Nursing Education Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education is designed to prepare nurses and other healthcare professionals to teach in professional health care education programs, health care agencies, and the community. The certificate program can be completed entirely online.

Program Objectives

The program prepares students to:

• Translate evidence from nursing science and other disciplines into nursing education practices to improve student learning outcomes.
• Apply evidence-based findings to design effective teaching, learning, assessment, and evaluation strategies for educating professional nurses and nursing students in different settings.
• Evaluate nursing education curricula, program objectives, competency statements, and student learning outcomes.
• Analyze internal and external factors influencing nursing education curriculum development to inform revisions.
• Lead implementation of innovative evidence-based practices and policies in nursing education to improve outcomes in a diverse healthcare environment.
• Pursue ongoing scholarly professional growth and excellence as a nurse educator.
• Demonstrate integrity, compassion, and excellence in mentorship, service, and professionalism in nursing education.

The certificate program requires four courses, for a total of 12 credit hours.

Total Credit Hours Required: 12 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Master's Degree

Please note: Nursing Education Certificate may be completed fully online, although not all elective options or program prerequisites may be offered online. Newly admitted students choosing to complete this program exclusively via UCF online classes may enroll with a reduction in campus-based fees.

You may pursue this UCF College of Nursing online program as long as you will be physically located in a Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) state for the duration of your education.

UCF College of Nursing faculty are authorized to teach in Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) states. Due to nursing education restrictions imposed by non-NLC states, UCF is unable to offer courses, clinicals, or other educational services regardless of modality (including online) within non-NLC states. Should you be physically located within a non-NLC state for more than a vacation or brief visit, regardless of your legal state of residence or the type of license you have, you will be unable to apply or continue your nursing degree program at the UCF College of Nursing. This includes, but is not limited to, students accepting traveling nurse positions in a non-NLC state. Although Colorado is a NLC state, the UCF College of Nursing cannot enroll students who will complete clinical practice hours there due to Colorado statute requirements for worker’s compensation insurance coverage.

Applicants may contact the College of Nursing’s Assistant Dean of Students with any questions regarding non-NLC states.

UCF is also an approved institution of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA). Membership in NC-SARA requires the university to disclose information regarding state licensing and certification requirements for the selected program of study when licensing and/or certification are a requirement to practice in the profession after graduation.

Program Prerequisites

Applicants must possess an earned Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or higher nursing degree or are currently enrolled in a graduate nursing degree program.

Degree Requirements

Required Courses

• Complete the following:
  • NGR6718 - Evaluation in Nursing Education (3)
  • NGR6791 - Teaching Strategies for Nurse Educators (3)
  • NGR6713 - Curriculum Development in Nursing Education (3)
  • NGR6717 - Introduction to Healthcare Simulation (3)

Grand Total Credits: 12

Application Requirements

Application Deadlines

Financial Information

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Fellowship Information

Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.