Nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists who have a master’s degree in nursing can earn a post-MS advanced certificate in any of our nurse practitioner specialties. Students enrolled in these programs complete any advanced practice nursing core courses that were not completed as part of their master's degree (see below), as well as the specialty coursework and clinical training, which is dependent on the specialty selected, as well as the nurse’s academic and professional background.
Graduates are qualified for certification by the New York State Education Department and are eligible to sit for national certification examinations.
Courses may be waived if the individual’s transcript indicates that the required course or its equivalent has been taken within the last 10 years. The faculty member teaching the required course determines equivalency and timeliness of content. Nevertheless, the program’s salient feature is that students will be required to take a minimum number of credits, specific to the program, which will include a designated number of clinical hours, in which all credits must be completed in residency at the University at Buffalo.
