Apply to MEPN

Application Deadline Information

Applicants must submit all of the materials below, including letters of recommendation, by the application deadline.

Applicants may finish prerequisites in the fall term that they submit their application.  However, they will be required to upload transcripts reflecting final grades as “post-submission” documents in their UC Irvine Graduate Application.

If an applicant anticipates that they will graduate from their Bachelor’s Degree program in Fall term that they submit their application, they will also be required to upload documentation reflecting the date/term that their degree was awarded as a “post-submission” document in their UC Irvine Graduate Application.

A complete application includes and adheres to the following:

• A statement of purpose (applicants must follow the Fall 2022 MEPN Application Essay Prompt Instructions) 
  • Note: the UCI Graduate Application provides a sample prompt for the statement of purpose and a suggested word count; please respond to the prompts according to our instructions on this website.
• Three letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf (more information about submitting letters of recommendation)
  • Letters should be from a combination of most recent clinical employer/supervisor & college faculty member.  Please review our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information if you are unable to secure letters of recommendation from these sources.
  • Letters must be received by the application deadline.  We are unable to make exceptions to our deadline and we strongly encourage applicants to ask their recommenders to submit letters well in advance of the deadline.
  • Note: the UCI Graduate Application will allow up to five letters; please submit only three letters when applying to our program
• A current resumé (Fall 2022 MEPN Resume/CV Guide)
  • Include academic honors/recognition, both healthcare and non-healthcare volunteer and work activities, leadership positions, and bilingual/multilingual abilities, etc.
• A completed Prerequisite Checklist (additional instructions)
  • Applicants must fill out the prerequisite checklist form linked above.  Applications with prerequisite courses listed in any other format (e.g. a list of courses in a document) will not be accepted
• Unofficial transcripts from all universities/institutions (guidelines)
  • Transcripts must include Bachelor’s degree GPA and degree conferral date
• International Students need to supply TOEFL or IELTS English test scores (guidelines)
  • Review additional international admissions information

Important Application Notes

• All components listed above, including Letters of Recommendation, must be submitted by the application deadline
• A virtual interview may be required for final selection of candidates
• Additional application information is available from UCI Graduate Division

• A non-nursing baccalaureate from a regionally accredited institution
  • must be completed by December 31st preceding the program start date
  • transcript must have degree conferral date
  • degree standards must be equivalent to that of the University of California (Please view our current UCI requirements for a Bachelor’s degree here)
  • if you received your Bachelor’s degree in a country outside of the United States, we require that you provide professional transcript evaluations by an independent educational evaluating service from any member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. Please see our FAQs for additional information.
• A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in your Bachelors degree
  • Please see our FAQs for additional information if you did not receive a 3.0 or higher in your Bachelors degree.
• Completion of all of the prerequisite courses listed below with a letter grade of C or higher.  Note: Courses must be completed by December 31st preceding the program start date. AP test scores are not accepted.
  
  • Statistics
  • Psychology
  • Sociology/Cultural Anthropology
  • Anatomy with lab
  • Physiology with lab
  • Microbiology with lab
  • A General Chemistry course OR a Chemistry course which includes a combination of inorganic (general), organic and biochemistry (must contain all 3)

NOTE: Applicants must submit a completed Prerequisite Checklist (additional instructions) in the Online Application for admission.

Applicants who take prerequisites at California Community Colleges may refer to the ASSIST system for approved and articulated courses. It is recommended that they use UC Irvine’s “Nursing Science, B.S.” major to find relevant courses.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review our MEPN Admissions FAQs page for more information and answers to the most common questions that we receive.

Admission into the UC Irvine School of Nursing is competitive and highly selective. The number of students in the program is small due to the limited availability of clinical placements.

COVID-19 Course Notes 

Although some institutions are allowing Pass/Not Pass grading for certain courses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are still requiring letter grades as a feature of our admissions requirements. If your institution is mandating Pass/Not Pass grading, or if you have an extenuating circumstance, please make a note on your application prerequisite sheet and we may make an exception.

In addition, some schools may be moving lab courses that have traditionally been taught in-person to an online format.  In general, this is acceptable for our prerequisite requirements.  If you have concerns about a specific course, please email gnsao@hs.uci.edu with specific course information (including institution, course title, course number, and units) to confirm that we will accept it.

Prerequisite Courses

Applicants must complete all of the prerequisite courses detailed below with a letter grade of C or higher.  All courses must be completed by December 31st preceding the program start date.  For example, those applying in Fall 2022 to join the 2023 cohort must complete all prerequisites by December 31st, 2022.  AP test scores are not accepted for prerequisite course requirements.

Applicants must submit a completed Prerequisite Checklist (filled out according to these instructions) in the Online Application for admission.

