MSN Acceptance

Transfer of Credit for Degree-Seeking Students

USA will allow up to 12 graduate credit hours of grades of “B” or above to be transferred into our graduate programs. Only courses that have been completed within five years of the anticipated date of graduation from the USA program will be considered. Once a student applies and is accepted, at this time, they are able to submit syllabi for the courses they wish to have considered for transfer. All syllabi are sent to the Transfer Credit Review Committee for review. The Committee will submit a recommendation to the Registrar’s Office for final approval. The Registrar will contact the student with final approval after the student has started taking classes at USA.

All courses must be at least three (3) semester credit hours or five (5) quarter hours each. For applicants that are unable to demonstrate completion of courses with a minimum of three (3) credit hours each or five (5) quarter hours each, the courses will be added to the applicant’s curriculum plan for completion at the USA in order to receive a graduate degree. Courses taken in a Generalist Entry-to-Practice BSN or MSN program will not be approved for graduate transfer credit.

To request the transfer of credit hours for graduate level courses, please complete the following form along with your course syllabi Mrs. Jennifer Bouvier at jcamp@southalabama.edu for your courses to be reviewed for transfer of credit.

All requests must be received no later than one week BEFORE the semester for which the student is accepted. 

Form to Transfer of Graduate Level Courses

Approval of Credit for Post-Graduate Certificate Students

The College of Nursing must approve the Advanced Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Physical Assessment courses for students entering the Post-Graduate Certificate program. The five-year requirement does not pertain to Post Graduate Certificate students who only need to submit the form. Post-Graduate Certificate students are not required to submit course syllabi since courses are not formally transferred into a degreed program. 

To request the approval of credit hours for graduate level courses, please complete the following form.  Email the form to Mrs. Jennifer Bouvier at jcamp@southalabama.edu for your courses to be approved.

Form to Approve Graduate Level Courses for Post Graduate Certificate Students

Support Courses (Pathophysiology/Pharmacology/Physical Assessment)

The APRN accreditation standards and certifying bodies require students to have three separate courses that include: Advanced Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Physical Assessment.  

The University of South Alabama College of Nursing requires students to complete the following courses for completion of their MSN degree or Post-Graduate Certificate:

• NU 545 Physio-Pathological Basis of Advanced Nursing
• NU 578 Pharmacology Advanced Practice Nurses
• NU 518 Advanced Nursing Assessment

For each of the 3Ps courses to be approved for transfer credit, evidence must be provided to show that the courses completed were three (3) separate courses of at least three (3) semester credit hours or five (5) quarter hours each. For applicants that are unable to demonstrate completion of three separate courses for a minimum of three (3) credit hours each or five (5) quarter hours each, the courses will be added to the applicant’s curriculum plan for completion at the USA in order to receive a graduate degree or Post-Graduate Certificate. Courses taken in a Generalist Entry-to-Practice BSN or MSN program will not be approved for graduate transfer credit. 

All students who are admitted to the USA College of Nursing are personally responsible for understanding the requirements set forth by their individual state board of nursing for licensure or certifying body as an advanced practice nurse. Some states and certifying bodies require, and only accept, pathophysiology, pharmacology, or physical assessment courses taken within a certain timeframe. Applicants are responsible for checking with the state board of nursing for the state in which future practice is intended and the specialty certifying body to make sure that any courses transferred into a USA CON program meets the state’s requirements for licensure or the certifying body’s requirements for certification.

If a state board of nursing or a certifying body will not approve courses transferred into the USA CON after graduation or receipt of a Post-Graduate Certificate, based on the date completed or content contained therein, the graduate will be offered to register and complete these courses after graduation at the graduate’s expense. Courses may also be added to a current student’s curriculum plan upon written request to an advisor and subsequent approval by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. 

Student ID and Student Email Address

The Office of Admissions will send you a separate acceptance letter from the University of South Alabama with information on your Student ID (JAG Number) and activating your Student Email (JagMail) Account. Upon receiving your acceptance letter from Admissions, please make sure you activate your JagMail account immediately. This is our means of communicating with you. Instructions on how to activate your JagMail email account will be provided in your acceptance letter from the Office of Admissions. Upon receipt of your letter of acceptance from the College of Nursing, please allow up to eight weeks to receive this separate acceptance letter from the Office of Admissions.

