Nursing, M.Sc.

Admission

The admission requirements are:

1. Baccalaureate degree (60 units taken at a university) with a minimum of a B+ average over the final 60 units from an undergraduate nursing program, or its equivalent, which will include 20 units of course work at the 400-level. Applicants who are graduates of a baccalaureate nursing degree program for registered nurses and who have between 50 and 59 units of university study will be considered on a case-by-case basis. (Notes: Applicants who do not hold a professional degree may be required to do make-up course work prior to admission. These 60 units will not include advanced credit for college courses.)
2. Two academic and one clinical references.
3. Evidence of current registration or eligibility for registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario.
4. A letter outlining career plans, research interests, and suitability for this professional nursing program.
5. Identification of a faculty member who agrees to supervise the student. (Note: Assistance will be provided in obtaining a supervisor for students residing outside Canada.)

For information on the Advanced Neonatal Nursing Diploma and the Post-Master’s Graduate Diploma (Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner) programs, please refer to the ‘Diploma’ Section of this Calendar.

The general requirements for the M.Sc. degree appear under the Regulations for Master’s degrees near the beginning of this Calendar.

Requirements

Candidates may be full-time or part-time and must:

1. Complete, with at least a B- standing, a minimum of five graduate half courses which must include the courses below.
2. Complete a thesis on an approved health care issue and defend the thesis at a final oral examination.
    

• NURSING *701 / Theoretical Basis of Nursing Practice
• NURSING *745 / Qualitative Research Methods
• HTH RS M *721 / Fundamentals of Health Research and Evaluation Methods

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• NURSING *709 / Statistical Methods in Nursing Research
• HTH RS M *701 or
• HTH RS M *702 / Introduction to Biostatistics

Transfer to Ph.D.

Students wishing to be transferred to the Ph.D. program prior to the completion of a master’s degree (see section 2.1.2  of the General Regulations of this Calendar and the statement entitled “Policy and Procedure for Transfer from M.Sc. to Ph.D. - Nursing”) must have completed the minimum course requirements for the M.Sc. curriculum (as detailed above in item 1), and strictly adhere to the Policy and Procedure for Transfer from M.Sc. to Ph.D. - Nursing document. The Transfer Report must be submitted to the Transfer Committee within 18 months from entry at the M.Sc. level as a full-time student. Approval to transfer will be determined at a meeting of the Transfer Committee.

Program Requirements

A course-based M.Sc. degree option in Nursing is offered on a full-time or part-time basis. The admission requirements are the same as for the M.Sc. thesis option 1-4 (see above). Each student will have a Faculty Advisor assigned by the Assistant Dean. Each student will be required to complete a minimum of seven graduate half courses which must include the four required courses below. The remaining courses will be chosen by the student with the approval of his/her faculty advisor and usually center around a theme. With the permission of the course instructor and faculty advisor, a student’s minimum course requirements may include up to two 600-level graduate half courses. In addition, each student must write a 15 to 20-page scholarly paper (NURSING *714 ) on a topic approved by two examiners approved by the Assistant Dean.

• NURSING *701 / Theoretical Basis of Nursing Practice
• NURSING *711 / Advanced Practicum in Nursing
• NURSING *745 / Qualitative Research Methods
• HTH RS M *721 / Fundamentals of Health Research and Evaluation Methods

Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

For those wishing to obtain a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner certificate and a course-based M.Sc. degree, admission requirements are the same as for other course-based M.Sc. students with the additional requirement of two years’ full-time nursing practice within the past five years. Students complete three core courses, write the 15-20 page scholarly paper, and complete the seven courses offered through the NP Consortium. Since the seven PHCNP courses are offered every year, they can be completed in 12 months of full-time study. The program typically requires 3 years to complete. Once the PHCNP courses have been completed successfully, students are eligible to write their RN (Extended Class) exams.