Graduate Certificates

Education

• Applicants are required to have either:
  • A bachelor’s degree in nursing, OR
  • a bachelor’s degree in another field AND a master’s degree in nursing from an accredited program
• Official transcripts from ALL colleges and/or universities attended.
  • Please note that if you wish to transfer in any coursework from another institution, your coursework will not be evaluated prior to admission.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Successful Completion of a general statistics course
• Applicants from a country where English is not the primary language: Additional Graduate School requirement of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

Practice & Professional

• Proof of registered nurse (RN) licensure
  • NOTE: We will make special accommodations for international students. Please contact us at nursing.grad.apps@wsu.edu if you will be an international student.
• Minimum 1 year of nursing practice preferred
• Curriculum vitae or résumé
• 3 professional references

Step 1 – Gather Application Materials and Documents

• Update your professional curriculum vitae or resume.
• Determine three references willing to provide a recommendation for you.
  • You will need to provide names and emails of your references on your application. We recommend (but do not require) your references include:
    • A current or past faculty member from a nursing program you attended.
    • Two professional references from a work setting (head nurse, provider, NP/PA, etc.)
  • The reference will be asked to discuss your leadership, academic standards, and skills as they pertain to your primary interest area.
  • Your references will be contacted directly by NursingCAS via email after you have saved their information to your application. Each reference will receive instructions for submitting their recommendation online. NursingCAS requires you to add a Due Date for the reference – set that date as 7 days after the day you are submitting your application (i.e. If you submit August 20, set the due date as August 27).
• Prepare to complete the following Programmatic questions that you will submit within your application. All answers must be limited to 9999 characters including spaces, which equates to around 1,500 to 2,500 words. The questions asked for each Certificate program are slightly different, so be sure to review the questions below for the program you intent to apply to. 
  • Nurse Educator Certificate
    • Please outline your long- and short-term professional goals and how they fit with the health care needs of your community.
    • How do you envision the Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education influencing your professional goals?
    • What has been your experience with teaching and learning in nursing?
    • Identify reasons for increasing workforce diversity in nursing.
    • Describe two strategies that you’ve used to improve understanding when communicating with people who are different (ethnicity, culture, background) from you.
  • Nurse Leader Certificate
    • Please outline your long- and short-term professional goals and how they fit with the health care needs of your community.
    • Describe how obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Nursing Leadership will facilitate you in meeting your career goals.
    • Describe an experience in which your leadership philosophy and style made a positive impact on clients, their families, colleagues, or an organization.
    • Describe the community or population that you want to study or work with during your post-master’s education. Identify a health issue for this community or population that you wish to address while completing your courses toward your graduate certificate.
    • Discuss two strategies you believe nursing leaders must develop and promote to better ensure continuing health in our increasingly diverse society.
  • Public Health Certificate
    • Please outline your long- and short-term professional goals and how they fit with the health care needs of your community.
    • Describe how obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Public Health will facilitate you in meeting your career goals.
    • Describe an experience in which your leadership philosophy and style made a positive impact on clients, their families, colleagues, or an organization.
    • Describe the community or population that you want to study or work with during your post-master’s education. Identify a health issue for this community or population that you wish to address while completing your courses toward your graduate certificate.
    • Discuss two strategies you believe public health leaders must develop and promote to better ensure continuing health in our increasingly diverse society.

Step 2 – Complete the NursingCAS Application

Starting Your Nursing CAS Application

• Review the application support documentation below.
  • Additionally, we have tutorial videos that were made for our prelicensure program. There are some exceptions to the graduate application process, but it may prove helpful to see how NursingCAS works.  
• Select the ‘Apply Now!’ button at the bottom of this section and select the term that you are applying for (Fall 2024 or Spring 2025). Click apply to set up your account. Check your junk mail and spam folder for the initial account confirmation to ensure that NursingCAS emails are safely going to your inbox. NursingCAS application is open from 8/15 through 3/15 for a Fall 2024 start or 11/1 for a Spring 2025.
• Use the following link to view all available WSU College of Nursing Applications.
  • There are multiple applications for the Graduate Certificates based on specialty and start term, so be sure to review the names of each to ensure you’re selecting the correct one.
• Select the My Application tab to begin filling out your application.
• The application fee is $80 and non-refundable. The NursingCAS application is open from 8/15 through 3/15 for Fall 24 applications and through 11/1 for Spring 25 applications. Note that the deadline time is 11:59 pm EST/EDT (which is 8:59 pm PST/PDT) of that date.
  • For more information, visit the NursingCAS Application Fees and Fee Waivers page in the NursingCAS Applicant Help Center.

