Program Options

1. FAQ [Question and Answer] 1097
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2. I am interested in Health Sciences, but I am not sure about my eligibility for any of your programs.
   

   Please see the SHS at a Glance pdf. This document outlines the minimum requirements necessary for each program.

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3. I do not have a baccalaureate degree. Am I eligible for any of the SHS programs?
   

   All SHS programs except the RN (Registered Nurse) to M.S. (Master of Science in Primary Health Care Nursing) program require at least a bachelor's degree and in some cases a master's degree from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education or overseas institution of higher learning, recognized by the Ministry of Education by the home country. In exceptional cases, the HCA Program will consider applicants who do not have an undergraduate degree;see the HCA FAQ section on this web site.If you are a female over 24 years of age, the Dorothea Dix Scholar's (continuing education) program, offers bachelor's degrees in nursing, health science, and nutrition.

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4. I have a bachelor's degree, but not in (nursing, nutrition, physical therapy, health care administration). Am I still eligible to apply?
   

   Each SHS program requires either specific course prerequisites and or experience in a particular field. In most cases, an undergraduate degree in a specific discipline is not required; a master's degree is required for the Certificate in Advanced graduaet Study(CAGS). Prerequisites should have been completed within the past ten consecutive years before applying to any of the programs.

   For candidates interested in the graduate nursing program, different prerequisites and the timing of completing these requirements vary.  Please see the SHS at a Glance pdf.

   For detailed information about the C.A.G.S. Health Professions Education program see the C.A.G.S. Health Professions Education page; and for the DPT Bridge program for licensed physical therapists, see the DPT Bridge page.

   For students interested in the Master's degree in nutrition, dietetic internship or certificate in sports nutrition, specialized prerequisites apply. Several prerequisites are required for the Professional Doctorate in Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) program. All certificates in advanced graduate study (C.A.G.S.) require a previous Master's degree.  For health care administration, the Master's degree should be in a health-related or business field.  For nursing, the Master's degree must be in nursing. For candidates interested in the health professions education C.A.G.S., a master's degree in a health-related field is required.For the Doctor in Nursing practice(D.N.P), a master's degree and certification of Nurse Practitioner are required.

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5. What programs does the School of Health Sciences offer?
   

   The degrees available at Simmons can be found on our Web site. However, if you are interested in psychobiology or pharmacy programs, these are offered only at the undergraduate level and/or in conjunction with another institution. You can learn more about these programs as well as bachelor degree programs in nursing and nutrition in the Undergradute Majors section. Contact the Office of Undergraduate Admission at 617-521-2500 or ugadm@simmons.edu if you are a female who has recently graduated from high school or if you are returning to school.

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6. When do the programs start? Is this flexible?
   

   Please see the SHS Degrees at a Glance pdf for information on start terms for each program.

   Accepted students must begin by the scheduled start terms. If you have been accepted to one of the SHS programs and it is not possible for you to begin the program in the semester you were accepted, you may defer to another term for up to one year. You cannot defer after the semester has begun. Deferrals are not automatic and must be approved by the Assistant Dean/Director of Admission. A written request including plans during the interim time must be submitted to the Assistant Dean/Director of Admission. Deferrals cannot be granted if a student refused our offer of admission or attended another institution after our offer of admission was made or after classes have begun for a particular term. Students will need to submit the required non-refundable enrollment deposit by the date stipulated in the original offer of admission to reserve a place in the next semester's class.

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7. How long does it take to complete the Simmons programs?
   

   Please see the SHS at a Glance pdf for information.

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8. What are the prerequisites for the programs?
   

   See SHS at a Glance or the prerequisites page for each individual program for more information. All prerequisites must have been completed within 10 years prior to the aplication deadline for each program; AP(Advanced Placement),IB, and CLEP scores, pass/fail and audit classes are not acceptable.

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9. Should I complete all prerequisites before applying?
   

