Admits in fall and spring
New Grant Supports Development of Rural Midwifery Track
The CU College of Nursing received a $2 million grant to increase the number of midwives in rural areas of Colorado. The program supports the development of a Rural Midwifery Track and covers expenses (tuition, fees, stipend for living expenses) for three to five full-time students per year.
CU College of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery Philosophy
The University of Colorado College of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Program prepares the next generation of midwives to lead and transform the delivery of women's healthcare for the women of Colorado and the world, through excellence in clinical practice, education and research.
It is our goal to lead the nation in midwifery education, through clinical and teaching excellence, scholarship, leadership, and interprofessional endeavors. We accomplish this objective in the following ways:
- Education: We offer coursework accessible to Colorado and the Mountain West. Our clinical faculty practice sites provide quality clinical education, and our program provides students with clinical placements in metro Denver and throughout Colorado. As the program seeks to offer quality education to the Mountain West, we will work with students to locate clinical placements in bordering states.
- Clinical Practice: Our midwifery faculty practices serve the women of our community through the provision of quality care, and they serve the students of CU through quality clinical education. The services of the CU midwifery faculty practices are foundational to midwifery education at CU.
- Research: CU has been the home to leaders in women's health research, and we strive to contribute to increasing knowledge regarding the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of midwifery care.
- Plans of Study
- Admission Requirements
- Post-Graduate Certificate Information
- Nurse-Midwifery Information
Coursework and overall credit hours for future students may be different than outlined in the documents below.
- MS: Nurse-Midwifery Plan of Study (PDF)
- BS to DNP: Nurse-Midwifery Plan of Study (PDF)
- Post-Graduate Certificate: Nurse-Midwifery Plan of Study (PDF)
updated as of 10/2021
- MS requirements
- BS to DNP requirements
- Post-Graduate Certificate requirements
A post-graduate certificate is available in this specialty.
Gainful Employment and Program Statistics for Post-Graduate Certificate
For more information regarding graduation rates, the median debt of students completing our certificate programs, and other important information, please visit the University of Colorado Denver Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.
Please see our FAQs below for questions regarding the Nurse-Midwifery program.
The Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Education program at the University of Colorado College of Nursing prepares graduates who are eligible for certification as Certified Nurse-Midwives.
Graduates of our program are eligible to apply for certification by examination from the American Midwifery Certification Board as Certified Nurse-Midwives. Upon successful completion of the board examination, Certified Nurse-Midwives are eligible for licensure in all 50 states, including Colorado (visit the Colorado Board of Nursing APRN application forms page), where licensure is granted as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
The CU NMW education program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education that offers doctoral (DNP) and master's-level (MS) education and a post-graduate certificate through July 2029.
Contact:
Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 1230
Silver Spring, MD 20190-6374
tel: 240-485-1803
email: acme@acnm.org
www.midwife.org/acme
The Nurse-Midwifery Education Program at the University of Colorado seeks to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes - the head, hands, and heart of a safe, beginning practitioner, shaped by the following values:
Diversity: increasing diversity brings a richness to the profession and the community, which improves the value of care. We will pursue programs and strategies that promote a diverse student body.
Inclusiveness: we believe that midwifery education and midwifery care does not discriminate, but rather sets a standard for including everyone, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender and gender identity, country of origin, sexual orientation, or religious belief.
Cultural responsiveness: as midwives, we partner with patients and families from diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, we seek to educate practitioners who understand the importance of cultural beliefs and practices and hence align the provision of care with the beliefs of the patients to whom we provide care.
Please read the entire philosophy statement (PDF)
Rural Midwifery Track
- Overview
- Admissions Criteria
- Application Process
- Information Session
Prepare Providers To Serve Rural Coloradans
- The overall purpose of this program is to increase the number of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) practicing in maternity care provider shortage areas in rural Colorado.
- Our goal is to prepare graduating, new midwives to be clinically and professionally prepared to work as independent providers of culturally relevant pregnancy and reproductive care in rural Colorado.
- Creating a distinct Rural Track recognizes the unique knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for rural midwifery practice. It also recognizes the value of building a larger and well-trained rural healthcare workforce.
Scholarship and Stipend
- The program will provide financial support in the form of scholarships and stipends to students accepted to in the Rural Midwifery Track.
Mentorship, Employment Preparation, and More
- The program includes a specially developed Preparation for Rural Professional Practice program for trainees in the Rural Midwifery Track. The program will include peer support, mentorship, rural educational experiences, scope of practice expansion training, and employment preparation for midwifery practice in rural Colorado.
