Due to the clinical nature of the nursing profession, all students must meet the following communication standards, as outlined in the Technical Standards of our Student Handbook:
- A student must be able to communicate clearly and effectively in English with clients, teachers and all members of the health care team. Written and oral communication must use standard, professional medical terminology.
- He/she must communicate with clients clearly and effectively in English to elicit information regarding history, emotional status and activity, and to perceive nonverbal communications.
- Communication includes speech, hearing, reading, writing and computer literacy.
- A student must be able to clearly and effectively report in English to members of the health care team. Additionally, students must be able to relay appropriate information to clients, as well as teach, explain, direct and counsel a wide variety of individuals.
- In some instances the student will be required to provide clear, direct communication in English during highly stressful, crisis situations. These skills necessitate a strong command of the English language and prompt, timely interpretation of pertinent patient data.
- Students must be able to communicate online in a timely, professional manner, e.g., enter an electronic medical record immediately after the patient visit.
If your primary language is not English, or if you are an International Student, you will need to demonstrate required English language proficiency by meeting one of the following criteria:
- You are a citizen of a country whose official language is English including Australia, Belize, Botswana, Canada (except Quebec), Commonwealth Caribbean, Ghana, United Kingdom, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
- You have obtained a total score of at least 560 on the paper-based TOEFL and 50 or above on the Test of Spoken English (TSE); a score of 83 on the Internet-based TOEFL with 26 or above on the spoken English section. For other minimum subscores see internationaladmissions.ucdenver.edu. The College of Nursing TOEFL Exam Code is 3377. Be sure to use this code when registering for the exam to ensure that we will receive the results.
- You have obtained a total score of 6.5 on IELTS with a minimum speaking subscore of 8. Official IELTS scores must be sent directly to the College of Nursing.
- You have graduated from the University of Colorado Denver’s ESL Academy.
- You have graduated from a US/UK accredited school abroad with English as the medium of instruction.
- You have earned a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S. or you have successfully completed a minimum of 2 semesters of full-time study in a master’s program at an accredited institution in the U.S.
*For non-international applicants whose primary language is not English (i.e. permanent residents), there may also be an opportunity to complete an English language evaluation to demonstrate language proficiency. Candidates may be identified and contacted during the application cycle if proof of English language proficiency is required.