   Each program requires different prerequisites and the application deadline dates may have a bearing on when these courses should and can be completed. For the doctorate of physical therapy you may apply with only two outstanding prerequisites but these must be completed before the program begins in late June/early July. For Direct Entry nursing, for those students with a BA/BS in another field, you can apply with some outstanding science prerequisites; however, they must be completed during the first summer semester.  We recommend that applicants fulfill as many of the prerequisites as possible before applying. SHS offers an intensive summer science cluster which begins in May of each year for accepted students who need a refresher or who have not completed all of the prerequisites. All prerequisites for the M.S. in Nutrition and Health Promotion, Dietetic Internship, and Certificate of Sports Nutrition programs must be completed before application. You may take any of the required courses either at Simmons or at another regionally accredited U.S. institution or an institution abroad which is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country, but you must obtain prior approval before registering for courses elsewhere to make certain that they fulfill our admission requirements. All prerequisite courses must have been completed within the past ten consecutive years, must have been graded and cannot have been completed on a pass/fail basis or audited. AP(Advanced Placeent) IB and CLEP scores are also not acceptable.

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10. I would like to take courses before I formally apply to a program. Is this possible?
    

    Non-degree or special student status is available for Health Care Administration (HCA 500 and HCA 501 courses only), Nursing(two courses only with written approval from the Nursing Department), and Nutrition (two courses only with written approval from the Nutrition Department). Post-bachelor's , post-master's certificate , and doctoral students may not register as non-degree students. You may register as a non-degree student for a maximum of two courses before being required to formally apply to a degree program.

    To register as a non-degree student for the School of Health Sciences, you need to complete a registration form.  Be sure to check the line that indicates you are registering as a Health Studies non-degree student. Fax this form to the School of Health Sciences at 617-521-3137 to the attention of the Office of Admission. We will process your form and send it to the Registrar's Office.

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11. What courses are offered in the next upcoming semester?
    

    The registration bulletin for the next upcoming semester is usually available at my.simmons.edu/services/registrar one month before the start of courses in January, May and September. For undergraduate-level prerequisites, please see the undergraduate (CAS) registration bulletin on the Registrar's Office page.

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12. May I pursue more than one degree at a time (dual degrees) at Simmons?
    

    The Simmons School of Health Sciences offers dual degree programs with Harvard University in nursing and occupational health and in nursing and maternal-child health. For these programs, applicants must submit a separate application and be accepted to the Harvard School of Public Health and Simmons College. Nutrition applicants may apply and be accepted to more than one program, allowing applicants to graduate with a Master's degree and a certificate of sports nutrition, or a Master's degree and the certificate in the didactic program in dietetics, or a Master's degree and the certificate in sports nutrtion, and a certifcate in the didatic program in dietetics or a Master's degree, certificate of sports nutrition and the dietetic internship certificate. Dual-degree options between and across the various graduate schools at Simmons is not possible.

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13. May I take courses within other schools at Simmons?
    

    Many of the programs require electives, which can be fulfilled from other departments or schools at Simmons. However, all schools at Simmons have a limit on the number of credits that may be taken. You should contact directly the appropriate school for further details.

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14. Do you offer online courses or degrees?
    

    Simmons offers several online programs: the DPT Bridge program, our post professional physical therapy program for U.S.-licensed, practicing physical therapists; the Certificate in Sports Nutrition for candidates holding an undergraduate or graduate degree in nutrition, exercise physiology, kinesiology, athletic training, or sports medicine, or fields such as biology, physical therapy, and nursing who have completed the necessary prerequisites courses; and the Certificate in Advanced Graduate Study (C.A.G.S.) in Health Professions Education,a post-master's certificate for candidates who have a master's degree in the health care field and who want to teach at the higher education level. For the D.P.T. Bridge program, all of the courses are offered completely online so that a student is able to complete the degree without coming to the Simmons campus. However, it is also possible to take campus classes as part of this program.  The Certificate in Sports Nutrition courses are offered only in the September and January semesters, not during the summer.  Two clinical genetics program options are avaliable: a post-bachelor's Certificate in Clinical Genetics and a post-master's certificate,the Certificate in Advanced Graduate Study(C.A.G.S.) in Clinical Genetics. Designed for individuals with work experience in the health or social work professions,this program provides the skills and knowledge needed to work as part of a genetics team to manage patients with genetic disorders.Finally, a Doctor in Nursing Practice(DNP) is offered in a blended format: online and on campus for 2 week-ends during the semester.