 

 

 

Financial Aid

You may apply for Financial Aid BEFORE you have receive your JAG number. If your employer does not offer tuition assistance or you are unable to pay for the program yourself, financial aid information can be found on the Financial Aid Web Page.  You must complete the FAFSA to determine student loan eligibility. 

Tuition and Fees for the Graduate Courses in the College of Nursing.

Nursing Scholarships

Nursing Scholarships offered by the University can be located at the Office of Scholarship Services. Go to Available Scholarships and search for “nursing” scholarships. To apply for these scholarships, you must submit an application through JagSpot. Scholarships offered by outside organizations can be found on the the CON Scholarship Web Page and applications must be submitted directly to the organization as instructed on the webpage.

Additionally, check with your local and state boards of nursing and health departments for scholarships and grants. You might also be able to find opportunities in some of the nursing professional organizations, if you are a member. If additional opportunities arise throughout the year, all active nursing students will receive an email with that information.

Curriculum Schedule

You will receive information regarding your curriculum schedule after you have submitted all required documentation with your Acceptance Packet, completed your Drug Screen, Background Check and Medical Document Manager, and after the review of all requests for transfer credit, if submitted, has been completed. Please save all questions regarding your curriculum schedule until this time. You will be able to register for classes after your curriculum schedule has been finalized, and on the first day of registration for new graduate students (see below).

Please do not register for courses based on the sample curriculum schedules listed on the USA College of Nursing website. You will receive a personalized schedule which you are to follow to complete your program. Failure to follow your personalized schedule will result in you dropping all courses and re-registering which may have financial implications.

Registration

Students in the MSN program follow the same Academic Year Progression as the rest of the University. Please refer to the University’s Academic Calendar for the first day of Registration and the first day of classes:

University Academic Calendar

You may register for your courses using PAWS. Please note that:

1. As a MSN student, you are guaranteed a spot in a class every semester so long as you follow your approved curriculum schedule.

2. You must register at the time designated by the College of Nursing. This registration period will differ from the Time Ticket given you in PAWS through the University.

3. If you wait until the first week of classes to register, you will be delayed up to 48 hours before you have access to your online class and you are not guaranteed a seat in the courses on your curriculum schedule.

Registration Walk-through

We attached a registration walk-through to help our first-time students:

Registration Walk-through

Registration Errors

Occasionally, students will experience an error during registration. If this happens to you, please copy and paste the error message into an email and send it to the MSN Office at congrad@southalabama.edu for assistance. The error message contains the information required to “fix” the problem on our end. Do not call the Registrar’s Office. We will resolve any registration problems you might experience.

Booklist

The University of South Alabama Bookstore can provide you with all your textbook needs, whether you want to purchase or rent. New editions of textbooks are issued several times per year, so wait until the books are posted for the semester in which you will take the course to ensure you receive the latest edition of textbooks.

USA Bookstore

Computer Requirements

Complete computer specifications for the University of South Alabama online classes are provided here:

System Requirements

First day of class

Online classes are available the first day of the semester and no earlier. Please access your courses on the first day of class, and regularly thereafter. Do not wait until the MSN Orientation Webinar to access your courses. You will login here:

USA Online

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Graduate Student Orientation

Students accepted into the MSN programs will attend the New Student Orientation. A New Student Virtual Orientation Site (VOS) is completely online and provides modules in a USAonline project site to orient you to our online program.

Summer 2025 Orientation: Opens April 28, 2025 and closes June 3, 2025.

You should complete all modules during this time in order to be prepared to start your courses.

The Course Coordinator for your specialty will provide a separate specialty specific orientation after the beginning of the semester. Please watch your JagMail account for more details on this specialty orientation.

 

 

 

 

Official Transcripts

Official transcripts from EVERY college and university you have ever attended should have been sent to NursingCAS during the admission process. If you failed to send any transcript to their office, please note your admission file will be incomplete and you will not be eligible to register if these transcripts are not sent to the Graduate Admissions Office.

Students who graduated with ANY degree AFTER submitting your Primary Application in NursingCAS are required to have an official degree-conferred transcript sent directly from that University to our USA Graduate Admissions Office BEFORE you begin taking classes. The mailing address is 2500 Meisler Hall, 390 Alumni Circle, Mobile, AL 36688-0002.

 "Let whoever is in charge keep this simple question in her head - (not, how can I always do this right thing myself, but) how can I provide for the right thing to be always done?"

-- Florence Nightingale