Frequently Asked Questions
General Information Questions
- What is the School of Nursing address and telephone number?
- What are the directions to the School of Nursing?
- What are the GRE codes for the School of Nursing?
- What are the academic programs offered by the School of Nursing?
- Do you offer distance learning courses?
Admissions Information Questions
- Must I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in order to enter the MSN program?
- Does VUSN require any prerequisite courses?
- Must I have completed the full 78 hours of coursework and the prerequisite courses prior to applying to VUSN?
- Is there an application deadline?
- What criteria are used to judge my application when it is sent for faculty review?
General Information
What is the School of Nursing address and telephone number?
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
461 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37240-0008
(615) 322.4400 (main switchboard)
(615) 322.3800 (admissions)
(615) 343.0333 (admissions fax)
What are the directions to the School of Nursing?
For driving directions to the School of Nursing, please go here.
What are the GRE codes for the School of Nursing?
The school code for Vanderbilt University is R1871.
The department/major code for the School of Nursing is 0610.
What are the academic programs offered by the School of Nursing?
The School of Nursing recognizes that individuals come to us with different backgrounds and different career aspirations. We offer the following programs of study for a Master of Science degree in Nursing for individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in nursing:
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Adult Nurse Practitioner with focus areas in Forensic Nursing; the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease and its Associated Risk Factors; and Palliative Care
- Adult Nurse Practitioner/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner dual certification
- Clinical Management/Clinical Nurse Specialist with focus areas in CNS – Med/Surg or Peds; and Clinical Nurse Leader
- Clinical Research Management
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner – Emergency Care focus
- Health Systems Management
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Midwifery
- Nurse Midwifery/Family Nurse Practitioner dual certification
- Nursing Informatics
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute and Primary Care
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Women's Health Nurse Practitioner
- Women's Health Nurse Practitioner/Adult Nurse Practitioner dual certification
- Women's Health Nurse Practitioner for BSN Certificate-Prepared WHNPs
Do you offer distance learning courses?
The School of Nursing offers several programs in what we call a modified leraing (block) format. An individual generally visits the campus on the average of 3-4 times per semester for a 4-5 day period usually scheduled over a long weekend. The programs that are available in this format are:
- Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (for nurses with two years of nursing experience)
- Adult Nurse Practitioner (all focus areas)
- Adult Nurse Practitioner/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner dual certification
- Clinical Management
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
- Nursing Informatics
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (primary care and acute care)
- Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Women's Health Nurse Practitioner for BSN Certificate-Prepared WHNPs
Programs offered online only:
- Clinical Research Management
- Health Systems Management
Admisions Information
Must I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in order to enter the MSN program?
VUSN is unique in that it offers "multiple entry options." You can enter our program with:
- no nursing background whatsoever and 78 semester hours of college courses or a Bachelor of Arts/Science degree in a field other than nursing (Pre-Specialty Student Status)
- a hospital diploma or associate's degree in nursing and 78 semester hours of college courses (RN Pre-Specialty Student Status)
- a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Direct Entry Status)
- a Master of Science in Nursing with the intention of obtaining a Post Master's Certificate (Post Master's Status)
Does VUSN require any prerequisite courses?
Yes. If you have a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, we require that you have:
- Three (3) semester hours of Statistics
If you are an Associate's or Hospital Diploma RN or if you having no nursing background whatsoever, you must have at least 78 semester hours of college credit which must include the following courses:
- Six (6) semester hours of English (any composition or literature courses)
- Six (6) semester hours of Humanities (classics, fine arts, general humanities, history, literature, philosophy or religion courses)
- Nine (9) semester hours of Social Sciences (anthropology, economics, political science, psychology or sociology)
- Eleven (11) semester hours of Natural Science which must include microbiology and both human anatomy and human physiology (which must cover all body systems)
- Three (3) semester hours of Lifespan Development, Human Growth and Development or Developmental Psychology (must cover birth to death)
- Two to Three (2-3) semester hours of Nutrition
Must I have completed the full 78 hours of coursework and the prerequisite courses prior to applying to VUSN?
No. If you are applying to our program as a pre-specialty student or as an RN pre-specialty student, you must have completed at least 66 semester hours of college coursework upon making application to our program. These 66 semester hours do not have to include the prerequisite courses. However, acceptance into our program as well as well as your ability to enroll will be contingent upon our receipt of documentation acknowledging your completion of the prerequisites and the 78 semester hours prior to the enrollment date.
Is there an application deadline?
There is no fixed application deadline at the School of Nursing. We begin to evaluate applications to our program for the fall semester on December 1st of the previous year (e.g., December 1, 2007 for Fall 2008). We will continue to accept applications for a specific semester until the specialty into which you are applying reaches its capacity or up to approximately one month prior to the commencement of classes.
What criteria are used to judge my application when it is sent for faculty review?
Our faculty is generally looking for a minimum of 1000 combined score on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE, a 4.5 on the analytical section of the GRE, and a 3.0 GPA. That isn't to say that there isn't some leeway with regard to being accepted into our program. We look at the whole application package. This includes your letters of reference (professional and academic references), your goal statement and your interview survey.