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. degree.
The specific admission requirements are:
- 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.
- Submit one official transcript 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. Please note that non-English transcripts must be translated and notarized. Please upload an unofficial transcript in your application.
- Submit two academic references. (See Grad FAQ for academic versus clinical references). McMaster University uses the Electronic Referencing System. By entering the email address of your Academic referee through the online application, the system will automatically send an e-Reference request on your behalf. P
- Submit one clinical reference. 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.
- Submit a Curriculum Vitae, please upload this document directly in the online application.
- Submit a Personal essay respond to the five questions found here to provide us with insight into your motivation and interest in the MSc program. Please submit the questions directly in the online application. Answers should be limited to one page per a question, single spaced.
- Submit Health Professional Requirements: Please upload these documents directly in the online application. Evidence of health professional requirements include: copy of Ontario RN license/registration or renewal. If you have not yet graduated, please email us at gradson@mcmaster.ca to provide us with this information.
- Declare Focus Within Fields of Study review the fields of study found here, please submit your choice directly in the online application.
English-language Proficiency
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: https://ishs.mcmaster.ca/admissions/self-identification