Program Overview

Master of Science - Entry Program

The Master of Science - Entry (MECN) program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is designed for individuals with undergraduate degrees in other subjects who wish to pursue a career in nursing. This two-year prelicensure program includes summer enrollment between the first and second years.

Program Description

The MECN program prepares students for a career as a Registered Nurse or Public Health Nurse. Upon completion of the program, graduates are granted the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree and are eligible to take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX) to become licensed as registered nurses (RN). Graduates may also apply for a Public Health Nursing Certificate from the California Board of Registered Nursing.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for the MECN program, applicants must:

1. Have graduated from a recognized college or university with an accredited baccalaureate program, with an overall scholastic average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better.
2. Complete approved prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of C or better, including:

• Chemistry (inorganic, organic, and biochemistry)
• Epidemiology
• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• Microbiology
• Nutrition
• Introductory Psychology
• Lifespan Development Psychology
• Statistics
• English Composition or Writing (2 courses)
• Group and/or Verbal Communication

3. Provide three letters of recommendation attesting to personal and academic competence.
4. Demonstrate proficiency in English, with international applicants required to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or complete the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic examination.

Prerequisites

All applicants must complete the approved prerequisite courses, with a minimum grade of C or better, by the end of December 2025 for the Fall 2026 entry. AP course credit with a score of 4 or higher will only be accepted for one prerequisite course.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees information is not provided in the input context.

Curriculum

The MECN program curriculum is designed to prepare students for a career in nursing, with learning outcomes that include:

1. Domain #1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice: Integrate established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge, the liberal arts, and natural and social sciences to develop clinical judgement in nursing practice.
2. Domain #2: Person-Centered Care: Deliver holistic high-quality care that is person-centered, developmentally appropriate, compassionate, equitable, and evidence-based using the nursing process while collaborating with other healthcare team members to engage additional expertise when necessary.
3. Domain #3: Population Health: Analyze policies that impact population health, implement supporting evidence, address system gaps, and develop interventions by collaborating with traditional and non-traditional partnerships from communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities and community partners to promote equitable health outcomes.
4. Domain #4: Scholarship for Nursing Practice: Critically evaluate, synthesize, and develop processes based on nursing knowledge to apply evidence-based interventions that target practice problems, health inequities, policy gaps, and system inefficiencies, with the goal of enhancing patient safety, care quality, and equitable health outcomes, while also advocating for ethical conduct in scholarly activities.
5. Domain #5: Quality and Safety: Apply scholarly processes to analyze quality care issues, applying standardized quality improvement processes based on emerging principles of safety and improvement science to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both individual performance and system effectiveness.
6. Domain #6: Interprofessional Partnerships: Collaborate through interprofessional partnerships to enhance the healthcare experience, promote cost effectiveness, optimize care delivery in all settings, and improve quality and safety outcomes for diverse patients, families, and communities.
7. Domain #7: Systems-Based Practice: Analyze system processes within complex systems to effectively and sustainably coordinate resources and design processes to provide safe, quality, and equitable health care to diverse populations through the use of innovation and evidence-based practice.
8. Domain #8: Informatics and HC Technologies: Use Informatics and healthcare technologies to collect and analyze data that informs evidence-based decision-making; supports safe, ethical, high-quality and efficient person-centered care; and facilitates effective communication.
9. Domain #9: Professionalism: Develop a professional identity fortified by advanced leadership concepts, embodying accountability, a collaborative disposition, diverse perspectives, and ethical behaviors that exemplify the values and characteristics of the nursing profession while prioritizing the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in both practice and professional identity.
10. Domain #10: Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development: Demonstrate leadership skills by developing professional nursing expertise and initiating activities that build healthy relationships, enhance self-reflection, foster personal health and wellbeing, and promote lifelong learning.

Course Sequences

The MECN course sequence is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in nursing, with courses that include:

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