In 2010, Boston College ranked 34th among U.S. universities, according to U.S. News and World Report. The Jesuit Order of the Roman Catholic Church established the Massachusetts-based school in 1863. The college's Cornell School of Nursing offers master's degrees in nurse practitioning in the specialty fields of adult, family, gerontological, palliative, pediatric and women's nursing. In addition to the traditional program for licensed registered nurses with a bachelor's degree, the college offers a number of special admission options. These include the master's entry program for students who have no nursing experience but hold a bachelor's degree in another field. Another option is the RN entry program for nurses with a nursing license, but only an associate degree or certificate in the field. Each program includes clinical training hours in both outpatient and inpatient medical facilities.
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Ave.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-552-3100
bc.edu
A public institution, the University of Texas at Arlington is between Fort Worth and Dallas. The school is home to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and its college of nursing offers master's degrees in nurse practitioning in eight specialty areas. These include acute care, acute care pediatrics, adult, family, gerontological, neonatal, pediatrics and mental health. The university boasts a 97 percent first-try pass rate on nurse practitioning national exams, according to the school's website. Admission to the master degree program is open only to nurses with a bachelor degree in nursing and a current registered nursing license. In addition, students must submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination, a standardized graduate-school admission test. Most of the specialty areas require 49 to 52 course credits to complete, with both full and part-time enrollment available.
University of Texas at Arlington
701 South Nedderman Drive
Arlington, TX 76019
817-272-6287
uta.edu
Established by the Free Methodist Church in 1891, Seattle Pacific University features graduate school programs rated 16th among all similar programs at universities in the Western United, according to U.S. News and World Report in early 2010. The school of health sciences awards Master of Science degrees in adult and family nurse practitioning. Admission consideration is only for licensed nurses with bachelor's degrees. The school does not require GRE scores, but conducts criminal background checks on all applicants as a part of the admissions process. In addition to courses in their chosen field of study, students admitted to the nurse practitioning programs also take classes in leadership and nursing administration.
Seattle Pacific University
3307 Third Ave. West
Seattle, WA 98119
800-366-3344
spu.edu