Graduate Admission Requirements for School of Nursing

At Mary Baldwin, we offer a variety of hybrid and online master’s and doctoral nursing programs to level-up your career. See admission requirements below by program, and apply today to get started!

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Holistic Application Review

Our mission is to identify individuals who are compassionate while also being dedicated to academic excellence. We consider the wholeness of each candidate rather than disproportionately focusing on any one factor. Therefore, we encourage you to tell us about yourself beyond your academic achievements.

What we look for

Tell us about your unique attributes and characteristics. Tell us about your experiences, work or volunteer, even if not directly healthcare-related. These factors are part of our review and selection process, just like your GPA. We are looking to create a cohort of students who will make a difference in our program, our community, and as professionals.

Application Deadlines

MBU’s Nursing graduate programs accept students for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (not including the Nurse Anesthesiology program). Application deadlines are as follows:

Dec. 1: Spring start
April 1: Summer start
August 1: Fall start

The Nurse Anesthesiology doctorate program accepts applicants annually with cohorts starting in the Fall. Their application cycle is as follows:

Sept. 1 – Dec. 15: Applications accepted
February: Applicant interviews
March: Admissions letters sent

Admission Requirements

Below you will find program-specific admission requirements. Due to the competitive nature of the admission process, applicants should understand meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. If you have any questions or need assistance with your application, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Current unrestricted RN and/or an APRN license in the Commonwealth of Virginia or state participating in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) or be eligible for licensure in Virginia.
Earned BSN from an accredited CCNE or ACEN School of Nursing
A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for baccalaureate nursing degree and subsequent graduate work.
Curriculum Vitae
Personal statement (no more than 500 words) about short-term and long-term goals after completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree
Completion of application for admission
Oﬃcial transcripts to all post-secondary educational institutions which include:
- 8 credits of anatomy & physiology with lab
- 3 credits of chemistry (general, organic, or biochemistry)
- 3-4 credits of microbiology
- 3-4 credits of pharmacology
Three letters of recommendation from professional references with current knowledge of professional and/or academic skills. One recommendation must be from the applicant’s immediate supervisor
Completion of undergraduate or graduate statistics course
Current AHA Certiﬁcation: BLS, ACLS, and PALS
Minimum of one year (two years preferred) current, continuous full time or part-time equivalent, critical care experience* as a registered nurse within two years of application
Critical care certification (CCRN) is strongly recommended
Completion of critical care checklist with clinical supervisor signature
Completion of the Casper situational judgment test (Acuity Insights)
- Casper is a 90-110 minute online, open-response situational judgment test (SJT) that helps determine behavioral tendencies of applicants pursuing people-centered professions. To complete Casper visit Acuity Insights to create an account and complete the following assessment (Test: US Professional Health Sciences, CSP-10101) for Mary Baldwin University. A Casper Assessment must be completed in order to be considered for an interview. Early submission is recommended. Duet is not required.
Qualified individuals may be asked for more information and invited for an interview
TOEFL score for proof of English proficiency (see details below)

*Critical care experience must be obtained in a critical care area within the United States, its territories or a US military hospital outside of the United States. During this experience, the registered professional nurse has developed critical decision making and psychomotor skills, competency in patient assessment, and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitoring techniques. A critical care area is defined as one where, on a routine basis, the registered professional nurse manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitors (e.g., pulmonary artery, central venous pressure, and arterial catheters), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive infusions. Examples of critical care units may include but are not limited to, surgical intensive care, cardiothoracic intensive care, coronary intensive care,
medical intensive care, pediatric intensive care, and neonatal intensive care. Those who have experiences in other areas may be considered provided they can demonstrate competence with managing unstable patients, invasive monitoring, ventilators, and critical care pharmacology.

For more details about program accreditation, course requirements, and more, visit the MBU course catalog.

English proficiency requirement

Students for whom English is not their primary language, regardless of U.S. citizenship, are required to submit their TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score with their application. The MBU school code is 5397. A minimum score is 570 for the paper-based exam. For the internet-based exam, minimum score of 89 is required for the DPT program only and 88 for all other programs. A student may be exempted if they have graduated with a bachelor’s or graduate degree from a four-year accredited U.S. university.