A graduate of this program is prepared for advanced nursing practice with a focus as a Nurse Educator (NE). Please see an advisor at The Valley Foundation School of Nursing  for more details.

Requirements for Admission

Candidates must meet all the university admission requirements . Students can be admitted in either classified or conditionally classified standing.

After earning a baccalaureate degree in Nursing from an accredited program and obtaining San José State University admission, one may enter the master’s program with a major in Nursing. Graduates of non-accredited baccalaureate programs must take prior coursework that will be assessed to determine requisite content and equivalency to baccalaureate degree requirements. Programs of study for the MS degree with a major in Nursing are based on this assessment. A California RN license is required.

Minimum requirements for admission are:

1. Completion of an accredited baccalaureate program. Applicants who have completed other curricula or who have deficiencies will be considered individually and may be required to enroll in designated courses.
2. Applicants must present a GPA of at least 3.0 in the last 60 units of the undergraduate nursing major.
3. Evidence of licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of California.
4. Completion of The Valley Foundation School of Nursing application with all attachments.
5. A personal statement describing the applicant’s interest in the field and professional goals.
6. Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae.
7. Two letters of recommendations from professionals in the field who can testify to the applicant’s ability to succeed in a graduate-level academic program and their suitability to succeed in the profession.
8. Evidence of having met the health requirements of the school.
9. Evidence of knowledge and skills in the following areas: physical and psychosocial assessment skills developed to the level that the applicant can perform a complete history and physical exam on a well adult of either gender within one hour. Work completed to make up any of the above deficiencies will not be counted as part of the required units for the MS - Nursing.

Requirements for Advancement to Graduate Candidacy

The University requires that all graduate students complete the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) as a condition for advancement to candidacy and for conversion from conditional to classified standing. The MS - Nursing degree also requires that the applicant has been granted classified standing and has removed any deficiencies involved. In addition, the candidate must have:

1. Earned at least a “B” (3.0) average in a minimum of nine graded semester units of 100- and/or 200-level work completed in graduate standing at San José State University and in any coursework completed in graduate standing at other institutions before enrollment here.
2. Classified standing.
3. Planned a proposed program of study approved by the Nursing School Graduate Coordinator and approved by GAPE.

Requirements for Graduation

University Graduation Requirements

Students must complete all residency, curriculum, unit, GPA, and culminating experience requirements as outlined in the Graduation Requirements  section of the Graduate Policies and Procedures .

MS Nursing Graduation Requirements

Culminating Experience: Project

Candidates for the degree complete a written capstone project as part of their 40-unit regular degree requirement. This project is an investigation of an evidenced-based nursing topic.  It shall identify a clinical problem and question(s), state the major theoretical perspectives, explain the significance of the undertaking, relate it to relevant, scholarly and professional literature, set forth the appropriate sources for and methods of gathering and analyzing the data, and offer a conclusion or recommendation.

Completion of Clinical Hours: Practice

All students shall complete direct patient care supervised clinical hours.

Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement

At SJSU, students must pass the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) .