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15. Do the programs require work experience?
    

    For the Health Care Administration program, significant work experience in the health care field is expected. Applicants to the professional program in physical therapy must have at least 30 hours of volunteer or work experience in a health care setting. D.P.T. Bridge applicants must be U.S.-licensed physical therapists who have practiced within the last three years. For Nursing, all applicants except Direct Entry nursing applicants must be licensed nurses (RNs). The DNP requires professional work experience as a nurse practitioner.

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16. I have a job posting. How can I notify your students?
    

    You may fax or e-mail your listing to the SHS Office of Admission at 617-521-3137 or mailto:shs@simmons.edu%20and we will distribute your listing to the proper offices. You may also post your listing to the Simmons community by emailing it to the Career Education Center at careers@simmons.edu.

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Application & Admission Information

1. May I get a viewbook?
   

   Please fill out our inquiry form to receive the viewbook and future updates on the programs.

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2. May I get a catalog and application?
   

   These documents can be downloaded from our application and catalog download page.

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3. What if I can't download the catalog and application?
   

   If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat plugin, you may download it here, and if you are experiencing difficulties, their troubleshooting page might help. If it is impossible for you to download it, please e-mail us and indicate the problem you are having and your contact information (full name, address, phone, e-mail, and program of interest).

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4. Do you offer campus information sessions?
   

   Yes. The schedule for information sessions can be found at Admission Events.

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5. I would like to visit the program facilites or observe a class.
   

   Please fill out our online visit request form, or e-mail us at shs@simmons.edu with your contact information, the dates and times you are available and, if you are interested in observing a class, which areas you are particularly interested in. We will pass along your request to the individual academic department.

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6. I would like to visit the Simmons campus.
   

   The Office of Undergraduate Admission offers tours of the entire campus Monday through Friday year round. During the academic year, tours are held at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. The office can be reached at 617-521-2500 to schedule a tour.  Please remember that these tours are designed for high school and transfer students. There are no specific tours for graduate students.

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7. May I meet with a faculty member?
   

   We advise prospective students to read through the FAQ sheets for their program of interest and to download the program catalog before meeting with someone on campus. If your questions are not answered and cannot be answered via e-mail or phone, we definitely encourage students to visit us. If you cannot attend one of our information sessions or need to meet with someone sooner, please e-mail us at shs@simmons.edu and let us know when you are available so we can arrange an appointment with someone in the program office.

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8. Could someone review my transcripts and tell me if I've met the prerequisites and am able to apply?
   

   Due to time limitations, it is not possible for us to evaluate entire individual transcripts for prospective students. Additionally, course titles are often not sufficient to determine if they meet our requirements.  If you are unsure whether some of your courses would fulfill the necessary prerequisites, please carefully review the requirements and the required course content on the prerequisites page. You may fax or e-mail a syllabus, not a description) to the Office of Admission at 617-521-3137 or shs@simmons.edu and you will be notified whether the course is applicable. A syllabus should provide such information as the name of the textbook used, assignments,and duration of the course. NOTE: Please allow ten business days for your syllabus to be reviewed.

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9. What are the application fees? Can I waive the fee?
   

   Please see the SHS at a Glance sheet. Applicants recommended by an alumna/us through the Alumnae/i Referral form may waive the application fee. Also, applicants who attend a School of Health Sciences Information Session or Preview receive an application fee waiver at the event.

   Both forms must accompany the downloaded (not electronic) version of the application and cannot be accepted after receipt and processing of the application. For more information about upcoming admission events, visit our admission events page.

