Curriculum

The T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing each fulfill the federal definition of a credit hour. Each school determines the appropriate number of credit hours for each course, consistent with the federal definition. Students must be enrolled for a minimum of nine credit hours each semester to be considered a fulltime student.

The Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP) is designed as an alternate pathway into Advanced Practice Nursing for applicants who have a bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing, who are not registered nurses, and who seek a graduate degree in nursing as a professional registered nurse, nurse practitioner or nurse researcher. 

The nursing and interprofessional leadership Master's of Science degree program is an innovative and flexible, hybrid learning model consisting of online class options with related in-person experiences. This program is designed for practicing nurses in various positions who want to advance their knowledge and skills for greater influence in healthcare decisions and career mobility.  The master’s program emphasizes disciplinary understanding, knowledge, and practice through relationship building and the inclusion of stakeholders across settings in creating a shared vision of health within communities, health care institutions and societal systems.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program is designed to prepare graduates in advanced practice nursing specialties for careers in clinical practice with diverse populations, organizational and systems leadership in health care systems, and clinical nursing education in professional nursing programs.  Three pathways to the DNP program include GEP to DNP (admit students with a bachelor’s degree in another field to first become registered nurses then complete the DNP program), BS to PhD (admit students who are registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree to complete the DNP program), and Post-Master’s to DNP (admit students who hold a Master’s degree in nursing and are certified as NPs, CNSs, CRNAs, or CNMs or hold a Master’s degree in nursing or a health related field for nurse administrators to complete the DNP program).  Tracks within the DNP program include Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric Mental-Health NP.

The PhD in Nursing Program focuses on the development and transformation of scholars who will lead the discipline of nursing. Four pathways to the PhD in Nursing include GEP to PhD (admit students with a bachelor’s degree in another field to first become registered nurses then complete the PhD program), BS to PhD (admit students who are registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree to complete the PhD program), MS to PhD (admit students who are registered nurses with a master’s degree and non-nurses with a master’s degree in a health-related field to complete the PhD program), and DNP to PhD (admit students with a DNP degree to complete the PhD program).

The mission, goals, and expected program outcomes of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and UMass Chan are congruent.  The Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing's strategic plan is congruent with UMass Chan Impact 2025.

The Goals of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing are to:

• Prepare advanced practice nurses, leaders, educators, and scientists to shape nursing & promote health through the integration of education, research, practice, policy & service.
• Create a dynamic research environment to conduct multi-method research where findings are translated into practice.
• Respond to the health needs of the community and Commonwealth and beyond through innovative education, practice, public service and research.

See our academics page on the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing webpage.  Within each program page you can view the curriculum-at-a-glance.

https://www.umassmed.edu/gsn/academics/ 

The Goals of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing are to:

• Prepare advanced practice nurses, leaders, educators, and scientists to shape nursing & promote health through the integration of education, research, practice, policy & service.
• Create a dynamic research environment to conduct multi-method research where findings are translated into practice.
• Respond to the health needs of the community and Commonwealth and beyond through innovative education, practice, public service, and research.

Students admitted into the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing will complete graduation requirements within a specified number of years (not counting time away for an approved leave of absence) depending on their specific educational program.

Requirements for graduation

• Successful completion of all required coursework. 
• Successful completion of the required clinical hours. 
• Demonstration of the ability to perform the skills in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodations consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Completion of Certification for Graduation with the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Office of Student Affairs and any additional administrative requirements such as payment of all fines including library and parking, returning all books, payment of any outstanding bills, course evaluations, etc. 

Minimum passing grades in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing along with cumulative semester GPAs for program progression are shown below.

Student Promotion, or academic progression, is defined in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing as a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and progression through the program as defined in particular programs of study.  If a student is required to repeat a specific course, the initial grade will be replaced by the grade earned the second time the course is taken. Transfer credits, incompletes, and withdrawals do not factor into the GPA but are included when evaluating progress towards degree completion. Satisfactory Academic Progress will be monitored by the Program Coordinator or Program Director minimally twice a year.

Optional Enrichment Electives (OEE) are elective courses offered in addition to the regular, required and elective/selective curriculum, which the student elects to take. OEE are offered through the T.H. Chan School of Medicine with Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing students participating in some courses. Participation in these courses appears on the transcript by name of course.

An example of an OEE that Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing students participate in is Correctional Health. The Correctional Health optional enrichment elective provides students a greater understanding of the basic principles of correctional health and unique health concerns for incarcerated populations, in both adult and youth correctional settings. The course aims to decrease stigma surrounding the correctional population and increase future providers' comfort working with this population.

Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing faculty and students participate in international practice and research where they gain experience that they can apply to their work and patients.  Each year the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing along with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences plan an inter-professional educational experience during spring recess where nursing and medical students visit La Romana, the Dominican Republic capital, providing care and aid to more than 1000 patients.

Student Outcomes associated with the Master’s of Science Program. Graduates will be able to:

1. Lead and participate in interprofessional collaborative team practice. 
2. Critically appraise, synthesize, and use the best evidence to resolve problems.
3. Seek innovative quality and safety solutions through the application of system principles in project development, strategic planning, and ethical decision-making.
4. Build inclusive partnerships across stakeholders using effective and culturally sensitive communication strategies.
5. Apply principles of cost-effective health care management and strategic policy planning to the decision-making process.
6. Engage in political and health care advocacy to mitigate disparities and inequities.
7. Leverage technologies to facilitate solutions to improve health outcomes and optimize the health experience.

Student Outcomes associated with Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program.  Graduates will be able to: 

1. Innovate in nurse leadership roles as nurse practitioners, nurse executives,nurse leaders or nurse mentors;
2. Fill health policy,quality improvement science and research roles;
3. Collaborate with multidisciplinary team and stakeholder health care providers and health care organizations;
4. Lead organizational systems and health care business and financial operations; and
5. Work in advanced clinical practice.

Student Outcomes associated with PhD Program.  Graduates will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the core program values in all scholarly endeavors
2. Apply philosophical and theoretical principles to scholarly inquiry
3. Design, conduct and disseminate independent and collaborative research
4. Critique and synthesize knowledge to advance nursing science and human health
5. Assume leadership roles in research, education, policy, administration and/or professional practice.