KU's Nursing-Midwifery program is among the top graduate programs in the country. In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked KU's program #7 among public universities.

Offered as part of KU's DNP program, KU's Nurse-Midwife specialty focuses on the care and management of well-women's primary and reproductive health care needs throughout the lifespan.

Certified nurse-midwives provide preconception counseling, care during pregnancy and childbirth, immediate newborn care, gynecological services and care of the peri-menopausal and post-menopausal woman.

Graduates from the program are employed in privately-owned OB/GYN practices, hospital-based midwifery practices, birth centers, family planning clinics, family practice locations and health departments. They also work in academic institutions, military hospitals and federally qualified health centers.

For more information about the Nurse-Midwife specialty area, please read about the program's philosophy and objectives.

Program Philosophy and Objectives

Curriculum Requirements

The Nurse-Midwife curriculum requires 76 credit hours of coursework. The majority of required courses are available online, although the program is not fully available in a distance education format. Attendance on campus at KU Medical Center in Kansas City is required for the following courses: NRSG 935 and NRSG 954. During the 23-credit-hour midwifery specialty core, students will come to the KU Medical Center two to five times during semesters in which practicum courses occur.

Students also participate in synchronous learning by meeting as a group, online with audio/computer interface each week for three hours. These courses include NRSG 925, NRSG 926, NRSG 927 and NRSG 928.

Clinical practice sites are generally located in the Kansas City metropolitan area, but may extend across the state of Kansas and other communities where students are located. Clinical hours in the midwifery courses are arranged with the course coordinator at the beginning of each semester.

• There is a Clinical Practice Requirement for BSN-DNP Nurse-Midwifery, Prior to Entering Practicum Courses: NRSG 966, NRSG 967, and/or NRSG 968:
  • The student must complete all appropriate pre-requisite didactic courses in the specialization (nurse-midwifery).  
  • The student is required to have RN work experience in labor and delivery of at least 6 months as a 1.0 FTE or the equivalent (1,000 hours) within the last 5 years.
  • The student must show proof of completion for:
    • Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) current (not expired)
    • Intermediate Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring within 3 years

Priority consideration for admission is given to candidates living in or willing to work in underserved areas or in other areas with critical maternal and infant indicators.

Certification

Graduates of the Nurse-Midwife program are eligible to take the national certification examination of the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and to apply for the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) license.

Certification rate (number of graduates certified by AMCB within 1 year of graduation): 100% per cohort for 10+ years

The graduation rate for KU students in the nurse-midwifery program is over 90% (based upon 2022 data, which is the last year for which all admits have completed their course of study).

Accreditation

The Nurse-Midwife Program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2000 Duke St., Ste. 300, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703-835-4565, support@theacme.org.

Sample Plans of Study

 Three Year Plan of Study (PDF)

 Four Year Plan of Study (PDF)