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10. What are the deadlines? Are these flexible?
    

    Please click here to see all of the SHS deadlines. Other than the Dietetic Internship program deadline, these are deadlines for the actual receipt of all application materials, not post mark deadlines. These deadlines are not flexible, since we need adequate processing time to ensure that accepted students are enrolled and registered in time for the upcoming semester. International students can apply for fall (September) only,with the exception of the D.P.T. and the Direct Entry Nursing programs which begin in late June/arly July. International students should apply at least six months in advance of the application deadline due to the length of time necessary to receive academic documents, recommendations, the Certification of Finances Form, and test scores, as well as to process visas due to strict immigration rules.

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11. What if my application is submitted by the deadline, but I am missing some materials?
    

    If we have received your application before the deadline and, upon the passing of the deadline, we are still awaiting items to complete your application we will ask you if you would like to carry over your application to the next academic term.

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12. How will I know when my application has been received/is complete?
    

    The Office of Admission will notify you by email when your application has been received/is complete or you will be asked for missing materials.

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13. When will I learn of my admission status?
    

    Admission decisions are determined and sent after the specified deadline date; all admission decisions are mailed as a group. Accepted students will be required to submit a non-refundable enrollment deposit by the date indicated in the letter offering admission. No extensions to the enrollment deposit date will be granted. Deposits will be applied to the first semester's bill.

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14. Do I have to submit all of my materials in one package?
    

    For applicants to the HCA, Nutrition, C.A.G.S., R.N. to M.S. programs, for September '07 and  January '08 entry , you may submit all materials except your transcripts, recommendations, and test scores in one package. For all programs beginning in May '08 and therafter all applicants to all programs must submit all materials in one envelope.

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15. What if my transcripts were sent to me, but they are still in sealed, signed envelopes?
    

    We require that your transcripts be sent to us directly in signed, sealed envelopes. However, if you have received them, as long as they have not been opened, we will accept them.

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16. What do you mean by, "transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended"?
    

    We require official transcripts from any institution where you have taken post-secondary courses (that were not used for high school credit or graduation). This includes study abroad courses and transfer credit that appears on other transcripts, as well as prerequisite courses taken on a non-degree basis. This is required whether or not a degree was awarded or if the course is not specific to the program for which you are applying.

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17. I have taken courses as a non-degree (special) student or graduated from Simmons. Do I need to request my transcripts to be sent to you from the Registrar's Office?
    

    No. The SHS Office of Admission will request and obtain these transcripts but you must clearly indicate your previous attendence dates on your admission application.

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18. My recommendations are not on letterhead, are not in sealed, signed envelopes, are copies, or do not include the Simmons form. Will this be a problem?
    

    We need original recommendations in signed, sealed envelopes. We require that these be written on letterhead stationery.  Recommendation forms may be downloaded from our website. In all cases, recommenders should provide contact information, including an email address, for verification purposes.

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19. What do you mean by, "current and future enrollment?"
    

    In this section, at the time of application, we are looking for the names, locations, credit hours and start and end dates of any courses you are currently taking or those you plan to take before beginning our program (whether or not they pertain to the program you are applying for). This is especially important if some of those courses are prerequisites.We will need transcripts for these courses when they are complete.

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20. What standardized test scores are required for admission?
    

    For the Direct Entry Nursing program, the GREs are required for all applicants. For the Professional Doctorate of Physical Therapy program and the Master's program in Nutrition and Health Promotion, and the Master's in Primary Care Nursing the GREs are required for all applicants who are not Simmons undergraduates. For the regular Master's in Nursing and the Master's in Health Care Administration programs, the GREs (or GMATs) may be waived by taking specific courses as a non-degree (special) student. Please see the program FAQs for Nursing and HCA for more information. For the Master's nursing programs, if you have a previous Master's degree, you may be able to waive the GRE/GMAT requirement at the discretion of the Department Chair. Waivers are based on a student's science background, the nature of the Master's degree, and/or the candidate's current work experience.  Applicants to the Certificate in Sports Nutrition, D.P.T. Bridge, or Certificates of Advanced Graduate Study are not required to submit GRE or GMAT scores. However, students whose first language is not English must submit an official TOEFL score from within the past two years when applying to any program.  We require official scores sent directly by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), taken within the last five years.

