Degrees Offered

The College of Nursing offers programs that lead to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree; the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree; the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) certificate; the Post-Doctoral Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certificate (PMHNP), Post-Doctoral Family Nurse Practitioner certificate, Post-Doctoral Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner certificate, and Post-DNP Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certificate; and the Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) certificate.

With the exception of the Nurse Anesthesia concentration, the DNP program is an online program with didactic content offered predominantly online and required experiential “practicum” experiences occurring at the university and at clinics and hospitals in the region. The BSN program offers tracks for non-nurses and registered nurses (RNs). The RN-BSN track is offered as either a hybrid program or an online program. In both options in the RN-BSN track experiential “practicum” experiences occur at the university and at area clinics and hospitals. The College of Nursing offers six certificate programs. The Post Master’s AG-ACNP certificate program for advanced practice nurses seeking a certification in adult gerontology acute care is an online program with didactic content offered predominantly online and required experiential “practicum” experiences occurring at the university and at clinics and hospitals in the region. The Post DNP PMHNP certificate program for DNP prepared advanced practice registered nurses seeking certification in psychiatric/mental health is an online program with didactic content offered predominantly online and required experiential “practicum” experiences at a variety of clinics and hospitals in the region. The Post DNP FNP post-doctoral certificate program for DNP prepared advanced practice registered nurses seeking certification in family nursing prepares recipients to independently diagnose and treat individuals of all ages with acute, chronic and complex health problems as well as provide a broad array of health promotion and disease prevention activities. The Post DNP PACNP post-doctoral certificate program for DNP prepared advanced practice registered nurses seeking certification in pediatric acute care offers coursework and supervised clinical experiences that provide specialized knowledge and skills to provide care for acutely ill children and adolescents. The Post DNP PPCNP post doctoral certificate program for DNP prepared advanced practice registered nurses seeking certification in pediatric primary care develops skill to independently diagnose and treat newborns through late adolescence (0-21 years of age). The RNFA certificate program for registered nurses or advanced practice nurses seeking certification as a first assistant in the OR offers didactic content predominately online with required experiential “practicum” experiences in the UTHSC campus-based Interprofessional Simulation Center and Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI) along with hospital-based perioperative clinical practice in the region. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing Science is offered through the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences . The DNP/PhD program is a dual degree program that is based both in the College of Nursing (DNP) and the College of Graduate Health Sciences (PhD).

*RN-BSN program, and all DNP specialties except anesthesia, are offered as online programs.