A Post-Master's Certificate for Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Practice

Admission Requirements

• Possess both a BSN degree and an MSN degree from accredited (NLN/ACEN or CCNE) programs in nursing, with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better (4.00 scale).

  If you are still completing your master's degree at the time you apply, admission will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional academic stipulations to remain enrolled at UNC.

• Current Colorado Registered Nurse (RN) license; or current RN license in the state where you practice and eligibility for Colorado RN licensure.

• Minimum of one year of clinical RN experience required (acute care nursing experience preferred).

• Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.

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Prerequisite Courses

The following courses or their equivalent, if not already taken as part of your master's program, must be completed by the time you begin your first practicum.

• NURS 610 Health Assessment (3)
• NURS 612 Advanced Pharmacology (4)
• NURS 614 Advanced Pathophysiology (3)

Transcripts must be reviewed for course equivalency/substitution. Additional information and a program advisor are available for consultation.

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Eligibility by State

At this time, UNC can serve online education to students from every state, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. However, we are not currently accepting students to our online programs who reside in the CNMIs. Due to how fluid these agreements can be at the state or federal level, we recommend checking our Eligibility by State page for details.

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International Student Eligibility

International students residing outside of the United States are eligible to apply to our online programs. Applicants for online programs must demonstrate English proficiency in order to be considered. Possible ways to demonstrate proficiency:

• Qualifying test scores: TOEFL iBT: 80, IELTS: 6.5, PTE: 60
• Completion of a degree in the U.S., or from an English speaking country (parts of Europe, Canada), within the last two years.

For this program, you do not need to submit financial documentation with your initial application. You will need to submit financial documentation about 6-8 weeks before you plan to arrive in the U.S. for your coursework (and again each time you travel to campus). The financial documentation needs to demonstrate that you can pay for the cost of tuition and living expenses for the days that you will be in the U.S. This is required before we can provide you with a DS-2019 form, which you will need when you apply for a J1 visa.

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Certificate Program Transfer Credit Policy

Our graduate certificate programs feature highly specialized learning outcomes determined by our expert faculty. Therefore, to ensure that certificate graduates attain this specialized knowledge, students will need to complete all certificate coursework directly from this UNC program.

Tuition

This is an Extended Campus program, which means:

• A flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state)
• There are no student fees – they are incorporated into our flat tuition rate
• Certain courses, such as clinical and practicum courses, may carry specific course fees for additional services and materials

Program tuition for the 2020-21 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer terms) is $640 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2021-22 academic year will be determined mid-June 2021.

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Financial Aid

Certificate program students (non-degree seeking) are not eligible for aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Details about the federal aid program are available at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa. Your program coordinator may be aware of your eligibility for any discipline or campus-based aid if available.

For more specific help, Extended Campus students may contact Lisa Schuller in Financial Aid: schedule a meeting or email her at OFA.Extended@unco.edu. You can also reach the Office of Financial at 970-351-4862 or via the UNC Financial Aid website.

Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish, and Braille.

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Malpractice Insurance

You must carry student nurse practitioner malpractice insurance while fulfilling the clinical/practicum courses. Due to clinical contract requirements students must provide proof of insurance about three months prior to the semester that your clinical begins.