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21. What are the Simmons codes for the GREs, GMATs, and TOEFL?
    

    The Simmons institution code for all three tests is 3761 and the department codes for the GRE are 0610 for Nursing, 0619 for Physical Therapy, 0214 for Nutrition, and 0607 for Health Care Administration.

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22. Do you require a minimum test score?
    

    There is no minimum required test score for the GRE. It is one part of the total application process.  We also consider your overall academic performance, experience, and commitment to the health care profession. The minimum required TOEFL score is 230 (computer based), 570 (paper based), or 88 (internet based). Official TOEFL scores from ETS from the previous two years must be sent directly to the Office of Admission for the School of Health Sciences. Please see our accepted student profile for historical application statistics.

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23. I took my GREs more than 5 years ago. Are they still valid?
    

    If your GRE scores are older than 5 years, you will need to retake them, since ETS only stores scores for that amount of time and then destroys them due to limited storage capacity.  Student score reports are not acceptable.

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24. My prerequisite GPA is not a 3.0. What can I do?
    

    For the professional physical therapy program, we require a GPA of 3.0 in the prerequisite courses and this is also suggested for the nutrition and nursing programs. If you do not have a 3.0, you must retake prerequisite courses before applying to improve the GPA. A 3.0 GPA in graduate study is required for C.A.G.S. programs.

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25. Does it matter where I take prerequisite courses?
    

    No. As long as you completed them within the past ten consecutive years at an accredited U.S. college or university (including community college) or an overseas higher education institution recognized by the country's Ministry of Education, they will be fine. However, the syllabi must match our course requirements.  All prerequisite courses must be graded and may not be completed on a pass/fail basis or audited.

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26. What if the prerequisite science course my school offered did not have a lab when I took it. Do I have to retake the course?
    

    Please see the FAQ sheets for the individual program.

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27. What if I have taken prerequisite courses on the quarter system?
    

    We assume that a quarter-system credit equals .75 (3/4ths) of a semester-system credit. Thus, if you took two 3-credit hour courses on the quarter system (6 credits x 0.75), they would only be equal to 4.5 semester hours; therefore, you would need to complete an additional quarter hour course to equal at least six semester hours, if two full semesters of a type of course are required.

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28. Which prerequisite courses are included in the GPA calculation?
    

    The prerequisite science GPA for the professional Physical Therapy program includes the eight semesters of science prerequisites (one semester of biology, one semester of exercise physiology, two semesters of chemistry, two semesters of physics, one semester of anatomy and one semester of physiology [two semesters of combined anatomy/ physiology (A/P) meet the requirement.]) All science courses, with the exception of Exercise Physiology, require a laboratory component.  For Direct Entry Nursing for those candidates with a B.A./B.S. in another field, the prerequisite GPA includes all prerequisites except Developmental Psychology and Statistics. For the Master's in nutrition, the prerequisite GPA includes all listed prerequisites.

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29. Who is considered an international student?
    

    If you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien (in possession of a PRA card), you are considered an international student. See the information for international applicants for more information.

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30. I am an international student, but I did my post-secondary work in the U.S. or my school's main language of instruction was English. Do I have to take the TOEFL?
    

    If you attended and graduated from a regionally accredited post-secondary institution in the U.S. or an institution abroad in an English-speaking country only ,which is recognized by the Ministry of Education in that country,TOEFL is not required. Otherwise, if your first language is not English, you must take the TOEFL in addition to the GRE. The TOEFL requirement is based on native language, not citizenship.

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31. I am an international student. What application procedure do I follow?
    

