The Community/Public Health Nursing specialty prepares nurses to assume leadership in assessing communities and populations, identifying high risk groups, and in partnership with communities, consumers, and stakeholders, developing culturally-sensitive, acceptable and realistic community-based nursing interventions. Graduates are expected to demonstrate PHN Competencies identified by the Quad Council (2004).

Upon graduation, individuals will meet the educational requirements for the exam leading to Board Certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as an Advanced Public Health Nurse.

Graduates of this program are prepared to work in

Public Health Departments
Home Health Agencies
Hospice
Community Organizations
Wellness Centers
School Systems
Faith Communities
Industry
Rural/Urban Settings

The course of study consists of 38 credit hours and can be completed in 36 months of part-time study.

Admission Requirements

General requirements for Master's students at UNC Charlotte can be found on the Graduate Admissions website by clicking here. Additional information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Important information about the GRE:

The SON accepts GRE scores from both old and new test formats. Equivalency tables for old scores (200-800) and new scores (130-170) are used so that the published preferred GRE score for admission will not change.

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, the following are required for admission to the MSN Systems/Population: Community Public Health Nursing specialty:

• Current unrestricted licensure as a Registered Nurse. Current license in North Carolina or a compact state or the state identified by faculty for clinical practice before enrollment.
• Baccalaureate degree from an accredited university. A BSN degree from nationally accredited program is preferred. If the baccalaureate is not in nursing, and courses in research, leadership management, aging and health, and community health are lacking, they will be required as part of the program of study.
• Satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), or a previous Graduate degree with documented scores. The SON prefers a GRE score of 950 or MAT score of 400.
• Overall GPA of 3.0 in the last degree earned is preferred.
• Completion of a statistics course with a grade of C or better.
• A statement of purpose, describing the applicant's experience and objective in undertaking graduate study in the chosen specialty.
• For the three letters of recommendation required by the Graduate School, references should be from professional colleagues.
• One year of professional nursing practice is recommended.
• Access to computer within minimum requirements for online courses. Current minimum computer hardware specifications are listed by Distance Education.

Application Instructions

Application Deadlines: Applications are reviewed on a year-round basis and follow deadlines published by the Graduate School.

Process: All applications are submitted online to the Graduate School using Apply Yourself. Information about the GRE or the MAT, the University Catalog, the Apply Yourself application system can be obtained from the Graduate School at: http://graduateschool.uncc.edu/admissions.

Graduate Admissions
UNC Charlotte
Cato 210
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
704-687-3366 (phone)
704-687-3279 (fax)
Website

Degree Requirements

The Community/Public Health Nursing program consists of 38 semester hours and is completed on a part-time basis. Specialty courses are only offered biannually during odd years. Interested Students may enroll concurrently in either the Nurse Educator or the Nurse Administrator Certificate Program.

Additional Degree Requirements

• Courses in the C/PHN specialty area are offered alternate years.
• Community/Public Health Nursing courses are only offered online through Distance Education. Core and Selected Core courses can be taken on campus or online as published in the Schedule of Courses.
• A total of 500 clinical hours is required to complete the program.
• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 (“B”) GPA in their graduate courses, and may not accumulate more than two “C” grades.
• Faculty Advising is required.

* Approved online electives include the following. Other courses may be approved in concert with faculty advisor.

NURS 6301 - Curriculum and Instruction in Nursing Education
NURS 6302 - Trends and Issues in Nursing Education
NURS 6303 - Instructional Technology in Nursing Education
NURS 6185 - Theory and Application of Organizational Behavior
NURS 6090  - Selected Topics in Nursing
NURS 6275  - Health Promotion and Nutrition for Older Adults

Curriculum

For Part-time Cohorts beginning Summer of 2012. 

Contact Information

Ms. Shanna Coles
Program Manager, Distance Education
704-687-3889
scoles2@uncc.edu

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