A bachelor's degree is a standard requirement for admission to a graduate nursing program. While some schools, such as Johns Hopkins University, require applicants to hold an undergraduate nursing degree, others, such as the University of Iowa, will accept qualified applicants who hold a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field. Students who majored in non-nursing fields as undergraduates take introductory courses in nursing theory and practice prior to or during their first semester of graduate school and completion of the master's degree prepares them to take the RN licensing exam.
Once admitted to a graduate nursing program, students complete the number of credits required for the specialization area of choice. This could be anywhere from 33 credits for a nurse educator to 52 credits for a nurse midwife. Graduate nursing students take core courses in areas such as advanced nursing practices, statistics and pharmacology. Core coursework is supplemented with required and elective courses tailored to the student's chosen specialty area. For example, an aspiring nurse midwife would take specialty courses in primary care of women and perinatal care, while a future nurse educator would focus their studies on health systems and educational psychology.
The practicum is an integral part of graduate nursing programs. It gives students hands-on clinical experience in the specialty area of choice. Following completion of core and required courses, graduate nursing students fulfill the practicum requirement in various settings such as hospitals, public health departments and community health-care clinics. The practicum experience prepares students to sit for certification exams in their chosen specialty area.