School of Nursing—Master's Program Descriptions

The master's program leads to the Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, and consists of a variable number of credits depending on the major. The major can be completed in full or part-time study. The curriculum design includes core courses, advanced practice specialty courses, and role development courses. Students in any of the specializations may also elect to earn a minor in nursing administration, nursing education, nursing informatics, nursing research, or healthcare genetics.

Students may select an area of specializationwith a clinical practice focus. These specializations include nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and clinical nurse specialist. Within the nurse practitioner program, there are five areas of concentration: acute care, adult, family, pediatric, and psychiatric primary care. Within the clinical nurse specialist program, there are two areas of concentration: medical/surgical nursing and psychiatric/mental health nursing. As an alternative to these clinically focused programs, the student may select preparation for a specialty role. Specialty roles include: nursing administration, nursing education, nursing informatics, and nursing research.

Nurse Anesthesia Major

The Nurse Anesthesia Program prepares registered nurses for entry into anesthesia practice. Through an integrated program of classroom and clinical instruction, students develop the didactic knowledge base and clinical skills necessary for safe and effective practice. Graduates are prepared to administer a full range of anesthetics to a wide variety of patients across the life span.

Students rotate through numerous clinical sites in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. Specialty rotations in cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, dental, organ transplantation, pediatrics, obstetrics, and electroconvulsive therapy enrich the program. The clinical program also incorporates rotations to community hospitals to more broadly prepare the graduate for practice in diverse settings.

Nurse Anesthesia Applicant Requirements

Applicants to the program must be bachelor degree-prepared registered nurses (BSN preferred) with a minimum of one year of full-time critical care nursing experience. There is an RN to MSN option.Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, a GRE score, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. Interviews are generally conducted November through February.

Nurse Anesthesia Curriculum

The program is offered in a full-time format over 28 months, and classes begin each August and January. Part-time study is also available. The curriculum design integrates classroom and clinical courses and consists of 23 nursing core credits and anesthesia specialty credits. Clinical practice begins at two days a week in the first term and increases in both intensity and frequency throughout the course of study. Clinical practice in the last term is five days per week and is interspersed with clinical conferences and preparation sessions for the Certification Examination.

Nurse Anesthesia Full Time Program Plan for Students Beginning in the Fall Term:

All anesthesia courses (NURSAN) must be taken sequentially.

Nurse Anesthesia Full Time Program Plan for Students Beginning in the Spring Term:

All anesthesia courses (NURSAN) must be taken sequentially.

Nurse Practitioner Major

Area of Concentration: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP)

The Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) program prepares nurse practitioners to function as generalist principal providers of care for adults with common episodic or chronic health problems.. In addition, ACNP preparation includes clinical emphasis in cardiopulmonary care, critical care, oncology, trauma and emergency preparedness, or directed study. The ACNP is prepared to assume responsibility for promoting, maintaining, and restoring health to adults who are acutely or critically ill. The ACNP role includes identification of health risks, promotion of wellness, and diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illness. ACNPs also participate in research and provide leadership in mobilizing health services.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and two years of nursing experience. There is an RN to MSN option. Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Curriculum

The curriculum consists of master's core credits, nurse practitioner credits, and acute care nurse practitioner specialty core credits. Full-time study requires 20 months. Part time study is also available. All nurse practitioner students complete a minimum of 500 hours of clinical practice.

ACNP Full Time Program Plan:

Area of Concentration: Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP)

The Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP) is prepared as a generalist, principal provider of primary health care to adults. In this clinical role, the ANP assumes responsibility for promoting, maintaining, and restoring health, including the identification of health risks, the promotion of wellness, and the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illness. ANPs also conduct research and provide leadership in mobilizing community and managed care services. They are prepared to work both independently and in collaboration with other healthcare professionals.

The ANP area of concentration offers both full-time and part-time study on the main campus in Pittsburgh and selected core courses may be transmitted to Bradford and Johnstown campuses. The curriculum consists of clinical credits and didactic credits that support the specialty of adult primary healthcare nursing.

Most graduates work in ambulatory care settings such as community health centers, hospital outpatient departments, employee health, school and college health, physician private practices, health maintenance organizations, and specialty clinics. Increasingly, there are employment opportunities in nursing homes, hospital inpatient and emergency departments, and nurse practitioner-managed practices. Applicants to the ANP program who wish to study full time should have one year of nursing experience.

Adult Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and two years of nursing experience. There is an RN to MSN option. Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required.