Prerequisite Course Details

Acceptable prerequisite courses adhere to the following:

• • Chemistry: A General Chemistry course OR a Chemistry course which includes a combination of inorganic (general), organic and biochemistry (must contain all 3).
    • Sample UCI General Chemistry: CHEM 1A-1B-1C
    • Some schools may expand their Chemistry course into a series of two or more courses.  We prefer that applicants complete the entire course series.  For example, at UC Irvine, this would include CHEM 1A, CHEM 1B, and CHEM 1C.
    • Course(s) must total a minimum of 5 quarter units or 3 semester units.
  • Microbiology: Course(s) must include a lecture with a lab component.
    • Sample UCI Microbiology w/lab: BIO SCI M122 and BIO SCI M118L
    • Some schools may separate these into two separate courses (as described above in UC Irvine’s course example), while others may combine lecture and lab components into a single course.  Both formats are acceptable.
    • Course(s) must total a minimum of 5 quarter units or 3 semester units.
    • We require that students take this requirement within 5 years of applying.  Students applying in the Fall 2022 term (to join the cohort starting in Fall 2023) must take Microbiology lecture/lab in the Fall 2017 or later.  Courses taken in the Summer 2017 term (or earlier) will not be accepted.
  • Human Physiology: Course(s) must include a lecture with a lab component.
    • Sample UCI Human Physiology w/lab: BIO SCI E109 and BIO SCI E112L
      • Some schools may separate these into two separate courses (as described above in UC Irvine’s course example), while others may combine lecture and lab components into a single course.  Both formats are acceptable.
      • Some schools may offer a combined “Anatomy and Physiology” year-long series.  We accept this format if it include lab components and applicants complete the full year-long series.
    • This must be a human-focused course; plant/animal physiology courses will not be accepted.
    • Course(s) must total a minimum of 5 quarter units or 3 semester units.
    • We require that students take this requirement within 5 years of applying.  Students applying in the Fall 2022 term (to join the cohort starting in Fall 2023) must take Human Physiology lecture/lab in the Fall 2017 or later.  Courses taken in the Summer 2017 term (or earlier) will not be accepted.
  • Human Anatomy: Course(s) must include a lecture with a lab component.
    • Sample UCI Human Anatomy w/lab: BIO SCI D170
      • Some schools may separate these into two separate courses, while others may combine lecture and lab components into a single course (as described above in UC Irvine’s course example).  Both formats are acceptable.
      • Some schools may offer a combined “Anatomy and Physiology” year-long series.  We accept this format if it include lab components and applicants complete the full year-long series.
    • This must be a human-focused course; plant/animal anatomy courses will not be accepted.
    • Course(s) must total a minimum of 5 quarter units or 3 semester units.
    • We require that students take this requirement within 5 years of applying.  Students applying in the Fall 2022 term (to join the cohort starting in Fall 2023) must take Human Anatomy lecture/lab in the Fall 2017 or later.  Courses taken in the Summer 2017 term (or earlier) will not be accepted.
  • Statistics: Course must containing descriptive and inferential statistics topics.
    • Sample UCI Statistics: STATS 7 or STATS 8
  • Psychology: An Introduction to Psychology or Developmental Psychology course.
    • Sample UCI Psychology: PSYCH 7A or NUR SCI 116
    • Course must either be introductory/fundamental courses that broadly cover the field of psychology or a developmental psychology course.  Courses in other subfields of Psychology will not be accepted.
  • Sociology/Cultural Anthropology: An Introduction to Sociology or Cultural Anthropology course.
    • Sample UC Sociology/Cultural Anthropology: SOCIOL 1 or ANTHRO 2A
    • Course must either be introductory/fundamental courses that broadly cover the field of sociology or a cultural anthropology course.  Courses in other subfields of Sociology, Anthropology, or Archaeology will not be accepted.

Note: Applicants may review the sample courses (including their course descriptions, units, etc.) noted above listed in UC Irvine’s Course Catalogue.

We also recommend that students take a Nutrition course prior to starting the UCI MEPN Program as it will be useful preparation for MEPN coursework.  Nutrition is not a required prerequisite course for admission and taking the course (or not taking the course) before applying to the program will have no impact on admissions review and decisions.

The California BRN requires that your undergraduate degree include at least 6 semester/9 quarter units in communication (must include group, verbal, and written principles). This requirement is typically satisfied by undergraduate writing courses, and occasionally AP or other test credit. However, applicants to the MEPN program do not need to list these courses on their prerequisite checklist.  We recommend that these courses are taken for a letter grade, if possible, of C or better.  Grades in these courses are not factored into our admissions review (other than as part of your cumulative Bachelor’s Degree GPA, when applicable).

Utilizing Assist.org

Applicants who take prerequisites at California Community Colleges may utilize assist.org to determine which courses are acceptable. ASSIST provides course articulation agreements between community colleges in the state of California and public universities in California.  Applicants can use UC Irvine’s “Nursing Science, B.S.” major as a search term to find relevant courses for admission to the MEPN program.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review our MEPN Admissions Frequently Asked Questions page for more information and answers to the most common questions that we receive.

COVID-19 Course Notes 

Although some institutions are allowing Pass/Not Pass grading for certain courses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are still requiring letter grades as a feature of our admissions requirements. If your institution is mandating Pass/Not Pass grading, or if you have an extenuating circumstance, please make a note on your application prerequisite sheet and we may make an exception.

In addition, some schools may be moving lab courses that have traditionally been taught in-person to an online format.  In general, this is acceptable for our prerequisite requirements.  If you have concerns about a specific course, please email gnsao@hs.uci.edu with specific course information (including institution, course title, course number, and units) to confirm that we will accept it.

MEPN Information Sessions

Our program offers virtual information sessions for applicants in the Fall during the application period.  Please check back here in late Summer 2022 to find information about how to register for our next virtual information sessions.

Please note that our building is not open for prospective student visits.  Our staff do not offer in-person tours of our building and classroom spaces.  Please direct all questions and inquiries via email at gnsao@hs.uci.edu

Have questions?
Make sure that you check out our MEPN Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to the most common questions that we receive from students applying to the program.

Still have questions after reviewing our FAQ page?