While our primary goal is to train midwives for Colorado, our program is available to students outside of Colorado who are committed to rural midwifery practice in any state.*
*States with Board of Nursing eligibility for out of state nursing education- please reference the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement webpage and contact the project coordinator.
- Scholarship for full tuition and fees paid for seven full-time course semesters for MS and BS-DNP students and four full-time course semesters for PGC students. Out-of-state students are encouraged to apply, please note that the full tuition paid covers the cost of in-state tuition only.
- Living stipend will vary by year depending on availability of funding and number of qualified students.
- Acceptance to the CU Nurse-Midwifery Program (MS, PGC, or BS-DNP)
- Full-time Plan of Study
- Eligible to work in the United States
- Intention to work as a midwife in a rural healthcare setting for 2 years after graduation
Students who are admitted to a program (or plan to apply to a program) that will graduate in 2027 can apply to the Rural Midwifery Track when they complete their midwifery program application in NursingCAS. Please use the following application links and deadlines.
| Planned Graduation Date | Application Deadline | Application to Complete |
| December 2024 or 2025 | Closed | |
| December 2026 | Closed | |
| December 2027 | May 31, 2025 | Rural Midwifery Track Application - 2027 Graduation |
| December 2028 | May 31, 2026 | Application to apply available Fall 2024 |
If you have questions about the Rural Midwifery Track or the application process, please contact Project Coordinator Dr. Shannon Pirrie, DNP, CNM.
You can review the recorded info session from November 2023.
FAQs
The NMW program is a 58 credit-hour program, completed over seven semesters.
The nurse-midwifery option is rigorous, challenging, and extremely rewarding. During the clinical courses, it is strongly recommended that students do not work, or work as little as possible.
Courses are designated MS core, advanced core and specialty. Many courses are offered on-line for the MS core and the advanced core. The Nurse-Midwifery specialty core is hybrid-online. Hybrid courses are those in which there is some component of the course that requires travel to campus. Typically one week of travel to Denver is required for the last four semesters of the program.
Students usually begin their clinical experiences with the on-campus University of Colorado hospital, UCHealth. Students desiring to complete clinical out of state will be considered upon admission evaluation.
Yes, 16 credits of practicum (a minimum of 720 contact hours) are required to complete the nurse-midwifery option during the clinical year.
Integration is the opportunity to synthesize all knowledge of the midwifery management process by following a certified nurse-midwife’s schedule. Integration is an eight credit-hour practicum assignment. Clinicals are 40 hours per week.
No, you do not have to find your own sites. If you live in, or are willing to travel to, Metro Denver we will arrange all clinical sites for you. The College of Nursing has 4 faculty nurse-midwifery practices in the area and strong educational relationships with several community hospitals. These sites provide exceptional exposure and experiences for midwifery clinicals.
In the unusual situation that a rural or out-of-state student is unable to find a clinical preceptor, a student may be required to complete clinical experiences in the Denver Metro (seven counties) area to assure timely academic progression.
Yes, our courses provide you with the knowledge and skills to take the American Midwifery Certification Board examination.
Yes, you may take up to 12 semester credits as a non-degree student prior to being accepted to the program. You must meet all prerequisite requirements of the course. Non-degree students register on a space available basis during open enrollment justprior to the beginning of the semester.
Yes, for students who are not RNs, but have a BS/BA in another field our (UCAN) accelerated nursing bachelors program isavailable.
Yes. Pre-clinical competencies include (and documents must be in the practice office):
- CPR
- Neonatal Resuscitation Certification (NRP)
- Fetal Monitoring course
- Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics Course through the American Academy of Family www.aafp.org (generally in October for 2 days, a fee is attached)
Yes. Please contact the program directors and indicate what you are interested in doing with your degree and you will be matched with a graduate. The graduate will then e-mail or call you to discuss the program.
Our graduates work in hospitals, birth centers, private practices, educational institutions and public health offices.
Positions in Colorado are posted on the Colorado Nurse-Midwives website. Positions available nationally are posted on American College of Nurse-Midwives.
| Year | Certification Organization/Specialty | Number of Students | Certificate Rate with One Year of Graduation |
| 2021 | AMCB/Midwifery | 9 | 100% |
| 2022 | AMCB/Midwifery | 11 | 90.90% |
| 2023 | AMCB/Midwifery | 9 | 100% |
First Rural Midwifery Track Cohort Announced
Meet the first cohort for CU Nursing’s Rural Midwifery Track! Five students were awarded scholarships (tuition, fees, and a stipend for living expenses), and are part of our Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Graduate program. They see the critical need for maternal care and want to help make accessing care easier for people in rural areas.
Learn more »
