of Science in Nursing - Advanced Practice Registered Nurse tracks must also meet the following admissions requirements:
1. Recommendation for admission by the Program Dean/Director and admission committee members. Past academic performance and professional achievements will be evaluated using a rubric to determine the applicant’s level of qualification.
2. Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track applicants must have one (1) year of experience as a registered nurse (RN) within the past 5 years prior to admission or six (6) months experience as an RN in Psychiatric Mental Health within the past 5 years (preferred) prior to admission.
3. Students in MSN APRN tracks will be required to have a Gap Analysis review upon admission.

1. All Post Masters Certificates and transfers of credit into the nurse practitioner programs must have an APRN Transfer Credit Gap Analysis completed prior to admission acceptance. Students will be required to submit transcripts and may be required to submit course syllabi to determine transfer credit equivalency.
2. Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Health/Physical Assessment course(s) [3P] must have been completed within the last five (5) years with a grade of "B" or better.
3. Any 3P courses that are population specific (e.g., Advanced Pediatric Assessment, Advanced Pathophysiology for the CRNA, Advanced Pathophysiology for the Neonate, Advanced Psychopharmacology, etc.) are not transferable.
4. If courses were taken more than five (5) years from the date of program application, applicants must repeat the course(s).
a. For Post-Masters Certificate applicants who have taken an equivalent 3P course(s) that is more than five (5) years from the date of program application, transfer of credit may be considered for those who have an active NP certification.
5. Applicants who hold an MSN degree with a focus on education, leadership, informatics, or another area will be required to take essential APRN core courses including Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Physical Assessment prior to the desired focused specialty track courses.
6. APRN specialty courses will not be considered for transfer of credit. APRN specialization coursework must be completed at West Coast University.

Note: CA BRN related to prescriptive authority may have additional requirements. Some applicants may be required to take additional courses or continuing education equivalence based on licensure board of nursing.

Graduate Core Credits

12

Track/Specialty Courses

41

Total

53