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Health Systems Leadership Certificate

KU's Health Systems Leadership Certificate program prepares health professionals with skills in financial management, human resource management, performance improvement, systems thinking, strategic management, relational leadership and personal and professional accountability.

The School of Nursing has paused admissions to the Health Systems Leadership Nursing Certificate program for the 2025-2026 academic year. We are evaluating the future of this program and exploring options, including reimagining the opportunities contained within an advanced nursing practice pathway.

Program Overview

Students may complete the 14-credit-hour Health Systems Leadership Certificate as a licensed professional with a health-related degree, as a post-graduate certificate or concurrently with a graduate program in nursing or other health-related discipline. All courses are online.

The Health Systems Leadership Certificate is approved as a stackable program. To encourage career and academic progression, students who have completed the Health Systems Leadership Certificate may apply the five certificate courses (NRSG 880, NRSG 881, NRSG 883, NRSG 885, NRSG 891) toward degree requirements for the Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice, Organizational Leadership specialty area.

Admissions

Application for the Health Systems Leadership Certificate is an online process. Detailed instructions on how to apply are posted on the School of Nursing website.

Application deadlines:
  • June 1 for fall semester
  • April 1 for summer semester
  • November 1 for spring semester.
Admission requirements:
  • Baccalaureate degree or higher in a health-related discipline. Examples of qualifying degrees include (but are not limited to): dentistry, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, public health, computer science and other health professions
  • Minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  • Potential to provide expert service and leadership in functional area
  • Satisfactory criminal background check (completed once an offer of admission has been extended to applicant)
English language requirements:

All applicants for study at the University of Kansas Medical Center whose native language is not English must demonstrate an established level of English language proficiency through either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the academic format of the EILTS (International English Language Testing System). The test must have been taken within two years of the first semester of enrollment.

Applicants will be assessed based on these requirements. After an applicant has been admitted, a program may defer an applicant's admission for one year after which time the applicant must submit a new application.

See also Admissions in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.

Certificate Requirements

Certificate requirements are typically completed within one to two years of admission to the program although a maximum of four years is allowed

  • Cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for all graduate certificate coursework
  • Enrollment in a minimum of one credit hour during the semester program is completed
  • Graduate certificates may not be granted retroactively
  • Successful completion of the following courses:

Sample Plan of Study

Learners beginning in Fall 2024

Year 1

Fall 2024

NRSG 880, Organizational Foundations for Leading Change (3 credit hours)
NRSG 891, Human Resources and Workforce Development (3 credit hours)
Total: 6 credit hours

Spring 2024

NRSG 881, Applied Budgeting and Finance (3 credit hours)
NRSG 885, Evaluation and Analysis for Healthcare Effectiveness (2 credit hours)
Total: 5 credit hours

Summer 2025

NRSG 883, Complexity Science Approaches to Improve Organizational Effectiveness (3 credit hours)
Total: 3 credit hours

Total: 14 credit hours required

KU School of Nursing

KU School of Nursing
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Mail Stop 2029
Kansas City, KS 66160
913-588-1619 | TTY 711
soninfo@kumc.edu