Post-Graduate Programs

Questions about the application process? Click here details.

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The Post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certificate Program is designed to provide the opportunity for MSN or DNP-prepared APRNs to pursue education and training in a new population area for career expansion or role change. Post-graduate certificate students must successfully complete all course requirements of the selected population area. Graduates of the program are eligible to take a national certification exam appropriate to their population area. Program completion and national certification qualify graduates to apply for approval to practice in North Carolina.

Certificate programs are offered in the following population areas:

Online and Part-time

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
  (online with on-campus immersions)

On-campus and Part-time

• Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Primary Care
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Plans of Study

Adult-Gerontology Acute Nurse Practitioner – Now Online

Year	Course	Credits
One
Summer Sessions I & II	NURS 830: Acute Care Advanced Nursing Practice for the Adult-Gerontology Population I	5
	NURS 831: Pharmacology in the Acute Care Setting with the Adult-Gerontology Population	1
Fall	NURS 832: Acute Care Advanced Nursing Practice for the Adult-Gerontology Population II	6
Spring	NURS 833: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum	5
	NURS 834: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Seminar	1

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Year	Course	Credits
One
Fall Courses may be required	NURS 715: Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 720: Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 750*: Advanced Health and Physical Assessment for Advanced Practice Nursing — 60 lab hours	4
	NURS 752: Advanced Diagnostic Reasoning and Management	1
Spring	NURS 810*: Primary Care of Adolescents and Adults — 120 clinical hours	6
Summer	NURS 819*: Advanced Practicum in Primary Care Management of Adults — 120 clinical hours	2
	NURS 825*: Sexual and Reproductive Health	2
Two
Fall	NURS 824*: Advanced Concepts in the Clinical Care of Older Adults — 120 clinical hours	4
Spring	NURS 812*: Care of Adults with Complex Health Problems — 240 clinical hours	6

*Clinical hours must be taken in sequence.
Please note: Approval of course numbers and titles by the Graduate School is still pending.

Family Nurse Practitioner

Year	Course	Credits
One
Fall Courses may be required	NURS 715: Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 720: Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 752: Advanced Diagnostic Reasoning and Management	1
Spring	NURS 810*: Primary Care of Adolescents and Adults — 120 clinical hours	6
Summer	NURS 825*: Sexual and Reproductive Health — 120 clinical hours	4
Two
Fall	NURS 827*: Primary Care of Infants, Children and Adolescents — 120 clinical hours	4
Spring	NURS 828*: Primary Care Across the Lifespan with Advanced Clinical Practicum — 240 clinical hours	6

*Clinical hours must be taken in sequence.
Please note: Approval of course numbers and titles by the Graduate School is still pending.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care

Year	Course	Credits
One
Fall Courses may be required	NURS 715: Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 720: Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 750*: Advanced Health and Physical Assessment for Advanced Practice Nursing — 60 lab hours	4 (3 theory, 1 lab)
	NURS 752: Advanced Diagnostic Reasoning and Management	1
Spring	NURS 840*: Primary Care of Children I — 120 clinical hours	6
Summer	NURS 849*: Advanced Clinical Practicum in the Primary Care of Children — 120 clinical hours	2
Two
Fall	NURS 841*: Primary Care of Children II — 120 clinical hours	4 (2 theory, 2 clinical)
Spring	NURS 842*: Care of Children with Complex Health Conditions — 180 clinical hours	6 (3 theory, 3 clinical)

*Clinical hours must be taken in sequence.
Please note: Approval of course numbers and titles by the Graduate School is still pending.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Year	Course	Credits
One
Fall Courses may be required	NURS 715: Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 720: Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice	3
	NURS 750*: Advanced Health and Physical Assessment for Advanced Practice Nursing — 60 lab hours	4
	NURS 752: Advanced Diagnostic Reasoning and Management	1
Spring	NURS 723: Psychiatric Diagnosis and Psychopharmacology Across the Lifespan	6
	NURS 860*: Biopsychosocial Care 1: Psychiatric Mental Health Interventions Across the Lifespan — 120 clinical hours	2
Summer	NURS 865: Biopsychosocial Care 2: Psychiatric Mental Health Interventions with Children
Two
Fall	NURS 864*: Biopsychosocial Care 3: Psychiatric Mental Health Interventions in the Context of Relationships Across the Lifespan — 180 clinical hours	4 (2 theory, 2 clinical)
Spring	NURS 868*: Biopsychosocial Care 4: Management of Complex Psychiatric Mental Health Problems Across the Lifespan — 240 clinical hours	6 (3 theory, 3 clinical)

Who May Apply?

Educational Background: An earned MSN or DNP from an NLNAC or CCNE accredited program conferred prior to matriculation.

National Certification: All applicants must hold current certification as an APRN.

• AGACNP applicants must be prepared as an FNP or AGPCNP from a nationally accredited MSN or DNP program and and must be eligible for approval to practice in NC. Specialty certification (CCRN, CEN, CFRN; Emergency, Cardiology, Oncology NP) and membership to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses are strongly encouraged.

Work experience: Within the past 3 years, applicants must have obtained a minimum of one year full-time, paid clinical work experience as a Registered Nurse by the application deadline. AGACNP applicants must also have at least 6 months of acute care nursing experience (full-time) in the past 2 years.

GPA Requirement: Applicants are expected to have earned a 3.0 or better in MSN or DNP coursework.

Readmissibility:

• All applicants must be admissible to all previously attended colleges/universities.
• If you have been declared academically ineligible and as such are unable to return to any previous institutions, you must contact that institution and seek documentation that reinstates your eligibility or your application cannot undergo review. Copies of all correspondence regarding your reinstatement request must be submitted in the application.
• If your final institutional cumulative GPA is below 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale), please upload documentation of your eligibility to return to that institution to NursingCAS under Program Documents as “Other.”

How Does the Program Work?

The Lead Faculty in a population area will review all prior graduate coursework completed by admitted applicants to develop an individualized plan of study. If admitted applicants have never practiced as an APRN, they will need to demonstrate successful completion of advanced pathophysiology (lifespan), advanced pharmacology (lifespan), and advanced health assessment courses in the past three years. If admitted applicants have not practiced as an APRN in greater than two years, they will be required at a minimum to retake advanced pharmacology.

Additional coursework or alternative coursework may be required based on the gap analysis. All plans of study are also reviewed and approved by the Associate Dean of the MSN/DNP Programs.

NOTE: The education requirements for NP programs and national NP certification eligibility requirements have changed over time. An applicant’s national certification status does not provide sole evidence of meeting NP core courses and required supervised hours.

How Long Does it Take to Complete the Program?

The School of Nursing admits students for the Primary Care certificate programs in fall semester each year; however, some students may not matriculate until spring depending on their individualized plan of study. The program can be completed in two academic years including one summer.

Students in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program matriculate in the summer semester each year. The program is completed in twelve months.

How Much Does the Program Cost?

 Cost of Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program

When Should I Apply?

Admission to the Post-graduate Certificate Program is offered in the summer (AGACNP only) and fall (Primary Care certificate programs only) and requires submitting an application with NursingCAS and a supplemental application to UNC. Please see above for specific deadlines.