CNS: FAQs
GENERAL CNS/EDUCATION
What is a CNS?
Can someone who is busy with work and family responsibilities
still earn an MSN?
Why should a nurse earn an MSN in Clinical Nurse
Specialist-Nursing Education?
ADMISSIONS AND PREREQUISITES
What should a student do prior to starting at Michigan State
University?
Is there a grade point requirement that a student needs to meet to
be admitted to MSU?
Is a math course required?
How often does a new group of MSN in CNS-Nursing Education
students start the program?
How many credits from classes taken elsewhere can be transferred
to Michigan State University?
PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND REQUIREMENTS
Are any clinical courses required?
How long does it take to earn the CNS-Education degree from MSU?
Will a student need to come to campus?
FINANCIAL AID
Is financial aid available?
CNS/Education Questions and Answers
GENERAL CNS/EDUCATION
What is a CNS?
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According to the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a licensed RN with a master’s degree or PhD in nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. To learn more visit the NACNS website.
Can someone who is busy with work and family responsibilities still earn an MSN?
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Yes! The Clinical Nurse Specialist-Education concentration at MSU College of Nursing is now being offered in a totally online format. Courses are offered in a traditional semester format, but you can log on to your course work at any time and day of the week that is convenient for you. The College of Nursing has a long history of providing a quality learning experience to distance, lifelong learning, and working students. You will be taking 3-9 credits a semester, which is manageable with work and family responsibilities. Students may elect to reduce their semester credit load and extend the length of their program to best meet individual needs.
Why should a nurse earn an MSN in Clinical Nurse Specialist-Nursing Education?
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The clinical nurse specialist plays a key educational role in clinical and academic settings. Nursing education today is very challenging. Nurse educators need to be clinical experts and be able to develop, design and deliver curricula to other nurses or student nurses in a classroom and/or clinical setting. MSN CNS-ED prepared nurses have more career options and job flexibility available to them, as earning your MSN expands your professional horizons. Also, earning your MSN may be a stepping stone to earning your PhD.
What should a student do prior to starting at Michigan State University?
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The admission process begins with contacting an MSN advisor, and submitting applications and transcripts to Michigan State University and to the College of Nursing. You may contact an advisor at nurse@hc.msu.edu, 517-353-4827 or 1-800-605-6424.
Is there a grade point requirement that a student needs to meet to be admitted to MSU?
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You need to have a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average in the last two years of your baccalaureate program for admission consideration to the MSN program at Michigan State University.
Is a math course required?
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An undergraduate statistics course within the last five years of admission date must be completed. For questions, please contact the MSN advisor.
How often does a new group of MSN in CNS-Nursing Education students start the program?
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A new group of students begin the program every fall.
How many credits from classes taken elsewhere can be transferred to Michigan State University?
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You may transfer up to 9 graduate level credits from another college or university to Michigan State University.
Are any clinical courses required?
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Yes, several of the courses have a clinical component that will include internship rotations in a clinical and academic setting. Nursing 866 is an Academic Education Internship which involves 90 hours of student teaching in an academic environment and NUR 807 is a Clinical Decision Making course which requires a 90 hour clinical internship experience during the spring semester of your second year. In addition, NUR 862 and NUR 864 are courses offered during the final year and require internships related to the clinical nurse specialist role. These internship experiences take place in a clinical setting and require a minimum of 250 clinical internship hours working with an approved certified clinical nurse specialist. These internship requirements can generally be completed within your community. Clinical and academic preceptors, in addition to the internship placement site will need to meet certain criteria that are established by the College of Nursing.
How long does it take to earn the CNS-Education degree from MSU?
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Once you are admitted to the CNS – Education concentration, you can complete the program in 6 semesters (full time) or 8 semesters (part time). Since the course work in the program is sequential, any deviation in the progression of course work needs to be discussed with the MSN Advisor.
Will a student need to come to campus?
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We require a mandatory on-campus orientation in August prior to starting the program. All courses in the program are in a totally online format.
FINANCIAL AID
Is financial aid available?
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There are scholarships available for MSN students from the College of Nursing, and you are encouraged to apply for them. You may also check with the Michigan State University Office of Financial Aid for further assistance. Many agencies also offer tuition reimbursement. Please consult your employer for more information. You can also check with your state Board of Nursing to see how many continuing education credits are granted for university course work.
MSN Questions
ADMISSIONS
Must all documents required for admission be submitted at once?
When is the deadline?
What transcripts need to be submitted?
How will a student know if they have been admitted?
Where can admission information or downloadable application
paperwork be found?
How competitive is the admissions process?
Is the GRE required?
When applying to MSU, what major code should be used for this
program?
If the program is full, can students take any classes while waiting
for the following year?
Can courses be transferred from another program?
PREREQUISITES
What is the minimum GPA required for admission?
Is a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing required for application?
Can a student apply while their bachelor's degree is in progress,
or must the degree be conferred before application to the MSN program?
MSN PROGRAMS
What MSN options are available?
Does MSU offer MSN classes in off-campus sites across the state?
PREREQUISITE STATISTICS
REQUIREMENT
If the required statistics course was taken more than five years
ago, does it fulfill the prerequisite?
What minimum grade must be earned in the statistics class for the
applicant to be eligible?
Must this requirement be completed before applying?
TUITION
How much does the program cost?
ADMISSIONS
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Must all documents required for admission be submitted at once?
