Please review all application requirements below. All documents should be uploaded into your online application.

The appropriate foundation for graduate level entry is a professional degree. Candidates must comply with the School of Graduate Studies Regulations for the M.Sc. degrees.

The specific admission requirements are:

1. A Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (60 units taken at a university) with a minimum of the equivalent to a McMaster B+ average over the final 60 units from an undergraduate nursing program. Applicants who are graduates of a baccalaureate nursing degree program for registered nurses and who have between 50 and 59 units of university study will be considered on a case-by-case basis. These 60 units will not include advanced credit for college courses. 
2. Submit official transcripts of academic work completed to date, sent directly from the issuing institution. This document can be sent electronically to gradson@mcmaster.ca or the Nursing Graduate Office. Please include any additional course work transcripts. Please note that non-English transcripts must be translated and notarized. Please submit copies of unofficial transcripts in your online application. 
3. Submit two academic references. McMaster University uses the Electronic Referencing System. By entering the email addresses of your Academic referees through the online application, the system will automatically send an e-Reference request on your behalf. The report from referees must be received by McMaster by the application deadline.  
4. Submit one clinical reference from a person who has known you in a professional context. McMaster University uses the Electronic Referencing System. By entering the email address of your clinical referee through the online application, the system will automatically send an e-Reference request on your behalf. The report from the referee must be received by McMaster by the application deadline.  
5. Submit a Curriculum Vitae, please upload this document directly in the online application. 
6. Submit a personal essay, responding to the questions included to provide us with insight into your motivation and interest in the MSc program. Please answer the questions directly in the online application. Answers should be limited to one page per question, single spaced. References are not required for the essay. 
7. Submit Health Professional Requirements: Please upload these documents directly in the online application. Evidence of health professional requirements include a copy of Ontario RN license/registration or renewal. If you have not yet graduated, upload a document in your application stating the date you will graduate from your baccalaureate program and the estimated date for N CLEX examination.
8. Submit a Tentative Plan of Study/Identification of a faculty member who has agreed to supervise you, and please upload this document directly in the online application.  Please review our Faculty Directory and review faculty research interests.  You can also email gradson@mcmaster.ca to ask more. A faculty member who agrees to supervise you must send confirmation to the Graduate Nursing Program prior to the application deadline.  Please download the Tentative Plan of Study/Identification of Supervisor form. 

Applicants whose native language is not English are required to supply evidence of their proficiency in the use of the English language. The most common evidence is a score of at least 92 (iBT), 580 (paper-based test) or 237 (computer-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Nursing Graduate Program requires a minimum score of 7.0 for IELTS (Academic Test).

FACILITATED INDIGENOUS ADMISSIONS PROGRAM (FIAP): SELF-IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

With an understanding that Indigenous learners can face specific barriers or challenges when pursuing higher education, schools and programs within McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences have facilitated admissions streams for applicants with Indigenous North American (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) ancestry. This process is intended to provide equitable access to Indigenous applicants and aligns with the intent of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action. Applicants wishing to apply through McMaster’s FIAP need to complete the supplementary self-identification application in addition to McMaster university and program specific application processes. All Indigenous applicants who meet the admission criteria will be considered within an Indigenous applicant cohort.

Full details are found on the Indigenous Students Health Sciences website.

Entry Qualifications:

Baccalaureate Nursing, minimum B+ average

Required Courses: 

Five half courses:

NUR 701 (Theoretical basis of nursing practice)

NUR 707 (Foundations of Nursing Leadership)

NUR 709 (Statistical Methods in Health Sciences Research)

NUR 715 (Quantitative Research methods)

NUR 745 (Qualitative research methods)

SGS 101 and SGS 201

Indigenous Health Online Modules

Other Requirements: 

Complete and defend a thesis arising from a health care issue.

Please see the Academic Calendar and review requirements for the year you have been admitted to the program. 

Yes, this program is offered on both a part-time and full-time basis. Students have three years to complete the program on a part-time basis and two years to complete the program on a full-time basis. 

This program is in-person and requires students to attend in-person lectures weekly on campus in Hamilton, Ontario. 

Typically, courses offered by the Graduate Nursing Programs are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Electives that students may take can be taken on other days of the week.  

