Program director:
Deana Hays
2042 Human Health Building
(248) 364-8726
hays@oakland.edu
Program description
The Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate: Family Nurse Practitioner is a graduate certificate program that prepares the advanced practice nurse as a primary care provider for clients across ages in a variety of settings. The curriculum focuses on culturally sensitive care, incorporating health promotion and management of acute and chronic health problems. The graduate is prepared to apply nursing theory, principles of advanced practice nursing and the research process in the design and delivery of primary care. Knowledge for advanced nursing practice is synthesized from concepts in nursing, as well as the biological and social sciences. Graduates of the Family Nurse Practitioner program are prepared to take a Family Nurse Practitioner national certification examination.
Admission terms and application deadlines
Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.
- June 1 for fall semester
- October 1 for winter semester
- February 1 for summer semester
Readmission and program transfer
Requests for readmission and program transfers must be completed and approved prior to the beginning of a semester.
International application deadlines
International applications are reviewed for fall and winter admission only. To ensure adequate time for review, international applications must be completed at least six months before the desired date of intended enrollment in the University. All international application materials must be submitted by May 1 for fall admission and by September 1 for winter admission.
Application requirements
To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all of the following university and program application documents by the published application deadlines.
University graduate application requirements
Program application requirements
- School of Nursing Supplemental Application
- Completion of a master’s degree in nursing from an institution accredited by the National League for Nursing or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education with an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above.
- Eligible for a current Registered Nurse license in the applicant’s state of practice.
- Provide evidence of having completed a graduate-level pathophysiology course.
- 500 to 1,000 word professional goal statement. The goal statement should focus on recent clinical experience, how a post-master’s certificate will enhance professional development, and career goals after completion of the program. The goal statement will be evaluated on content and appropriate use of grammar, style, spelling and rhetoric.
- The two recommendations (above) must be from health care professionals (prefer letters from nurses in leadership/education) who are able to attest to the applicant’s nursing skills and/or abilities.
- Individual interview with School of Nursing faculty will be scheduled after all admission materials have been submitted.
- Students must meet the same admission requirements as those students entering the FNP-MSN program except the GRE requirement is waived.
Admission review and assessment
Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.