Academic Programs
The Yale School of Nursing has always been committed to the confluence of research, practice, and education. The faculty believes in practicing what it teaches, and teaching what it practices. As a result, students work alongside clinically active faculty members, senior nurse researchers, and experts in health care policy. The array of faculty expertise is vital to the accomplishment of the School’s mission and curricular goals. This approach is unique among programs in graduate education in nursing.
The Yale School of Nursing is a vibrant, exhilarating, and rigorous place to study nursing at the graduate level. Students from diverse backgrounds meet in an environment that nurtures an appreciation for high standards and the pursuit of excellence in nursing practice.
The School offers a master’s program with nurse practitioner, nurse-midwifery, and nursing management, policy, and leadership specialties. Students may enter the master’s program with or without previous education in nursing. The Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing (GEPN) is designed to provide graduate-level nursing education for those who hold baccalaureate degrees, but who have no previous nursing education. The GEPN is three years in length. Students who currently hold a license as a registered nurse can complete their master’s education in two years. For further information see Clinical Specialties.
Post-master’s certification is available in six areas: acute care nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner, oncology nurse practitioner, psychiatric–mental health, and women’s health nurse practitioner. Application and curricular specifics for each offering are found in the chapter Post-Master’s Certificates.
Doctoral study at the Yale School of Nursing was launched in 1994 with the Doctor of Nursing Science program. In 2006 the switch from the D.N.Sc. program to the Ph.D. program in nursing received final approval by the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The program’s major goal is to prepare expert nurse scholars in understanding health care issues and delivery while advancing the development of nursing knowledge. At the completion of the program, students are expected to be able to design and conduct research relevant to nursing practice; extend the theoretical base of nursing through empirical investigation of nursing phenomena; test conceptual models and theories that are derived from the knowledge of nursing and related disciplines; assume leadership roles in the profession and in the larger health care system; and disseminate knowledge generated by independent, collaborative, and multidisciplinary research efforts. The doctoral program should be completed in four to five years of full-time study. A full description of the program can be found in the chapter Doctor of Philosophy Program.
The post-master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) program is designed for mid-career nurses who wish to build upon their previous education and experience to sit at the decision-shaping tables. Combining the Yale residential experience with online course work, the Yale D.N.P. is tailored for nurses who already have major professional commitments. The work of students and the work of faculty will meet to create new forms of nursing’s contribution to health and health systems of care for all.
The Yale School of Nursing understands that the courses of instruction and plans of study listed in this Bulletin are the official program and degree requirements for students matriculating to the Yale School of Nursing in the 2012–2013 academic year. However, the University reserves the right to withdraw or modify the courses of instruction and plans of study or to change the instructors at any time.
