Community & Public Health Leadership / Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner MSN Program
UVa offers a program that combines our Community and Public Health Leadership concentration with preparation as either a Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. This combined program emphasizes the health status and health delivery systems of communities and to design nursing interventions to better manage care in complex settings. Courses provide the required knowledge and expertise needed to plan, implement, and evaluate care in community settings, including public health departments, schools, home health agencies, and community nursing clinics. Care management strategies to assure continuity of health service delivery for individuals and groups at the local and global level are emphasized.
The MSN in Community & Public Health Leadership/ Nurse Practitioner is partially online and partially live. Class sessions for these online courses meet 'live' at the University twice per term. The Nurse Practitioner courses are offered in Charlottesville one day a week.
The curriculum builds on both the theoretical knowledge and clinical experience of the bachelor's prepared nurse.
Full-time students can complete the MSN in Community & Public Health Leadership / Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program in as little as 20 months. Part-time study is also available.
Please note: The combined CPHL/Primary Care NP curriculum is designed for students who intend to complete the requirements for either family or pediatric nurse practitioner certification. Students, therefore, must indicate their commitment to the entire program when they accept an offer of admission. If students are unsure about their desire or ability to complete the requirements for the combined CPHL/Primary Care NP program, they should apply to the Community & Public Health Leadership MSN Program.
Program Coordinators: CPHL: Pam Kulbok, DNSc, RN (434)924-0128, email: pk6c@virginia.edu
PCNP: John Kirchgessner, PhD, RN, PNP (434) 924-0121 email: jck2r@virginia.edu
- Clinicals
- Certification
- Admission Requirements
- Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
The admissions application is available on your My Grad UVa page. If you have not created MyGrad UVa page, then please click here to create your MyGrad UVa page.
- For More Information
Students complete 672 clinical hours in primary care in a variety of settings (local, state, and private health locations). Clinical hours for the Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner programs are in a variety of settings and focus on the assessment and delivery of primary care to underserved populations.
All students in the FNP or PNP programs complete one half clinical requirement (336 hours) in a primary care setting outside of Albermarle County in order to develop experience with rural health care.
Pediatric NP students are qualified to sit for Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certification from either the Pediatric Nurses Certification Board or the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Students are qualified to sit for Family Nurse Practitioner certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center or from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. With the completion of one additional course in the summer, students are eligible to sit for certification as Community Health CNS from the ANCC.
Admission to the School of Nursing is competitive and based on evaluation of all portions of the application. To be considered for the Master's of Science in Nursing, applicants must submit a completed application and:
- Have a baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited school.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate study.
- Hold an unencumbered RN license in the state where you intend to complete your practica.
- Submit three satisfactory academic and professional recommendations. One of these letters should be from an APN.
- Submit a copy of your resume or C.V.
- Have completed an undergraduate or graduate statistics course within the past 5 years.
- Be available for an interview if requested.
Note: New BSN graduates may apply for any of the MSN specialty tracks. If you are a new nurse and applying for an Advanced Practice specialty track (NP or CNS), you should apply as a part-time student. You need at least one year of relevant post-BSN clinical nursing experience before enrolling in GNUR 6020 (Advanced Pharmacology) and GNUR 6025 (Advanced Health Assessment).
Application deadline:
Fall or Summer entry: April 1
Spring entry: November 1
*Submission of scores from the Graduate Record Examintion (GRE) is optional. If you want to have GRE scores sent to the University, the Institutional Code is R-5820. The School of Nursing accepts GRE scores that are more than 5 years old. If you have your 'older' scores, you may submit a copy of the Student Report.
International applicants have additional admissions requirements that can be found here.
Downloads, Program of Study, and Links
- Informational Flyer on the CPHL Program
- Program of Study for MSN in CPHL & Family Nurse Practitioner
- Program of Study for MSN in CPHL & Family Nurse Practitioner (Part-Time)
- Program of Study for MSN in CPHL & Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
- The admissions application is available on your My Grad UVa page
For additional information on admission to and programs of study at the UVa School of Nursing, please fill our our online form. You are also welcome to call the Office of Admissions at (434) 924-0141 / (888) 283-8703.
Questions on admissions and financial aid should be directed to Clay Hysell, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Services, email hysell@virginia.edu