Nursing - Post-Diploma Degree Completion

Applicants may qualify by satisfying the items found under either admission criteria A, B or C.

1. Applicants must be a graduate from a Nursing diploma program for registered nurses at a public Canadian college, from any province or territory, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher (or equivalent).

AND must satisfy at least one of the two following criteria:

2a. Applicants may qualify by demonstrating proof of current registration, as a Registered Nurse, with the regulatory body pertaining to their respective province(s) or territories. Please see Important Notes Section I below for further clarification;

OR

2b. Applicants must demonstrate proof of eligibility for registration as a Registered Nurse in Ontario. Please see Eligibility for Registration - Section I below for further clarification.

3. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

1. Applicants must be a graduate of a Practical Nursing Diploma program from a public Canadian college with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, and contain no repeated courses or failures on their academic transcript.

AND

2. Applicants must be a graduate from a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)-approved bridging program with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, and contain no repeated courses or failures on their academic transcript. The bridging program must be completed within the past five academic years.

PLUS

3. Applicants must demonstrate proof of eligibility for registration as a Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario. Please see Eligibility for Registration - Section II below for further clarification.

4. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

1. Applicants must be a graduate of international nursing studies.

AND must satisfy at least one of the two following criteria:

2a. Applicants must be a graduate of a TMU-approved bridging program with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, and contain no repeated courses or failures on their academic transcript.  The bridging program must be completed within the past five academic years.

OR

2b. Applicants must demonstrate proof of current registration as a Registered Nurse in Ontario or in another Canadian province or territory. Please see Eligibility for Registration - Section I below for further clarification.

3. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

Course Enrolment: Only current students in the degree program will be able to enrol in core nursing courses.

Eligibility for Registration in Ontario means that candidates must possess registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) (external link)  under the 'general' class, and in good standing with no restrictions to practice. Registration with the CNO in 'non-practicing', 'suspended' or 'retiree' class is ineligible for admission. If the candidate is applying from outside of Ontario, then the respective 'good standing' decrees apply as per the relevant regulatory body in their province/territory. For a table of the regulatory bodies and the 'general' class equivalents, please refer to the chart below.

Eligibility for registration in Ontario means that candidates must possess registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) (www.cno.org) under the 'General' class, and in good standing. Registration with the CNO in 'non-practicing', 'suspended' or 'retiree' class is ineligible for admission.

If the applicant intends to enrol in a practicum in the province of Ontario, the applicant must be registered with the College of Nurses in Ontario (CNO) in General class throughout the duration of the practicum.

Applicants are required to submit the following directly to Undergraduate Admissions (in addition to their online application and Supplementary Form). 

Visit Submission of Documents for access to the Document Upload page and instructions:

1. Academic transcripts from all nursing and other post-secondary level studies, indicating specific courses and grades, and including promotion/graduation status.
   
2. Photocopy of current Ontario Certificate of Registration (or provincial or territorial equivalent) or proof of eligibility for the same.

The Post-Diploma Degree Completion Program in Nursing is designed to prepare a more liberally educated nurse to function in a variety of roles and health care settings. The program provides an opportunity for diploma nursing graduates or graduates from Toronto Met's Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing approved bridging program to develop an analytical approach to nursing practice, and to expand their understanding of how they as practitioners, and how nursing as a profession, integrates with the rest of the health care system.

The program has been offered on a part-time basis since 1983. Part-Time students may take up to seven years to complete the program. Program planning is developed to meet the individual student's needs.

One unique feature of the program is that it allows students to develop skills in the clinical area of choice. Students capitalize on past experience, have the opportunity to develop their own learning objectives and apply knowledge in an area in which they have professional goals.

Teaching methods throughout the program include lecture discussion, and/or hybrid online learning modalities, small group process, self-directed learning and supervised clinical practice.

1. Students may be eligible for a transfer credit if they have completed equivalent courses at the university level.
2. No more than 50 percent of the program courses may consist of transfer or challenge credits. This includes courses taken at other universities after admission to the program.

See Transfer Credits (opens in new window)  for further information.

Students who are RNs can challenge NCL 800- Nursing Practice II if they have a current/valid RN/NP 'Canadian Nurses Association Certification' or they have successfully completed the Clinical Fellowship Program with the RNAO within the past five years. Students must submit a Challenge Credit application form and fee and the appropriate documentation at the beginning of the term that they are completing NCL 700 . Visit the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, opens in new window for more information.

Students must take three upper level liberal studies courses to graduate. Students must not choose courses that are restricted for their program or major.

Please refer to the liberal studies chapter of this calendar for more information on the Liberal Studies Policy. Further information on liberal studies can also be found at the Faculty of Arts' Liberal Studies website (opens in new window) .

Table B - Upper Level Restrictions

Students may pursue any Minor offered by Toronto Met (with some exceptions). Please refer to the Minors chapter of this calendar for further information on individual Minor requirements and exclusions.