Personal Information

• Fill out all 7 sections. Make sure you click “save and continue” at the bottom of each section.
• Ensure that your contact info is accurate – your email is what we use to contact you for issues and info.
• This section is run by NursingCAS – anything that is optional you are welcome to skip without it affecting your application.

Academic History

• Fill out all sections other than standardized test.
• For Colleges Attended, click “add a college” and input every institution of higher education you have ever attended. Complete the questions asked for each institution you added. This section will likely take you the most time, though our tutorial videos have an overview to assist.
  • PLEASE NOTE: You must input every institution of higher education in which you have been enrolled AND provide a transcript for each. NursingCAS will reject your application if coursework from an unreported institution shows on a submitted transcript, or if a transcript for an attended institution is not submitted. Note that this includes coursework taken as part of a study abroad program.
• You will need to order official transcripts for every college/university you have attended, including for your undergraduate degree. We recommend ordering an electronic transcript if possible. If your school does not offer electronic transcripts through one of the 3 companies that NursingCAS uses, please follow the instructions for “Option 2: Order a Mailed Paper Transcript.”
  • For more information on transcripts visit one of the NursingCAS Applicant Help Center pages:
    • US and English-Canadian Transcripts
    • Foreign and French-Canadian Transcripts
    • Study Abroad or Overseas US Transcripts
• For Transcript Entry, input every course exactly as it appears on that institution’s transcript. NursingCAS will reject an application if the transcript entry does not match the transcript.
• We recommend pulling up an unofficial transcript so you can copy over the classes accurately.
  • Note: If you use the Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) function, please allow a large amount of time for CAS to finish that process. If you are late on a deadline or miss something due to PTE, the responsibility is still with you. After you receive notification from NursingCAS that the PTE is complete, you must log back into your application and approve the coursework entry before your application will be submitted.
  • Note: do your best with the course subject drop-down. It will not cover every option possible, and as long as it is close enough, we will know what you are going for. It is the other components that are blank fields (grades/credits) that are the most important to us.
• Once you have completed the transcript entry, choose to review and finalize your transcripts.
• Ensure that you accurately indicate repeated classes. Type out exactly what is on your transcript.

Supporting Information

• You can opt out of all these sections, as you instead upload a resume/CV later on.

Application Questions

• Respond to all questions to the best of your ability following the directions provided for each question section.
• When you are completing the Programmatic questions, answers must be limited to 9999 characters including spaces which equates to around 1,500 to 2,500 words.

Program Materials

• Review the home tab first, then fill out the remaining 3 tabs (Documents, Questions, Prerequisites).
• For Questions, thoroughly read through each and answer appropriately – if you answer yes to a question, and later it turns out you should have answered no, you risk ineligibility.
• For Documents, upload your CV/Resume, Scholarly Work option, License, as well as any of the optional documents that apply.

Submitting Your Application

• Navigate to “Submit Application” on the top of the page and pay application fee. Note that the deadline time is 11:59 pm EST on that date.
• Wait – we will send updates via email.

Tips for submitting your application

• Email us early on if you anticipate any issues! We are happy to help clarify anything on the application process.
• Use Nursing CAS with an email address you check regularly. Most contact during the admissions process will be done via email. Failure to respond may jeopardize your chances for admission.
• Make sure your official transcripts are received by NursingCAS by the deadline. Please note that a copy of a transcript from every college and/or university you have attended will be required.

Application Review Process

• You will receive email notification upon submitting your application.
• We begin reviewing completed applications upon submission.
• You will be notified via email if you are accepted, wait-listed, or denied.
• Admission questions? Email nursing.admissions@wsu.edu.

Are Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores required for graduate nursing programs?

No, the GRE is not required.

Are reference letters required?

Yes, you will need to provide names and emails of your references on your application. We recommend (but do not require) your references include:

• A current or past faculty member from a nursing program you attended.
• Two professional references from a work setting (head nurse, provider, NP/PA, etc.)

The reference will be asked to discuss your leadership, academic standards, and skills as they pertain to your primary interest area.

Your references will be contacted directly by NursingCAS via email after you have saved their information to your application. Each reference will receive instructions for submitting their recommendation online. NursingCAS requires you to add a Due Date for the reference – set that date as 7 days after the day you are submitting your application (i.e. If you submit August 20, set the due date as August 27).

You do not need to provide a paper recommendation. Please contact references prior to applying to ensure they are willing to respond to your recommendation request; ask them to discuss your leadership, academic standards, and skills as they pertain to your primary interest area.

Where do I have my transcripts sent?

Have your transcripts sent directly to CAS from your application portal.  For more information on ordering transcripts through NursingCAS visit the NursingCAS Applicant Help Center webpage on transcripts.