Prospective Students Must Meet the Following Requirements for Admission:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing from a regionally accredited college/university along with a minimum of Associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) from a regionally accredited institution.
• Possess an unencumbered/unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse in the state where you plan to conduct your clinical practicum.
• Cumulative undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or on the last 60 semester hours.
• Students with a GPA less than 3.2 are required to complete and submit scores for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or GMAT; only scores completed within the past 5 years are accepted. Minimum required scores are a combined score of 297 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE or score of 480 on the GMAT. Applicants who have successfully completed a graduate degree from a regionally accredited academic institution may receive a waiver for this requirement if they achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their previous graduate degree program. The following individuals are not eligible for the GRE waiver process: International applicants, non-native English speaking applicants, and Dual degree seeking applicants (e.g., MSN/MPH). For more information on the Test Score Waiver process click here.
• Submit three letters of professional reference attesting to the applicant’s potential for graduate study.
• Applicants should submit an official transcript from every college or university they have ever attended (even if for only one semester). Transcripts may be emailed electronically by the issuing institution to the UAB Graduate School at gradschool@uab.edu or mailed to:
  • UAB Graduate School
    LHL G03
    1720 2nd Ave. S.
    Birmingham, AL 35294-0013

Applicants to the RN to MSN Pathway must have successfully completed prerequisite course requirements listed below with a grade of “C” or above prior to matriculation into the pathway.

Students admitted to the RN to MSN Pathway are required to complete three courses designed to “bridge” the upper division level undergraduate nursing courses.

Students admitted to the RN to MSN Pathway will select a specialty area from one of two different MSN Pathways:

• MSN Nurse Practitioner Pathway
• MSN Health Systems Leadership Pathway
• For Instruction for Applying to the RN to MSN Pathway, click here

University Scholarships and Financial Aid

Information on Financial Aid, University Scholarships and other funding opportunities are available on UAB's Cost & Aid website.

UAB School of Nursing Scholarships

The UAB School of Nursing offers many scholarships, both need and merit based, to support nursing students across all programs. Scholarships are awarded twice a year, during the spring and fall semesters and requires just one application to be considered for all undergraduate or graduate scholarships. For more information or to start the scholarship application process, visit the SON Scholarship Application webpage.

Graduate Fellowships and Traineeships

There are a limited number of Graduate Fellowships and Traineeships that are awarded through the UAB School of Nursing that require students to meet specific requirements, and are only awarded when funds are available. When such funds are available in a particular program, students enrolled in the program will be notified and provided information on how to apply. Contact Katrina Staffney (email: KatrinaStaffney@uab.edu), for more information.

Nurse Faculty Loan

Federal Nurse Faculty Loan Funds are available to MSN students who intend to assume a faculty position in a school of nursing upon completion of the degree. These funds are limited to payment of tuition and fees and other reasonable educational expenses. Contact JoeAnn Kennedy (email: joeann@uab.edu), for more information.

NOTE: Prospective International students must first contact UAB International Admissions to determine eligibility to study in the U.S. and/or submit an application for admission to UAB.

The table below provides information on eligibility requirements for the MSN Program.

Application Requirements

• Prospective students must have a bachelors degree in nursing equivalent to that offered by a U.S. regionally accredited educational institution.
• For Graduate Clinical Programs such as the Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program, prospective students must also be licensed as a registered nurse in the U.S., in the state in which they will reside while completing the program.
• International applicants must, as part of their application, provide a detailed course by course evaluation of their academic transcripts and verification of their academic credentials. Students may use one of the following firms for transcript evaluation; a report of the evaluation must be submitted directly to the UAB School of Nursing prior to admission decisions.
  • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
    P.O. Box 514070
    Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470 USA
    Website: www.ece.org
  • World Education Services
    Bowling Green Station
    P.O. Box 5087
    New York, NY 10274-5087 USA
    Website: www.wes.org
• Applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on prior college/university course work.
• Applicants must complete and submit their scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as part of the application process. If the GRE was completed prior to application, only scores completed within the previous 5 years are accepted.
• Completion of a formal admission interview.
• Meet English language requirements. Students must submit scores on Tests of English Language (TOEFL or IELTS) and achieve the following minimum scores:
  • TOEFL iBT 80 and minimum of 18 in each of the 4 test sections, or
  • IELTS 6.5 and minimum of 6.0 in at least 2 of the 4 test sections.