Online MSN in Nursing Education

Official transcripts from all institutions attended should be sent directly to NursingCAS (American Association of College of Nursing). NO TRANSCRIPTS should be sent to the University.

International Transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES). WES evaluations are to be sent to NursingCAS directly.

Overall minimum BSN GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. (A comparable level of achievement is expected for other grading systems.)

Three letters of reference:

References should come from individuals who can attest to your academic and professional skills. Reference letters should come from educators, managers, supervising physicians or APNs in specialty. Peer references are not encouraged.

Length: 500–700 words

Your goal statement should:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the specialty area
• Explain your interest in the specialty
• Highlight your preparedness and reasons for pursuing the program
• Describe your goals after graduation

This statement will also serve as an academic writing sample.

Professional resume required.

Provide your CV or resume in PDF format. Please be sure that it provides relevant work history and reflects any contributions beyond normal job expectations. Include military service, community service, membership in professional associations, and any certifications that you currently hold. Please also include any scholarship, such as publications or presentations.

• $65 ($70 international) non-refundable University of Cincinnati Graduate School application fee.*
  • *Currently waived through the 2025-2026 school year!
• $85 NursingCAS Application Fee, paid directly to NursingCAS.
• Non-refundable matriculation fee required upon acceptance (applied toward your tuition in your first semester).

• State & U.S. Territory Restrictions

  • The University of Cincinnati’s online graduate nursing programs are not currently available to students located in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. For more information on restricted states, please visit our State Authorization page.
  • Kansas: Effective March 1, 2025, the Kansas State Board of Nursing made a change to their licensure education requirements for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN’s). Additional information can be found on the organization’s website.
    • Applicants who are admitted to an ARPN program that leads to licensure will be provided a revised plan to include an additional variable credit course (NURS8098: Clinical Elective) to complete the difference in clinical hours required by the University of Cincinnati and the Kansas State Board of Nursing (if applicable). The number of credit hours for this course will vary based on the number of clinical hours needed to meet licensure education requirements. Further guidance, including an individualized plan of study, will be provided for admitted students.
    • This change doesn’t apply to non-APRN specialties: Systems Leadership, Public Health Nursing, Occupational Health Nursing, and Nursing Education.
  • Washington: The University of Cincinnati is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission to provide practice experiences in the state of Washington for the following programs:
    • Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
    • Family Nurse Practitioner
    • Nurse Midwifery
    • Nursing Administration
    • Women’s Health
• For more information, visit Washington’s State Board of Nursing site.

• Washington: The University of Cincinnati is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission to provide practice experiences in the state of Washington for the following programs:    
  • Nursing Education

For more information, visit Washington’s State Board of Nursing Education site. 

• Currently, we cannot admit students from any U.S. territory: America Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• International Student Restrictions

  • An international student is defined as someone who holds citizenship in another country and is not a permanent resident of the United States.
  • International students are admissible to our online programs, providing they commit to doing their clinical requirements in the United States.
  • Due to the clinical requirements in our graduate online programs, international students must already have a visa that gives them legal status to work within the United States or must be able to obtain the legal status that will allow them to come to the U.S. and engage in clinical activities.
  • International students are not eligible for student visas for online programs, including clinical requirements.
  • It is the responsibility of the international student to have the appropriate work authorization documents or be able to obtain the appropriate work authorization before applying to online programs in the College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati.

• We cannot admit residents of U.S. Territories or in a country outside of the U.S. Only persons serving in the military who reside on a military base and can complete clinical requirements on the military base should apply to our College of Nursing graduate online programs. Prior to application to our program, the prospective student should confirm that they will have the ability to complete clinical requirements on the military base.
• Students cannot complete clinicals at a U.S. Embassy.