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 (FNP) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree; the Post-Graduate Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) certificate; the Post-Doctoral Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP),  certificate Post-Doctoral Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) certificate, Post-Doctoral Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-PC) certificate, and Post-DNP Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PACNP) certificate; the Advanced Practice Forensic Nurse Certificate, and the Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) certificate.

With the exception of the Nurse Anesthesiology concentration, the DNP program is an online program with didactic content offered predominantly online. It requires experiential “practicum” experiences occurring at the university and at clinics and hospitals in the region. The BSN program offers education for non-nurses with two tracks, an accelerated 12-month program for students with a prior degree and a traditional program for students with a minimum of 60 credit hours in college. In both options, experiential “practicum” experiences occur at the university and at area clinics and hospitals. The College of Nursing offers seven certificate programs; five of the certificate programs are post-graduate or post DNP. The Post Master’s or Post-DNP 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 Advanced Practice Forensic Nursing Certificate offers didactic content primarily online and may require experiential “practicum” experiences occurring at the university, depending on the chosen track. 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 based in the College of Nursing (DNP) and the College of Graduate Health Sciences (PhD).

*DNP specialties, except Nurse Anesthesiology, are offered primarily as online programs.