Online + Greeley Visits
This program takes one year to complete.
Fall and Spring Terms
- For most of each semester you will complete your coursework via asynchronous online
delivery, meaning that you will not have scheduled times to attend online. You can
complete your coursework when it is convenient for you, based on course deadlines.
- You will complete 4-day on-campus intensive lab/simulation sessions in Greeley, Colorado,
during both the Fall and Spring terms.
Summer Term: asynchronous online delivery.
ENP Certificate Exam: you will schedule and take your ENP board certification exam after completing this
UNC certificate program.
Required Coursework (16 Credit Hours)
An individualized post-graduate certificate program of study is determined by an evaluation
of your previous course work and the completion of a gap analysis once you are accepted
into the program.
To see a typical list of courses by term, visit an example Current Students page for this program.
For full program requirement details, see the official program listing in the UNC Graduate Catalog.
Clinical/Simulation/Lab Hours
A minimum of 420 clinical/simulation/lab hours are completed while enrolled in the
program courses:
- 360 minimum total clinical hours. These can be completed in your home state/area.
- 60 minimum total simulation/lab hours.
The clinical courses involve advanced skills labs, evidence-based practice simulations,
and clinical decision-making competencies, as well as clinical hours in Emergency
Medicine advanced practice skill acquisition.
Our clinical placement coordinator is dedicated to the Nurse Practitioner programs
to assist Nurse Practitioner students in Colorado to find clinical placements and
qualified preceptors (which include: licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse
midwives, or physician assistants). The placement coordinator also provides administrative
support and advice for students who will complete their clinical experiences outside
of Colorado. All students should be prepared to actively network and locate clinical
site experiences.
Admission Requirements
Possess a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Nursing from accredited (NLN/ACEN
or CCNE) programs in nursing, with a cumulative master's 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 RN license or APRN license in the state where you practice.
- This program is for board-certified Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP). Applicants should
meet one of the following scenarios:
- FNP Board Certification and APRN license
- FNP Board Certification and proof of submitted APRN license application
-
Graduated from a qualifying FNP program, or on progress to graduate by the time this
program starts, and proof (at the time of application) of a scheduled FNP Board Certification
Exam to be taken by the end of Fall semester.
-
Throughout the program you will need to assure compliance with required health policies;
OSHA requirements; certification in CPR (via AHA), ACLS (via AHA), and PALS; and student
malpractice insurance.
Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.
Prerequisite Courses
The following courses or their equivalent, if not already taken as part of a previous
degree, must be completed by the time you begin the program. These courses can be
taken at UNC.
Transcripts must be reviewed for course equivalency/substitution. Additional information
and a program advisor are available for consultation.
Eligibility by State
At this time, UNC can provide distance education to students from every state, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. UNC cannot provide
distance education in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,
and the Republic of Palau.
Additionally, each state Board of Nursing may have additional approval processes required
for students to conduct their clinical learning placements in that state. It is strongly
encouraged that students contact the School of Nursing to verify that UNC meets these
requirements in the student’s state prior to beginning the program. Students may face
barriers to degree completion if a state Board of Nursing were to deny clinical learning
placements in the student’s state of residence. Please contact the School of Nursing
and visit the SARA page for more information on state approval processes for clinical learning placements.
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,
or enroll in the UNC Intensive English Program, in order to be considered.
This program requires occasional visits to the United States. You will need to submit
financial documentation before you plan to arrive in the U.S. (and again each time
you travel to the U.S.). 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.
Please visit the International Students Admission Requirements page for details about English proficiency requirements, financial documentation and applying
as an international student.
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:
- We charge a flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state).
- There are no added student fees or technology fees. However, certain courses may carry
specific course fees to support additional services and materials.
Program tuition for the 2024-25 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer
terms) is $910 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2025-26 academic year will be determined
mid-June 2025.
Estimates of additional costs: For the purposes of determining financial aid, UNC
follows Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and federal guidelines to develop
an estimated, average Cost of Attendance (budget) for different student classifications.
For your personal tuition estimates, we recommend using the program-specific tuition
information above. But UNC's official Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets page can help you identify other estimated expenses for which you may be responsible while
completing your program.
Financial Aid
Certificate program students (non-degree seeking) are not eligible for aid through
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Your program coordinator may
be aware of your eligibility for any discipline or campus-based aid if available.
For more specific help, contact the Office of Financial Aid: ofa@unco.edu, 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.
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.
