Admissions at a Glance

Our 15-month MDE program will prepare students to enter the nursing profession as masters-credentialed registered nurses with a focus on care coordination.

Deadline: November 1, 2024

Apply to the MDE Program

The Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia program prepares students for advanced clinical practice.

Deadline: September 4, 2024

Apply to the Nurse Anesthesia Program

The DNP program prepares registered nurses and advanced practice nurses to provide fully accountable and continuous care to patients across settings and during transitions.

Deadline: January 6, 2025

Apply to the DNP Program

Building on a foundation in nursing science and research methods, PhD graduates conduct evidence-based research independently and as part of interdisciplinary teams.

Deadline: November 18, 2024

Apply to the PhD Program

The Masters in Advanced Clinical Management and Leadership grew from our relationship with our affiliates to advance the education of Bachelors prepared RNs to the Masters level. This curriculum is fully offered virtually.

Deadline: April 1, 2025

Apply to the ACML Program

The Online Prerequisites for Entry to Nursing (OPEN) program allows non-nurses to take courses needed to apply to nursing school or other health professions that require science prerequisites.

Spring 2025 Entry Deadline: October 21, 2024*

Apply to the OPEN Program

*Applications available early-July.

The Palliative Care Throught the Lifespan Certificate Program  takes a true lifespan approach in preparing advance practice registered nurses to address palliative care for perinatal, pediatric, adult and geriatric patients and families.

Deadline: June 15, 2024

Apply to the Palliative Care CPA Program

Columbia Nursing offers two distance learning programs - the Online Prerequisites for Entry to Nursing (OPEN) program and the Masters in Advanced Clinical Management and Leadership program.

Columbia Nursing does not offer part-time academic programs. However, many of our programs allow students to work in some capacity, typically part-time or per diem.

Columbia Nursing accepts up to nine credits of coursework for Advanced Standing. Once accepted into the program and prior to the start of classes, accepted students are provided information regarding how to apply for Advanced Standing.

The Office of Global Health works with students who would like to seek an opportunity to study abroad. The countries with which Columbia Nursing has partnerships include, but are not limited to: the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, Nepal, Italy, and Malawi.

For questions on opportunities, please email globalfellows@cumc.columbia.edu.

Yes! Columbia University offers limited on-campus housing opportunities for Columbia University Irving Medical Center students in addition to off-campus housing resources. For more information on housing, visit our Office of Housing Services website.

Columbia Nursing considers all components of the application during the review process. This, in turn, is a balanced review of the applicant’s experiences, attributes, and academic metrics which includes a balanced evaluation of an applicant’s experiences, attributes, and academic metrics.

There is no minimum grade point average (GPA) required for our programs.

Columbia Nursing uses the cumulative GPA achieved at the institution from where you completed your degree or where you completed the majority of your degree credits. We do not combine the GPA achieved if an applicant attended multiple institutions.

Please note that applicants are required to submit transcripts for all institutions attended regardless of its relevancy to a nursing program.

Columbia Nursing does not require the GREs for admission into our academic programs, except for applicants who are applying to the PhD program.

Prerequisites can be completed at a regionally accredited college or university, in-person, or online. Here is a reference list of regionally accredited institutions. 

Prerequisite courses are required to be completed prior to the start of classes in the program, not by the application deadline. Failure to complete requirements by entry will result in withdrawal of courses.

Unfortunately, no exceptions are granted on the minimum prerequisite course grade. Applicants will need to retake the course if they do not meet the minimum grade requirement.

Yes, we will consider the higher grade when reviewing prerequisite courses up until a decision has been made on the application. If you retake a course after the application deadline and it is not reflected on the application, please ensure to contact the Office of Admissions to update your application accordingly.

The only course that has an “expiration date” is Statistics which must have been completed five years prior to the start date of the program you are applying to (i.e. for Summer 2025 start, Statistics must have been completed no earlier than Spring 2020).

Labs are not required for the prerequisite courses. However, please check with the state in which you anticipate to gain licensure in to determine whether the completion of lab courses are required in order to be licensed in that state.

Applications are open in July for a program that starts the following year. For example, applications for programs starting in 2025 are available in July 2024.

No, we do not accept applicants on a rolling basis as our programs operate on a cohort model.

Applications are reviewed by an admissions committee composed of program directors, faculty, and admissions staff.

Letters of recommendations should be written by supervisors, professors, or advisors who know you well and who can speak to your skills. For more information on the recommendation letters, please ensure to review our application requirements.

Decision letters are posted to the online application. Once decisions are made, an email will be sent to the applicant to log into their account to view their decision.

During application review, the admissions committee may decide to waitlist an application. If so, waitlisted applicants will be notified of their status. Waitlisted applicants must electronically submit the Waitlist Intent Form (which is attached to their decision letter) in order to indicate their intent to be placed on the waitlist. Applicants who have been waitlisted are welcome to submit any updates to their application (i.e. resume or prerequisite updates) through the electronic application portal. If the admissions committee decides to accept applicants from the waitlist, applicants will be notified accordingly. Applicants may be accepted off of the waitlist up until New Student Orientation.

Absolutely. If your application is denied admission, you can apply to the program again the following year. We encourage applicants who seek to reapply to review the components of their previously submitted application in order to increase their competitiveness. For questions, please contact the Office of Admissions.

Columbia University is committed to providing a learning, living, and working environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment and to fostering a nurturing and vibrant community founded upon the fundamental dignity and worth of all of its members.

Columbia Nursing's Non-Discrimination Policy