    Please see our international student admissions page for further information and the FAQ sheet for nutrition for further information about special requirements for international students for that program. International students can apply for September entry only (except for the professional D.P.T. and Direct Entry nursing programs, which offer July and May entry, respectively, only) and should apply at least six months in advance of the application deadline due to the length of time necessary to submit academic documents, recommendations, the Certification of Finances Form, and test scores. Sufficient time is also needed to process visas due to strict immigration rules. Due to immigration regulations, international students must be enrolled full-time each semester. International students with a student visa can take classes as non-degree students only if they are enrolled at another U.S. institution as a full-time student and provide evidence of a student visa.

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32. What if I cannot enroll in the term that I originally applied for? May I defer?
    

    You may defer for up to two academic semesters (except for Dietetic Internship applicants). To defer you must submit a letter to the Assistant Dean/Director of Admission no later than one week before the start of the semester to which you were admitted . Please indicate why you want to defer and what you plan to do in the interim.. You will be notified of your status as soon as possible.  If approved, in the interim, you may not attend another school full-time. If approved, you will be required to submit a non-refundable enrollment deposit to hold a place in a future class;you may not attend another school full time in the interim. Also, if you have applied for financial aid, you must notify the Office of Student Financial Services that you will not be attending. If you cannot attend within one year, you must reapply to the program as well as reapply for financial aid.  If you were awarded a Dean's Scholarship or graduate assistantship, these funds are not automatically re-awarded.  You will be considered for such awards again with the new applicant pool.  Deferrals cannot be granted if a student refused our offer of admission or enrolled elsewhere after our offer of admission was made.

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33. What if I applied recently and didn't complete/withdraw my application?
    

    If you have applied to an SHS program within the last year and either did not complete the application, or withdrew it before it was reviewed by the Admission Committee, you may reapply. You must submit the current application form and fee, any transcripts for courses completed since your original application, a letter stating what you have done in the interim, and a recent recommendation.

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34. Can I take SHS graduate courses as a non degree student?
    

    It is possible to enroll in some SHS courses before applying for admission. Certain courses require prerequisites and written approval from the respective Department Chairperson. Contact the appropriate department to determine which courses require approval. Generally, individuals may register for up to two graduate SHS courses as a non-degree student before being required to formally apply for admission.The following programs do not allow any courses to be taken as non degree: D.P.T. (doctorate in physical therapy program) all CAGS (Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study) programs,the DPD Certificate(prerequisites for an internship sanctioned by the American Dietetic Association) and the CSN (Certificate in Sports Nutrition) program. For information about course offerings, see AARC (Simmons Online Academic and Administrative Resources).

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35. FAQ [Question and Answer] 1098
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Tuition, Financial Aid and Housing

1. What are the tuition and fees?
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2. Are scholarships and assistantships available?
   

   There are a limited number of scholarships and assistantships available each year. These do not cover the full cost of tuition. Dean's Scholarships are offered only to new entering students. Assistantships are usually offered to students who have been in the program for some time and who have proven academic ability. There is no separate application for these funds. All applicants are automatically considered for these awards at the time of application and notified upon acceptance or shortly thereafter.

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3. When should I apply for financial aid?
   

   The priority application deadline for financial aid (loans) for U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens is March 1 for September entry and October 1 for January entry but apply as soon as possible after January 1. D.P.T. applicants should apply for financial aid as soon as possible after January 1 so that they will know their status about aid before the enrollment deposit due date. Details about this process can be found on the Student Financial Services website.
   
   Limited scholarships are available and are awarded by the Dean's Office at the time of admission or shortly thereafter. There is no federal or state financial aid available for international students.

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4. Where can I get information on the financial aid process?
   

   For more information about the financial aid process, please see the Student Financial Services website. If you have further questions, please call the Office of Student Financial Services at 617-521-2001.

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5. Where can I get information on housing?
   

   For more information on graduate student housing, please see Office of Residence Life. You may also call the Office of Residence Life at 617-521-1096.

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