Area of Concentration: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)

The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is prepared as a generalist, principal provider of primary health care nursing. In this clinician role, the FNP assumes responsibility for promoting, maintaining, and restoring health to individuals across the life span. This includes the identification of health risks, the promotion of wellness, and the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illness. FNPs also conduct research and provide leadership in mobilizing community and managed care services. They are prepared to work both independently and in collaboration with other healthcare professionals.

The FNP area of concentration offers both full-time and part-time study on the main campus in Pittsburgh and on the Bradford and Johnstown regional campuses through real time distance transmission. Applicants to the FNP program who wish to study full time should have one year of nursing experience.

Family Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and two years of nursing experience prior to beginning the clinical courses. There is an RN to MSN option. Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required

Family Nurse Practitioner Curriculum

The curriculum consists of clinical credits and didactic credits that support the specialty of family primary health care nursing.

FNP Full Time Program Plan:

Area of Concentration: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) area of concentration prepares nurses for expanded roles as primary care providers of health care to children and adolescents. The purpose of the program is to provide students with course work and clinical experiences related to health promotion, child development, developmental and health assessment, and the management of well, acutely ill, and chronically ill children and adolescents in ambulatory settings. The PNP program also prepares students to participate in research and provide leadership in mobilizing healthcare resources for children in the community.

The PNP program offers both full-time and part-time study.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and one year of nursing experience with neonates, infants, children, or adolescents. There is an RN to MSN option.Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Curriculum

The curriculum consists of clinical credits and didactic credits that support the specialty of pediatric primary health care nursing. The curriculum focuses on health promotion, child development, physical diagnosis and the management of well, acutely ill, and chronically ill children and adolescents in ambulatory settings. The programs are offered on the Pittsburgh campus. Selected core courses are transmitted to the Bradford and Johnstown campus.

PNP Full Time Program Plan:

NURNP 2028 variable credits per-term required.

Area of Concentration: Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP)

The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) is prepared as an autonomous practitioner who manages the health care of high-risk infants, their families and children up to 2 years of age. This expanded role is performed in collaboration with neonatologists and other pediatric clinicians. The program enables its graduates to assume leadership roles as practitioners in a variety of clinical settings including intensive care nurseries of various levels, newborn nurseries and high-risk follow-up clinics. The program also prepares students to participate in research.

The program provides students with course work and clinical experiences focusing on the care and management of critically ill and convalescent premature and full-term infants. Graduates are prepared to perform acts of medical diagnosis and prescribe medical therapeutics and corrective measures. In addition, the NNP selects and performs clinically advanced diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures on newborns in the intensive care setting.

Graduates are eligible for legal certification as a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP), prescriptive authority by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and national professional certification offered by the National Certification Corporation.

The NNP program offers both full-time (6 terms) and part-time (9 terms) study on the Pittsburgh campus. Selected core courses are transmitted to the Bradford and Johnstown campuses. A post master’s option is also available. The sequence of courses provides for a logical building of the clinical decision making skill necessary to function as a NNP. Clinical experiences may be in a variety of clinical settings which include newborn nurseries, Level III neonatal intensive care nurseries (NICUs) and out-patient clinics. The experiences are designed to provide students with the opportunity to care for children from birth through the first 2 years of life.

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and the equivalent of 2 years full-time, recent (within the past 5 years) RN practice experience in the care of critically ill newborns/infants, prior to beginning the clinical courses. It is recommended that the majority of the RN practice experience be obtained in a Level III NICU. Students may enroll in pre-clinical courses while obtaining the necessary practice experience in neonatal nursing. There is an RN to MSN option. Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required.

NNP Full Time Program Plan:

Area of Concentration: Psychiatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (PPCNP)

The psychiatric primary care nurse practitioner (PPCNP) program prepares principal providers of primary health care who treat adult psychiatric clients in a variety of settings on both an episodic and continuous basis. PPCNP students begin their plan of study in core courses that include content on physical diagnosis, health promotion, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and management of acute, episodic, and chronic health problems. Psychiatric primary care content directly builds on these core concepts to provide students with the advanced practice skills to effectively manage both the common medical and complex psychobiological problems of persons with psychiatric disorders.

Psychiatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Applicant Requirements

Applicants should have a BSN and one year of nursing experience in psychiatric/mental health nursing.There is an RN to MSN option. Other requirements for admission include an application, transcripts, professional references, an essay, a resume/CV, a statistics course, and a copy of a nursing license. A GRE score may be required.

Psychiatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Curriculum

The curriculum consists of master's core credits, primary care clinical management education credits, credits in the specialty and other cognates, and elective credits.

PPCNP Full Time Program Plan: