Direct Entry NP Programs

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Hello all! I am working on a list of school that offer Direct Entry MSN NP Programs for people that have a bachelor's degree in another field. Does anyone have a list?

Some background on me, I graduated with a Bachelors in Communication with a 2.76. I will be finishing my MBA in December with a GPA so far of 3.67. Does anyone know if any of the direct entry programs will be willing to look at my graduate GPA or cumulative GPA instead of my undergrad?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

Have you taken pre-requisite courses yet? Did you have science courses as part of your undergraduate degree? A cumulative undergrad GPA of 2.67 is really going to limit you when looking at programs. You may want to take your nursing pre-reqs and make sure you get all As before considering particular programs.

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I am enrolled in 10 credit hours of prerequisites that start this week. I plan on getting all A's and trying to raise my GPA. Do you know my graduate degree will play into all of this? My cumulative between the 2 degrees is 3.0. Thanks for your response!

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It depends on your location. In California, here's a school for you:

Competitive Candidate - Master of Science in Nursing - Entry (MSN)

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
I am enrolled in 10 credit hours of prerequisites that start this week. I plan on getting all A's and trying to raise my GPA. Do you know my graduate degree will play into all of this? My cumulative between the 2 degrees is 3.0. Thanks for your response!

Most competitive programs will look at your cumulative GPA (which for most programs is undergraduate only) and your nursing/pre-req GPA vs a last X credit hours GPA. There are normally hard cutoffs that you need to make or they won't look at your application. It is going to be hard to escape that 2.76 unless you limit your applications to schools that have less strict admissions criteria and/or take a total cumulative GPA (which would place your right at the minimum cutoff of 3.0 for most programs).

Honestly, you should entertain the idea of going to an accelerated ADN/BSN program first, get your GPA up while getting your pre-licensure work done, then follow-up with a BSN-MSN NP program after you graduate with your RN. This would likely make you a better applicant for a quality NP program.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
It depends on your location. In California, here's a school for you:

Competitive Candidate - Master of Science in Nursing - Entry (MSN)

They have a 3.0 minimum GPA and average 3.32 and 3.54 for cumulative and last-60 for accepted students.

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They have a 3.0 minimum GPA and average 3.32 and 3.54 for cumulative and last-60 for accepted students.

Yeah, that program I linked is not direct NP route. It mentions in regards to acquiring post-masters FNP:

"Post-Masters Family Nurse Practitioner Option

WesternU College of Graduate Nursing graduates will be given first consideration when applying to the FNP program. Applicants will be required to have completed one year, full-time RN work experience."

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Yeah, that program I linked is not direct NP route. It mentions in regards to acquiring post-masters FNP:

"Post-Masters Family Nurse Practitioner Option

WesternU College of Graduate Nursing graduates will be given first consideration when applying to the FNP program. Applicants will be required to have completed one year, full-time RN work experience."

True, it is essentially an accelerated MSN-RN program.

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I don't know of any programs that are direct entry to an NP route. Most NP programs want you to have at least two years of experience. Some will allow you to start and count the two years upon graduation. There are direct entry MN programs where you take the first half to become an RN, and the last year is training on how to become a nurse manager. If NP is the route you want to go, I would suggest two options. First, go to your community college and earn an ADN. This will allow you to sit for NCLEX to become an RN. Then apply for an RN to DNP program and choose which NP focus you want to do. The second is to do an accelerated BSN program for those who already have a bachelor's degree. However, I think your GPA may hinder you. If you do the ADN, they will take your prereqs GPA for admissions (at least that's how it is done where I teach). The other thing is that you will be able to backfill gen eds and electives with your previous undergraduate degree. So, you will be able to move faster towards the DNP; not to mention the fact that it will be a lot cheaper. You work as a nurse while completing the DNP and have your employer pay for it.

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.
I don't know of any programs that are direct entry to an NP route. Most NP programs want you to have at least two years of experience. Some will allow you to start and count the two years upon graduation. There are direct entry MN programs where you take the first half to become an RN, and the last year is training on how to become a nurse manager. If NP is the route you want to go, I would suggest two options. First, go to your community college and earn an ADN. This will allow you to sit for NCLEX to become an RN. Then apply for an RN to DNP program and choose which NP focus you want to do. The second is to do an accelerated BSN program for those who already have a bachelor's degree. However, I think your GPA may hinder you. If you do the ADN, they will take your prereqs GPA for admissions (at least that's how it is done where I teach). The other thing is that you will be able to backfill gen eds and electives with your previous undergraduate degree. So, you will be able to move faster towards the DNP; not to mention the fact that it will be a lot cheaper. You work as a nurse while completing the DNP and have your employer pay for it.

Not true. There are many DE programs that train you to be a NP. You do clinical work for both RN and NP licensure. They have different requirements for work experience as a RN.

OP- I second BostonFNP's advice about doing an accelerated BSN program first. Unfortunately, your GPA just isn't competitive for most good DE programs. Don't settle for a sub par program that will accept anyone who can write a check.

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At which universities do these programs exist?

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
At which universities do these programs exist?

You can do a simple Google search for "direct entry NP programs" and find pages of them. There are more than 60 nationwide, assuming you are US based.

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