Undergraduate students wishing to pursue a continuing education certificate program should be aware of possible program exclusions. Please refer to the Certificate Registration section of the Curriculum Advising website (opens in new window)  for complete details.

The graduate:

1. Demonstrates caring as it relates to self and others.
   
2. Determines meaning and significance in patient encounters.
   
3. Establishes meaningful connections with clients to facilitate therapeutic interactions.
   
4. Collaborates with clients and colleagues to ensure consistent, safe, effective care.
   
5. Uses personal knowledge and theory from nursing and related disciplines to determine an appropriate course of nursing actions.
   
6. Demonstrates reflective, critical, and analytical thinking to inform a creative and flexible nursing practice.
   
7. Appraises research studies and critically uses the findings as a basis for nursing practice.
   
8. Evaluates gaps in nursing knowledge and appropriate solutions to address them. Considers research possibilities, and participates in research activities where appropriate.
   
9. Analyses health and practice issues within the social/economic, political/global environment.
   
10. Practices nursing in a skillful, therapeutic, socially inclusive, and culturally sensitive manner.
    
11. Provides leadership within his/her own practice to facilitate clients’ and colleagues’ desired outcomes.
    
12. Interprets population health principles to plan, implement, and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention programs.
    
13. Works within the context of a multidisciplinary health care team to apply primary health care principles.
    
14. Participates in developing and implementing strategies for the improvement of the health environment through the use of the political process and the principles of social justice and equity, within an individual/community/global context.
    
15. Practices nursing within legal, ethical and professional guidelines; behavior is consistent with academic integrity and social responsibility.
    
16. Is an active participant in his/her personal and professional development.
    
17. Demonstrates the ability to communicate information, arguments, and analyses accurately and reliably, orally and in writing to a range of audiences.
    

Revised curriculum begins 2024-2025 for students admitted Fall 2023 and after.

Revised curriculum begins 2024-2025 for students admitted Fall 2023 and after.

All RN and RPN bridging students enrolled in the Post Diploma Degree Completion Program in Nursing must have valid registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), general class. Students are required to notify the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing of any change in CNO registration status. Failure to attain/maintain CNO registration general class will result in WITHDRAWAL from the Nursing course(s) and a REQUIRED TO WITHDRAW status from the program. An exception to the policy of CNO registration is granted to those students from an approved Internationally-Educated Nurses bridging program.

Students must achieve a grade of 'C' or above in all nursing theory and practice courses (all NCL, NUC, NUR courses) in order to be eligible to enrol in nursing courses in subsequent semesters.

Students who earn a grade of 'C-' or below in any nursing theory or practice course will be given a PROBATIONARY Standing regardless of their overall GPA.

Students will remain on PROBATION until they receive a grade of 'C' or above in all nursing courses.

Students on PROBATION who earn a grade of 'C-' or below in a nursing theory course other than the nursing theory course(s) in which they previously obtained a grade of 'C-' or below, OR who receive a first time 'C-' or below in a nursing practice course, will be given a REQUIRED TO WITHDRAW status.

Students who receive a second grade of 'C-' or below in the same nursing theory course OR, who receive a second 'C-' in any nursing practice course (either a repeated or subsequent practice course) will result in a PERMANENT PROGRAM WITHDRAWAL Standing. This variation will be enacted even when the student has taken less than three courses and has not acquired a cumulative grade point average.

At any point during the academic year, the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing reserves the right to terminate a student’s experience in a nursing practice setting when patterns of behaviour place self, clients or others at risk. This will result in the student receiving an 'F' grade for the course. In this circumstance, students must have established rights of appeal; however, they cannot remain in the course while the appeal is underway. The appeal will be conducted promptly in order to protect students' rights.

The student may be assigned PERMANENT PROGRAM WITHDRAWAL from the Nursing program for reasons of unprofessional behaviour or professional misconduct.

All nursing courses must be completed within five years of the prerequisite professional course. (For example, no more than five years can elapse between completion of Year 1 professional courses and enrolment in Year 2 professional courses.)

* Nursing Theory courses: Courses with NSE, NUR ant PAT prefixes.

† Nursing Practice courses: NCL 700 and NCL 800.

¶ Corequisite courses: All Nursing courses in a given year have designated corequisites. All clinical practice courses have Nursing Theory courses as corequisites. Please refer to the Course Descriptions chapter of this calendar.

In addition to fulfilling Toronto Metropolitan University's Graduation Requirements (see previous section), students in all Nursing programs are required to have obtained a minimum grade of 'C' in all nursing theory and practice courses (NCL, NUC, NUR).

A Program Advisory Council (PAC) is a group of volunteers that provides expert advice to a school or department on program related matters such as curriculum, program review, technology and trends in the industry, discipline or profession. For more information, see Senate Policy #158 (Program Advisory Councils).