Quick answer: 

Students in both the course-based and thesis-based programs receive a Master’s of Science (MSc). Both programs include courses in leadership, nursing theory, research and evaluation methods, as well as practical experiences and electives of the student’s choice. For nurses interested in doing research, or perhaps doing a PhD and teaching at a school of nursing in the future, the Master’s thesis stream includes working with a supervisor to carry out independent research. Students in the course- based stream are required to take more courses, but do not do research. 

More comprehensive answer: 

A Master’s degree in nursing is a bridge between basic and doctoral education. While offering a foundation for academic doctoral work, nurses who attain a Master’s degree in this program also develop advanced, discipline-specific skills that serve to support careers in clinical practice specialties, education, administration, health policy and multi-sectoral health care delivery systems. 

• Thesis-stream MSc: Those who complete the thesis stream MSc program will be able to function as novice, associate or co-investigators in their selected area of interest, where they will apply knowledge of appropriate clinical research methods, including the identification of clinical measures and the determination of clinical and program effectiveness. With their increased knowledge of the theoretical basis of nursing practice, they will be able to play a leading role in the evaluation of evolving health care systems. 
• These outcomes are supported through advancing scientific theory to their professional practice. With knowledge of research methods and application of research to practice, along with their specialized knowledge and expertise, they will be prepared for leadership positions in nursing education, practice, administration and policy. 

 Thesis Stream MSc–degree students are required to achieve the following objectives: 

• Demonstrate the ability to apply advanced scientific theory to their professional practice 
• Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate clinical research methods, including the development of clinical measures and the determination of clinical and program efficacy 
• Complete four required half-courses and at least one additional approved half-course 
• Complete and defend a thesis arising from a health care issue 

Course-based MSc: Graduates who complete the course-based option share similarities in knowledge expectations, however their terminal requirements differ. The Course-Based MSc graduate is expected to apply advanced knowledge and critical discourse, synthesize theoretical and conceptual paradigms, and defend cogent recommendations in their production of a scholarly paper on a selected health care topic or issue. 

Course-Based MSc degree–students are required to achieve the following objectives: 

• Demonstrate the ability to apply advanced scientific theory to their professional practice 
• Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate clinical research methods, including the development of clinical measures and the determination of clinical and program efficacy 
• Complete four required and three additional approved half courses usually centred around a theme 

Program requirements can be found in the School of Graduate Studies Graduate Calendar. 

Please contact gradson@mcmaster.ca, or please plan to attend our virtual Open House in October (dates and times will be posted on our website).

How can I find an appropriate supervisor for the thesis-based program? – THESIS ONLY 

Please visit our faculty page on this website. There you will see the names and research interests of our Faculty who can supervise MSc and PhD students — it is best to e-mail or call those who match your research interests and send them a brief overview of your clinical and research interests. The earlier you invite them to meet with you and discuss your application, the better. 

If you are having difficulty selecting a potential supervisor, contact our Assistant Dean of the Graduate program  and they will suggest possible faculty for you to contact. For the course-based MSc option, you do not need to find a supervisor as the Nursing Program Coordinator will assign a faculty advisor once you have been accepted into the program. 

All references and supporting documentation is due by the application deadline. Clinical and academic referees must be entered in the online application portal. They will be contacted electronically.  

All applicants must submit two academic references, work references cannot be used in replacement. Students who do not have an academic reference should consider taking a university or college course prior to applying to the program to obtain a reference. 

Yes, Official transcripts must be received for every institution listed on your application form. Official transcripts are transcripts directly sent from the issuing institution to the Graduate Programs Nursing Office. Transcripts submitted by students or uploaded to your application are unofficial. 

To be eligible for this program, applicants must be a licensed and registered nurse in Ontario.  

Please review McMaster’s Grading system for a breakdown of McMasters GPA system. 

References should be labelled as clinical and educational. Labelling references as professional will result in technical issues with your application. 

References from faculty who have evaluated your academic work in your undergraduate or graduate programs. Appropriate academic referees are professors or tutors from your nursing, science or elective courses in undergraduate, graduate or continuing education programs.

Clinical references are from people who can describe your nursing work such as clinical educators, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, managers, or administrators. 

Yes, you can still apply. In your application, please add a signed letter from yourself stating the estimated program completion date and the month you estimate you will write your exam. All students must provide their CNO license by September 1st of the year they start the program.  

Yes, applicants with an international BScN from an accredited institution are eligible to apply. 

Applications and transcripts are not reviewed prior to application deadline. Applicants with international degrees can use the free WES degree equivalency tool for an idea of what their degree is equivalent to in Canada.