Program Detail

Nursing - Grad Cert Prog - Adv Pract Nurs (Nurse Midwifery)

Basic Information

Degree Information

Admission Requirements and Contact Information

Must already be Advanced Practice RN with MN, DNP or PhD Nursing degree or current enrollment in appropriate UW graduate nursing program. Active, unrestricted WA State RN/ARNP licensure. Please review the Nurse Midwifery Certificate Program. 

• All applicants must have a graduate nursing degree or be concurrently enrolled in the DNP or PhD programs in the UW School of Nursing. Eligible PhD applicants must have earned a Master of Nursing degree at the time of application. 

• If you are not currently enrolled as a DNP or PhD student at the UW SoN and have already earned a graduate nursing degree, it must be: 

• A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from an accredited program, OR 

• A Master of Nursing degree (MN, MSN) from an accredited program and you must currently be practicing as an APRN (clinical nurse specialist, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or nurse anesthetist) 

• A minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0, or a 3.0 GPA for the last 60 semester/90 quarter graded college/university credits. 

• Meet the Essential Behaviors for Graduate Certificate students. 

• Have an active, unrestricted Washington state RN license by the time you begin your program of study. 

• If you hold an ARNP license, that must also be active and unrestricted in Washington state. 

• International applicants must have an active, unrestricted U.S. RN license at the time of application; if you hold an ARNP license, that must also be an active, unrestricted U.S. license. 

• If your native language is not English, proof of proficiency in English (including spoken English). 

Letters of Recommendation  
Designate your recommenders online. They will receive an email requesting that they complete an online form. If your recommenders do not use email, contact the UW School of Nursing as soon as possible: 206.543.8736, asknursing@uw.edu.  

You must have three letters of recommendation:  

1. A recommendation from a current clinical colleague or supervisor, who can speak directly to your clinical practice as an APRN. They should either practice in the role and population you are seeking to add (e.g., pediatric clinical nurse specialist, nurse-midwife, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner), or work with individuals in the advanced practice specialty sought (ex. PA, MD/DO) and knows role performance requirements and your capabilities. Their letter should specifically speak to your ability to function in your role. 

2. An academic recommendation, such as one from an instructor/professor, clinical instructor, or preceptor (In some cases, it may be more than three years since you completed your program of study. It is acceptable to have a recommendation from this academic reference as long as they can speak about your current practice/abilities.) 

3. Either an academic or clinical recommendation 

Guidelines 

1. Recommendations should be current, have had contact with you during the last five years, and be able to speak to your ability to complete doctoral-level education.  

2. Additional letters of recommendation will not be considered.  

3. At least one letter of recommendation should be written by someone who has supervised you during your hands-on healthcare experience. Their letter should specifically speak to your ability to function in your chosen role (e.g., NP, CNS, NM, etc.). Ideally, this person would be an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (ARNP). If they are not an ARNP, they could also be an RN with exposure to the advanced practice role, a Physician Assistant, or Medical Doctor.  

4. Family members or friends are NOT eligible to write letters of recommendation.  

You will want to brief your recommenders ahead of time to discuss the questions they will respond to. Your references will be sent an email asking them to address the following:  

1. How long have you known this applicant and in what capacity?  

2. In making this evaluation, what group are you using as a basis for comparison? (Recommenders are sometimes unclear on the meaning of this. Suggestions you might share with your recommenders are: "other nurses you know who have gone on to graduate school" or "all undergraduate students I have taught" or "other nurses on your unit", etc.)  

3. Admission to graduate study in Nursing – Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Washington is (select one of the following):  

• Strongly recommended  

• Recommended  

• Recommended with reservations  

• Not recommended  

• Unable to respond  

Next, we ask each recommender to give their impression of your:  

1. Ability as a scholar  

2. Clinical nursing competence  

3. Teaching and supervisory potential or ability  

4. Personality, integrity, and ability  

5. Potential for research and professional development 

Applicants can waive the English proficiency requirements only if they:  

• have received a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or an institution in an approved country, OR  

• can provide official documentation from the institution verifying the applicant's undergraduate degree is from an institution where all instruction was in English  

We require minimum spoken English test scores to ensure a student's success during clinical placements.  

For information about required minimum English test scores, visit the International Applicants page of the graduate certificate program you are applying to: https://nursing.uw.edu/programs/graduate-certificates/ 

If you do not have a minimum test score in each category, you cannot apply to the graduate certificate program.  

Self-report your scores in your online application and request to send official English proficiency scores to the University of Washington (UW Institution Code: 4854).

International applicants can apply to a graduate certificate program only if: 

• You are in the U.S. on an H (work) visa. 

• You will complete the certificate program concurrently while enrolled as a UW international student in a graduate-level, degree-granting program. 

If you attended a college or university outside of the U.S., upload a transcript translated into English to your application. You must also submit a detailed credential/transcript evaluation for each non-U.S. post-secondary institution attended, which shows both U.S. credential equivalency and equivalent credits and grades for each course. 

Important note: If you intend to apply to the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program-Nurse Midwifery, this is the wrong application. To correctly submit the DNP application, follow these instructions closely and adhere to the deadline.

Program Deadlines

Application Materials