How to Apply - Graduate Students

Master of Business Administration Program

• Official transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
• Personal statement (minimum 500 words)
  • Why an MBA with HNU?
  • What will you do with the degree?
  • What can you contribute to the HNU MBA community as a student?
• Resume
• Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:Holy Names University Admissions Office
  3500 Mountain Boulevard
  Oakland, CA 94619
• Faculty interview

Master, Certificate, Credential, Authorization

1. Official transcripts of all college/university coursework completed, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
   Credential students: Please submit two official copies of each transcript.
2. Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:Holy Names University Admissions Office
   3500 Mountain Boulevard
   Oakland, CA 94619
3. 1-3 page personal statement
4. Interview with department faculty
5. Applicants must obtain a Certificate of Clearance or hold a valid CTC-issued document in order to be accepted to our credential and master’s degree programs.

Additional information for credential students:

• HNU prefers that applicants take the CBEST and CSET exams before beginning the program, but does allow students to complete the exams within the first 15 units of their program.
• Credential students are considered 5th-year undergraduate students for financial aid purposes. Students dually enrolled in a credential and Masters programs are considered graduate students.

Master of Music (Music Education) and Kodály Specialist

1. Completed Application, including a statement of purpose
2. Official Transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from Registrar of college/university)
3. Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:
   Holy Names University Admissions Office
   3500 Mountain Boulevard
   Oakland, CA 94619
4. Audition with the Music Faculty (contact your Enrollment Counselor for more information)

Kodály Summer Certificate

1. Completed Application, including a statement of purpose
2. Official Transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from Registrar of college/university)
3. Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to Seema Gupta at gupta@hnu.edu, or by mail:Seema Gupta
   Holy Names University Admissions Office
   3500 Mountain Boulevard
   Oakland, CA 94619
4. No audition required

Master of Science in Nursing, Certificate

1. Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and a current RN license (if you have a bachelor’s degree in another field, you are eligible for the Pathway program)
2. Official transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
3. Written personal statement
4. Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:
   Holy Names University Admissions Office
   3500 Mountain Boulevard
   Oakland, CA 94619

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) degree and certificate program applicants: Please also answer the following 3 questions in your personal statement:

• Please explain your perception of the role of an FNP
• Why do you want to become an FNP?
• What changes will you make in your existing schedule to make the time needed to successfully complete the work of this program?

Note: The FNP National Certification exam needs to be completed upon graduation from the FNP graduate degree and certificate program.

Master of Science in Nursing and Business Administration (Joint Degree)

1. Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and a current RN license (if you have a bachelor’s degree in another field, you are eligible for the Pathway program)
2. Courses in statistics and research at the undergraduate level
3. Resume
4. Two recommendations (letter or form) from previous professors or current or previous work supervisors.
5. Official transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
6. Written personal statement

Doctor of Nursing Practice

1. Completed online application
2. A current California RN license
3. Official transcripts of BSN & MSN including the dates completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
4. Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors. Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:
   Holy Names University Admissions Office
   3500 Mountain Boulevard
   Oakland, CA 94619
5. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
6. Written personal statement
7. Interview with the Program Director for the Doctor of Nursing Practice program

In your personal statement, please answer the following 4 questions:

• What motivates you to earn your DNP degree?
• What are you planning to do with your nursing career in your specialty after you complete the DNP?
• Identify one scholarly inquiry from your practice you would like to explore as part of the DNP project.
• Describe your strengths that would contribute to your success in the DNP program and in a community of inter-professional scholars.

Counseling and Forensic Psychology– Master, Certificate

• Official transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
• Admissions essay: The faculty of the Counseling and Forensic Psychology Programs and Holy Names University are committed to students’ development of ethical practice, clinical competence, and assessment of personal fitness for the profession.Please respond to the questions below (minimum 500 words per question), all of which provide a format for you to present your current academic and emotional capacities as you contemplate a career as a counselor, therapist, or forensic specialist.a. Discuss how your personal life/work/school experiences may have influenced your current educational path. How did those experiences prepare you to think critically and consider alternative perspectives?
  b. Discuss your ability to work with all forms of diversity (not just ethnic/cultural).  Include self-reflection about your own biases and how you might maintain awareness of them in a helping context.
  c. Emotional intelligence, the capacity to manage and understand one’s own and others’ emotions, includes the ability to assess the impact of our behaviors on others. What data do you use to assess the effect of your personality and behaviors on others?  Why would it be important to know something about how you affect others when considering a career as a helper? How does this aspect of emotional intelligence relate to the capacity for empathy?
• Interview with the Admissions Committee for the Counseling and Forensic Psychology Program
• Two recommendations from previous professors or current or previous work supervisors. Please use this recommendation form. Completed forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:
  Holy Names University Admissions Office
  3500 Mountain Boulevard
  Oakland, CA 94619

Applied Sport and Performance Psychology – Master’s Program

• Official transcripts of ALL college/university coursework completed previously, including the date of bachelor’s degree completion (must be in a sealed envelope from the registrar of college/university)
• Personal statement (minimum 500 words, 2 pages max)
  • Cover any relevant performance background you have had.
  • Why do you wish to be considered as an applicant to the Applied Sport and Performance Psychology Program?
  • Why do you wish to become a Holy Names University student (if you’re already an HNU student then please state how the values of the university have influenced your choice to stay here)?
  • If you had challenges in your undergraduate studies, please address those.
  • What do you hope to do with this degree?
• Resume
• Two recommendations (you may send a letter or this graduate recommendation form from previous professors or work supervisors (academic references are preferred). Completed letters and forms may be submitted to admissions@hnu.edu, or by mail:
  Holy Names University Admissions Office
  3500 Mountain Boulevard
  Oakland, CA 94619
• Faculty interview

Sport and Performance Psychology – Certificate

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum 2.8 GPA (consideration will be given to applicants with a GPA below 2.8 upon the discretion of the Program Director)
• Official transcripts
• Personal statement (minimum 500 words, 1 page max)
• Interview with Program Director

In addition to program-specific requirements on this page, please view HNU’s international admissions requirements.