Certificate Programs
The School of Nursing offers five certificate programs: the post-masters certificate in, Family Nurse Practitioner, or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and the post-baccalaureate certificate in Administration, Education, and Informatics, Quality, and Safety.
The Nursing Administration Certificate program prepares the post-baccalaureate or higher degree prepared nurses to apply leadership and management skills to become the essential link between the vision and mission of the larger health care organization and the unit-based system of patient care. Resource allocation expertise, using professional skills in assessing and analyzing health care needs in the practice setting, is developed.
The Nursing Education Certificate program prepares the post-baccalaureate or higher degree prepared nurses to apply teaching-learning theory, principles of curriculum development, evaluation methodology, and role socialization as a nurse educator in a variety of settings. The program is designed to provide essential knowledge and skills required by nurse educators and facilitate the transition of the nurse from the clinical setting into the role of nurse educator.
The Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate program prepares the master’s-prepared nurse for advanced clinical practice roles across the lifespan in various settings. The nurse develops expertise as a primary care provider with advanced practice skills in the assessment and management of health needs as well as in patient education, consultant and researcher roles.
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certificate program prepares the master’s prepared nurse for advanced mental health practice roles across the lifespan in various settings. The nurse develops expertise as a psychiatric mental health provider with advanced practice skills in the assessment and management of mental health needs as well as in patient education, consultant and researcher roles.
The Nursing Informatics, Quality & Safety Certificate program prepares post-baccalaureate or higher degree prepared nurses as informatics nurses. The nurse develops skills to serve as the essential link among health-care information systems, health-care providers, and consumers.
Completion of a certificate curriculum will be noted on a student's transcript. No diploma is awarded for completing a certificate.
Admission Requirements
- A Master of Science in Nursing degree from an accredited college.
- Current unencumbered licensure as a Registered Nurse in the state where practicum will occur.
- Applicants to Advanced Practice certificate are required to have a Master of Science in Nursing degree from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants to the Administration, Education, or Nursing Informatics certificate are required to have a Baccalaureate in Nursing or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Applicants to the APRN post-masters certificate programs must have one year of full-time work experience as a nurse within the last four years.
- APRN Certificate applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a CV or resume.
- Consideration for admission is also given to one or more of the following: the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to his or her chosen field of study; socioeconomic background; and involvement and level of responsibility related to other factors, including extracurricular activities, employment, community service, first generation of family to graduate from an undergraduate program, family responsibility for raising children, multilingual proficiency, or geographic region of residence.
Academic Standing
Students in each certificate program must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or greater. All other graduate degree regulations and policies are applicable to the certificate program.