A new admission option for York's Master of Science in Nursing Program will increase access to education and professional opportunities for Ontario nurses.
This fall, during the International Year of the Nurse, the Faculty of Graduate Studies begins recruiting, for the first time, nurses without a bachelor’s degree. "The new, unique admission option provides increased access to the knowledge and skills necessary for nurse leaders to influence the future of nursing and health care in Ontario," says Professor Martha Rogers, program director for the Master of Science in Nursing (MScN) Program.
York’s MScN, housed in the School of Nursing in York's Faculty of Health, was created to provide registered nurses who want to advance their careers with a solid foundation of research skills and an ability to critically analyze and contribute to life-enhancing change in the health care system. Rogers says the University is again answering a growing demand for healthcare services and practitioners that 
focus on the experiences of human beings in a way that respects patients' values and choices about health and quality of life.The new alternate admission option helps fill that gap.
Left: The program offers an opportunity for nurses without a bachelor's degree to pursue graduate studies
As the only program of its kind in Ontario, it will provide a direct, three-year path to the online MScN for exceptional RNs who do not have an undergraduate nursing degree. The new admission option provides a fast track for registered nurses who have been practising for many years and have a diploma in nursing.
"The School of Nursing at York University has long been lauded for its innovative programming and responsiveness to the needs of current and future nurses,” says Rogers. “In addition to our well-regarded Internationally Educated Nurses bridging program, our Second Entry program for people who hold undergraduate degrees in areas other than nursing, and our online masters program, this alternate admission to the MScN for RNs who do not hold a baccalaureate degree adds another option to York’s repertoire of nursing studies."
Created in 1963, York's Faculty of Graduate Studies is the second largest in Ontario. “We continue to explore the possibilities of academic excellence and opportunity through a balance of tradition and transformation,” says Douglas Peers, dean of graduate studies. “This pioneering new admission option is another example of our commitment to connecting academics and research with the needs of our community.”
For more information on the alternate admission option visit the program website.
By Chad Craig, communications manager for Graduate Studies