Program Director:
Kelly A. Berishaj
2019 Human Health Building
(248) 364-8750
berishaj@oakland.edu
Program description
The Graduate Certificate in Forensic Nursing is an 18-credit program that prepares graduates for professional practice in the role of the forensic nurse through the application of knowledge and principles foundational to nursing science and forensic science. Curriculum emphasizes interprofessional education related to the diverse roles and responsibilities of the forensic nurse as an independent practitioner and collaborator within the multidisciplinary forensic team while providing specialized care and services to individuals, families, communities, populations, and systems that have experienced violence, trauma, or maltreatment.
The Graduate Certificate in Forensic Nursing prepares graduates to practice globally as a forensic nurse examiner with the ability to sub-specialize in a specific area of forensic nursing if desired. Graduates may practice in a variety of forensic nursing areas such as sexual violence, intimate partner violence, child/elder maltreatment, death investigation, and emergency preparedness and disaster management.
Admission terms and application deadlines
Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in NursingCAS (a centralized application system) by the deadline listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.
All applicants to this program are admitted for the Fall Semester only. The application deadlines are:
- Fall Semester - February 15 (early): April 15 (regular): July 15 (late). All applications completed by July 15 will be considered for the following Fall Semester.
- International students: April 1 for the following Fall Semester (see additional requirements below)
Application requirements
Applicants do not submit an online Oakland University Graduate Application. A completed application and required materials must be submitted through the Nursing Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS).
To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines.
Additional department application requirements
- Applicants for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Forensic Nursing program must have completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree with an overall undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above from an institution accredited by the National League for Nursing or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
- Proof of a current unrestricted Registered Nurse license in the United States or its territories.
- A minimum of one year of clinical experience as an R.N. (at program start) is required during which time the applicant must have functioned as an independent decision-maker and demonstrated advanced psychomotor skills.
- Two (2) Recommendations must be completed by healthcare professionals in forensic nursing, leadership, administration/management, or education and are able to attest to the applicant’s nursing skills and/or abilities. One reference must be from a colleague who is familiar with the applicant’s work.
- Professional statement of 500 to 1,000 words. The professional statement should focus on the applicant’s reason for seeking formal forensic nursing education, how recent clinical experience has prepared them for forensic nursing practice, career goals after program completion, as well as plans for professional development in the specialty of forensic nursing. The professional statement will be evaluated on content and appropriate use of grammar, style, spelling, and rhetoric.
International Students
- International students are encouraged to contact The Graduate School (www.oakland.edu/grad) to determine what additional documentation is required for admission eligibility.
Admission review and assessment
Admission to graduate school at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Oakland University Graduate School, the School of Nursing 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.
Qualified applicants may be selected for an individual interview with a School of Nursing faculty. The interview will be scheduled after all application materials have been submitted.
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