Master of Science, Nursing Leadership
Program Overview
The Nursing Leadership Master of Science Program at Stony Brook School of Nursing prepares nurses as leaders to assume leadership positions across all levels of nursing and the healthcare continuum.
Applications Open: August 1, 2026
Program Start: Summer 2027
Dr. Paula Timoney
Program Director
- Completed application.
- Baccalaureate degree with an upper-division nursing major from an accredited nursing program.
- Minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0.
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended. Transcripts from international institutions must be accompanied by a course-by-course evaluation by a NACES-accredited evaluation service, such as World Education Services (WES). Unofficial documents can be submitted with the application, but official copies will be required upon admission.
- Current unencumbered registered nurse license for NYS.
- Three-credit undergraduate course in health assessment.
- Three-credit undergraduate course in statistics.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Current curriculum vitae/resume.
- Written statement.
- Minimum of one year of recent relevant experience (preferred).
- Meet technical standards for admission and retention.
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended with final grades and degrees posted. Official transfer equivalency credits evaluation certificate by an accredited evaluation service, such as World Education Services (WES), to accompany transcripts from international institutions.
- Certification in Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers (BLS/AED).
- Certification in Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) (Neonatal and Midwifery students only).
- Certification in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) (Pediatric Acute Care students only).
- Certification in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) (Adult Gerontology Acute Care students only).
- Evidence of meeting all university health requirements.
- Evidence of health insurance.
- Evidence of RN/student nurse practitioner/midwifery malpractice insurance.
- An account with DISA Healthcare/CastleBranch, a web-based software system for uploading and managing health and professional documents required to maintain enrollment in the program. This system requires a one-time fee.
The Stony Brook University School of Nursing reserves the right to change admission and program criteria to meet prevailing accreditation, regulatory, and registration requirements.
The Office of Clinical Placements facilitates the processing of clinical placement requests and contracts for all clinical affiliations within the baccalaureate, master’s, advanced certificate, and DNP programs. The office works collaboratively with faculty to secure clinical placement sites for students. Once a suitable site is identified, students submit a clinical placement request form for processing.
The office maintains electronic data systems and records related to students, clinical placement sites, clinical affiliation agreements, clinical contracts, and preceptors. Central to the clinical placement process for all programs is the establishment of a clinical affiliation agreement and clinical contract, which is executed between SUNY and the clinical site.
Upon final execution of a clinical affiliation agreement, SUNY procures and provides the site with a certificate of insurance or related protection evidencing the required insurance coverage. The provisions of a clinical affiliation agreement and clinical contract include the responsibilities and mutual terms that are agreed upon during the life of the agreement.
Please note that it is a Stony Brook Medicine policy that the School of Nursing is not permitted to pay for, approve, or participate in a clinical placement arrangement for our students that requires payment of any type by the School, student, or any other third party.
THE SCHOOL OF NURSING RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE ADMISSION AND PROGRAM CRITERIA TO MEET PREVAILING ACCREDITATION AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
- Integrate knowledge from nursing’s discipline-specific perspective and related sciences with business skills and principles for effective leadership across healthcare settings and leadership roles. (Domain 1)
- Synthesize advanced scientific knowledge with collaborative skills to build consensus and gain cooperation to ensure the delivery of safe patient care that is evidence-based, accessible, and affordable to all. (Domain 2)
- Advocate for healthcare policy across all levels of organizations, local government entities, and others to improve equitable population health outcomes. (Domains 3 and 6)
- Advance the scholarship of nursing by applying nursing's unique perspective to lead the translation of evidence into practice to provide optimal care and address health inequities, structural racism, and system inequity. (Domain 4)
- Apply principles of improvement science to analyze system-wide processes and evaluate care quality and safety to design system improvements and health policies that minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers for system effectiveness. (Domains 5, 7, and 8)
- Foster relationships across the care continuum to build alliances and strategic partnerships to achieve common goals. (Domain 6)
- Optimize system effectiveness by leveraging care coordination, informatics processes, and technologies to transform care delivery that reflects current trends and addresses health inequities, structural racism, and system inequity. (Domains 7 and 8)
- Exhibit an executive presence upholding professional, ethical principles in decision-making through personal, organizational, and staff accountability. (Domain 9)
- Model self-reflection and cognitive flexibility to promote environments that foster life-long learning for professional growth, well-being, resilience, and effectiveness to achieve the vision and mission of the organization. (Domain 10)