Yes. Please follow the instructions in the Application Packet. All materials must be received by the deadline. All documents must be submitted in order for a student to be eligible for an interview.
When is the deadline?
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MSN Nurse Practitioner Program: October 15, 2012 (early decision) and February 1, 2013 (final
decision).
MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist Program: October 15, 2012 (early decision) and March 1, 2013 (regular decision) Applications received after March 1, will be considered if space is available.
MSN Nurse Anesthesia
Program: The application will be available around January of
each year for the cohort starting the following January.
Please consult the College of
Nursing website for the most up to date application deadlines at www.nursing.msu.edu.
What transcripts need to be submitted?
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Please submit transcripts from any institution that
granted a degree (nursing or non-nursing) or any institution at which you took
prerequisite courses that transferred for a degree. Only the College of Nursing
will need a set of transcripts.
How will a student know if they have been admitted?
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Students who have submitted complete applications and
are chosen for interview will be contacted by the College. After an
interview is completed, the applicants will be reviewed by a committee and a
final decision letter sent. The process can take two months or more.
Students denied admission at any point during the admission process are sent
letters via postal mail.
Where can admission information or downloadable application
paperwork be found?
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All paperwork is available on our website
How competitive is the admissions process?
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Admissions for the MSN Programs is increasingly
competitive. We receive about 3 ½ times the number of applications for
each seat available. Both the CNS and the NP Programs have 40 seats
available each year. Below is a summary of our admission profile for the
class admitted in Fall 2012.
Average years of nursing
experience: 6 years
Average GPA: 3.58
Range of
Experience: .25-12
years
GPA Range: 3.08-3.93
NP:
Average years
of nursing experience: 7 years
Average GPA:
3.7
Range of Experience: 1-27
years
GPA Range: 3.4-4.0
Is the GRE required?
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For Nurse Practitioner and CNS-Education concentrations the GRE is not
required. For Nurse Anesthesia the GRE is a requirement for admission
consideration.
When applying to MSU, what major code should be used for this
program?
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Nurse Practitioner students use 4003, Clinical
Nurse Specialist-Education students use 4016, and Nurse Anesthesia
students use 4024.
If the program is full, can students take any classes while
waiting for the following year?
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Almost all classes are restricted to students in the
program and we do not encourage early course enrollment before
admissions.
Can courses be transferred from another program?
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Up to 25% of your MSN program can be transferred from
other universities (this comes out to about 9 credits). Once your application
is complete, you will submit the syllabus for each prior course for evaluation.
If the course is accepted, your education plan will be adjusted to reflect the
change.
What is the minimum GPA required for admission?
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In order to be eligible for application to any of the MSN Programs, students must have a minimum of a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) from the last half of their baccalaureate nursing program.
Is a bachelor's degree in nursing required for application?
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Yes, all students applying for the MSN program must
have a bachelor’s degree in nursing to be eligible for admission.
Can a student apply while their bachelor's degree is in progress,
or must the degree be conferred before application to the MSN program?
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If you have an Associates Degree in Nursing and are already licensed as a Registered Nurse and are currently enrolled in a BSN Completion Program, YES, you may apply while your degree is in progress. Your degree must be conferred by August 28, 2013 in order to be considered for admission to the MSN CNS or MSN NP Program. If you are in a traditional BSN or Accelerated BSN Program and have not yet taken NCLEX, your degree must be conferred and you must document successful passing of NCLEX by the application deadline in order to be eligible for application to the MSN CNS or MSN NP Program. For the Nurse Anesthesia Program, BSN degrees must be conferred by the application deadline, including completion programs.
What MSN options are available?
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Students can choose Nurse Practitioner (Adult/Aged or Family primary care focus), Clinical Nurse Specialist-Education, or Nurse Anesthesia. Nurse Practitioner and CNS-Education have both part time and full time options. Nurse Anesthesia is only available full time.
Does MSU offer MSN classes in off-campus sites across the state?
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No, coursework is either completed online or on-campus in East Lansing.
Clinicals for some concentrations may be completed in your home area or at
designated clinical sites around the state of Michigan.
If the required statistics course was taken more than five years ago, does it fulfill the prerequisite?
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A 3-credit undergraduate statistics course is required. This course can be taken at an accredited university or community college and you may be enrolled in the class at the time of application. If admitted to any of the MSN programs, all statistics courses must be complete by August 31, 2013. To meet the 5-year deadline for the Fall 2013 Program, statistics courses have to have been taken no earlier than Fall 2008. To meet the 5-year deadline for the Spring 2014 Nurse Anesthesia Program, statistics courses have to have been taken no earlier than Spring 2009.
What minimum grade must be earned in the statistics class for the
applicant to be eligible?
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For the MSN Nurse Practitioner and MSN Clinical Nurse
Specialist Programs, a minimum grade of a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale is required in the
prerequisite statistics class. For the MSN Nurse Anesthesia Program, the
minimum grade is a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Must this requirement be completed before applying?
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No, but any student admitted without having
statistics complete will be admitted provisionally until the requirement is
met. The final deadline for completion of statistics is August 31, 2013 but we
strongly recommend you complete the course as soon as possible.
How much does the program cost?
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For the most current information go to the Controller’s Office website.
Please note that students admitted provisionally are not eligible for financial aid (government grants, loans) until the provision is lifted. It is recommended that you complete all requirements before starting the program.
