Nursing — M.S.

The entry-level masters (ELM) is a full-time accelerated nursing program for non-nurse college baccalaureate graduates who wish to become registered nurses (RNs). The ELM prepares students in the provision of evidence-based nursing care with an emphasis on care coordination and religious/cultural care to patients along the wellness/illness continuum and across all care settings with the majority of clinical rotations at Loma Linda University Medical Center Murrieta Campus. The curriculum provides requisite nursing knowledge and practice expertise enhanced with masters course work in health-care leadership, public health, health promotion/disease prevention, and community-based health care. Currently, the didactic portion of the courses are taught at the School of Nursing campus, with plans to move the didactic courses to Murrieta Campus before the Summer of 2026. The 24-month program prepares students to enter the nursing profession as masters credentialed registered nurses better prepared to meet the demands of evolving population health. At the end of the program, graduates receive a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in nursing and are prepared to sit for the NCLEX-RN examination. All states require that a nurse pass the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure to practice. The program also allows the student to be certified as a Public Health Nurse in the state of California.

Program learning outcomes

Learning outcomes of the master's degree program are designed to prepare nurse leaders with a Christian perspective to enable them to contribute to professional nursing through clinical practice, teaching, and administration. Upon completion of the Master of Science degree, the graduate should be able to:

1. By the end of the program, graduates should be able to:

   1. Synthesize and apply research findings as a foundation for evidence-based practice.
   2. Apply informatics and health-care technologies to support data management and improve patient care.
   3. Collaborate interprofessionally to improve patient and population health outcomes.
   4. Utilize baccalaureate-level humanities, nursing, and science competencies as a basis for advanced nursing practice.
   5. Use organizational and systems leadership, management, and teaching skills to promote high-quality and safe patient care.
   6. Contribute to health policy and advocacy by working with clients, health professionals, and organizations to improve access, quality, and delivery of health care.
   7. Apply quality improvement and safety methods, tools, performance measures, and standards within professional settings.
   8. Engage in clinical prevention and health promotion to maintain and improve population health.
   9. Utilize advanced knowledge acquired from nursing and cognate sciences as a basis for advanced nursing practice.

In addition to Loma Linda University admission requirements, the applicant to the Master of Science program in nursing must also complete the following requirements:

1. Baccalaureate degree in nursing or its equivalent from an accredited institution.
2. G.P.A. of 3.0, both cumulative and in nursing courses.
3. CA RN license before the start of classes.
4. Two electronic recommendations from a recent nurse manager or director, nursing peer, and spiritual advisor.
5. Interview by faculty members in the School of Nursing.

Entry-level master's admission requirements:

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution (or its equivalent).
2. Undergraduate G.P.A. of 3.30 (on a 4.00 scale)
3. Volunteer or work experience in a health-care setting
4. A standardized interview with one graduate and one undergraduate nursing faculty members
5. The following prerequisites completed with a C or better

• Communications: oral, written, and group (9 quarter units)
• Undergraduate statistics or college algebra
• Behavioral and natural sciences (minimum 24 quarter units)
  • Anatomy and physiology I & II with laboratory (8 quarter units)¹
  • General organic or biochemistry with laboratory (8 quarter units)^2,3
  • Basic microbiology with laboratory (5 quarter units)
  • General psychology or lifespan development (4 quarter units)
  • Introduction to sociology (4 quarter units)
• Nutrition (4 quarter units)

Application deadlines

Applicants seeking graduate admission must have the application process completed by the dates indicated in the following.

Nurse Educator, Nursing Administration

• Autumn Quarter—April 1
• Winter Quarter—August 1
• Spring Quarter—November 1

Entry-level masters

• Winter Quarter—July 1

¹ Preferred within five years.

² A complete sequence of both general biology and general chemistry may be accepted in lieu of the Intro to organic and biochemistry requirements.

³ A combined organic and biochemistry course of less than 8 units may be accepted if determined the course has covered the necessary content adequately.

Pre-entrance requirements:

1. Health clearance, including immunizations
2. Background check

Noncourse Requirements

Bachelor of Science in a field other than nursing, with a 3.3 GPA out of 4.0. 

Prerequisite Courses

Courses required by the CA Board of Registered Nursing. 

Nondegree course status

Up to 12 units of required core coursework may be taken as a nondegree student, with the consent of the instructor, while the application submission and review are in progress. If grades of B or higher are earned, the coursework may be applied toward the graduate degree upon acceptance into the program.

Course scheduling

Core nursing courses are scheduled to accommodate the typical working nurse.

Curriculum change

The school reserves the right to update and modify the curriculum without prior notice to maintain currency with standards in health care.

Students in continuous attendance will meet graduation requirements of the CATALOG under which they enter the School of Nursing unless change is necessary to comply with new professional standards.

General requirements

For information about requirements and practices to which all graduate students are subject, the student should consult the general regulations section for the School of Nursing in this CATALOG.

¹

Acceptable alternate religion courses for students who have completed RELE 524 for a previous program:  RELE 534 Ethical Issues in Public Health (required for students in population health concentration, RELE 548 Christian Social Ethics, RELE 568 Bioethics and the Law. RELR 540 Wholeness and Health for concentration in nursing administration.

²

Units are in addition to minimum required for the degree.

Concentrations

Demonstration of comprehensive learning is required, either through a project or requirements embedded in courses required for the Master of Science degree, depending on the selected area of concentration

• Nurse Educator: Adult-Gerontology
• Nurse Educator: Obstetrics and Pediatrics
• Nursing Administration
• Population Health (Entry-level masters)