Below you will find the essay question(s) for the degree program to which you are applying. Please include your answers to these questions in the program materials section of your NursingCAS application. The general purpose of your answers is for you to provide information about yourself as well as to demonstrate your ability to express ideas clearly and logically in a grammatically correct format. Character limits included after each question.
Master’s Entry in Nursing (MSN) Non-Nurses: Generalist Entry Master’s (GEM)
What was your reason for choosing nursing as a career? Do you have any additional information that you would like the admissions committee to know about you that has not been previously considered in the application? (2000 characters)
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) for RNs: Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL)
1. Discuss your interest and understanding of the clinical nurse leader role. What experiences have contributed to your interest? (2000 characters)
2. What are your professional goals? How will the CNL program help you achieve those goals? (2000 characters)
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Clinical Specialty Certification (NP, CNS, APHN, and CRNA)
1. Discuss the clinical specialty area you are interested in pursuing. What experiences have contributed to your interest? (2000 characters)
2. The goal of the DNP program is to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your leadership skills. (2000 characters)
3. The DNP program prepares you to sit for specialty certification and provides education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership. Identify a problem or question that requires a system change in health care, educational services and/or policies that you might address in your role as a DNP-prepared health care provider. This problem should have relevance to current or emerging health care issues. (4000 characters)
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Transformative Leadership: Systems
1. Discuss a specific leadership position (e.g., manager, director, associate dean) you wish to attain within three to five years after completing the DNP program. (2000 characters)
2. The goal of the DNP program is to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your formal leadership role or informal leadership skills. (2000 characters)
3. Identify a problem or issue that requires an evidence-based change in health care practice, education or policy. This problem should be relevant to current and emerging health care practice, health care policy or education issues. You should provide data to support the problem or issue at the local and national level. The scope of the project should be large enough that it would result in, for example, a system-wide change at the program, organizational, regional or national level, new or revised state health policy or the establishment of significant new services for a large population or geographic region. You should have institutional or organizational support for your project and identify who will serve as your facilitator at your organization. Also include ideas for the membership of the interprofessional team you will lead to implement the change. (4000 characters)
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Transformative Leadership: Population Health
1. Discuss a population of interest in your work setting. What experiences have you had with this population? What health care needs do you see in this target group? (2000 characters)
2. The Population Health DNP prepares you to assess the health and illness needs of clinical populations and develop, implement and evaluate population-focused interventions to address these needs. Identify a problem or question that requires a focus on the health of the population you identified above that you might address in your role as a DNP-prepared health care provider. The topic you identify should be the basis for your DNP project and have relevance to current or emerging health care issues in the target population. (4000 characters)
3. What are your professional goals? How will a doctoral education help you achieve those goals? (2000 characters)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing
1. Why have you chosen to pursue a research doctorate? (2000 characters)
2. How does this fit with your career plans? (2000 characters)
3. Describe a research area in which you are interested. What researchable question(s) would you be interested in answering about this topic? Tell us about the literature you have read that supports the need for scholarly inquiry in this area. Please comment on your qualifications and readiness for doctoral study. (5000 characters)
Post-Graduate Certificate
1. Discuss the clinical specialty area you are interested in pursuing. What experiences have contributed to your interest? (2000 characters)
2. What are your professional goals? How will a post-graduate education help you achieve those goals? (2000 characters)
