2025-2026 Academic Catalog

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Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist DNP

Must be a commissioned officer or service sponsored civilian in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy or Public Health Service with an earned Bachelor’s (or Master’s Degree with a concentration in Nursing) from an accredited university.

Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admissions or that an applicant will be competitive for this year’s application cycle.  The Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Program uses a comprehensive admissions process that evaluates each applicant's academic performance, interview, writing skills, and letters of recommendations to select the most competitive applicants from the application cycle.

Academic Requirements:

  • USU Application
  • For active duty and reservist applicants: current single page service-specific officer brief (e. g. OCB [SURF], SORB, OSR, OS);
  • Original transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Transcripts must show:
  1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
  2. Combined science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale (chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, etc.);
  3. Grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better in a science course within the past 5 years from an accredited university.  Graduate anatomy, physiology, combined anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology, or pharmacology preferred. 200-400 level courses considered;
  4. An undergraduate or graduate statistics course from an accredited university is highly recommended.
  5. Writing sample (details in application)
  6. Three letters of recommendation with unconditional endorsements of the applicant for admission :

    1. Chief Nurse/senior nurse executive (or another officer in direct chain of command

    2. Immediate supervisor

    3. Graduate or doctorally prepared healthcare professional able to address applicant's scholarly and leadership potential in nursing and healthcare.

  • If invited, applicants are required to complete an interview with USU faculty.

Professional Requirements:

  • Minimum of two years’ experience as a perioperative, ICU, Critical Care, Trauma or ED nurse at the time of matriculation
  • Current, active unrestricted nursing license
  • Current CV
  • Current Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Current certification in one of the following specialty areas;
    • Operating Room Nurse (CNOR) or
    • Certification Inpatient Antepartum (RNC-IAP) or
    • Certification Inpatient Obstetrics (RNC-OB) or
    • Certification Inpatient Mother Neonatal Newborn (RNC-MNN) or
    • Acute/Critical Care Nurse (CCRN) or
    • Board Certified Emergency Nurse (BCEN).

Family Nurse Practitioner and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner DNP

Must be a commissioned officer or service sponsored civilian in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy or Public Health Service with an earned Bachelor’s (or pre-licensure Master’s) Degree with a concentration in Nursing from an accredited university.

Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admissions or that an applicant will be competitive for this year’s application cycle.  The Family and Women’s Health Program uses a comprehensive admissions process that evaluates each applicant's academic performance, interview, writing skills, and letters of recommendations to select the most competitive applicants from the application cycle.

Academic Requirements:

  • USU Application with evidence-based writing requirement;
  • Current CV;
  • For active duty and reservist applicants: current single page service-specific officer brief (e. g. OCB [SURF], SORB, OSR, OS);
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, showing:
  1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
    1. The GRE is optional for applicants. However, a competitive GRE score may strengthen an application package, particularly for applicants with GPAs near the minimum threshold or limited upper-level science coursework. Excellent performance on the GRE may be seen as a secondary indicator of academic readiness. 
  2. Combined science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale (chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, biology, microbiology, genetics, etc.);
  3. Grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better in a science course within the past 5 years from an accredited university: anatomy, physiology, combined anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, or pharmacology; graduate level preferred, 200-400 level courses will be considered;
  4. An undergraduate or graduate statistics course from an accredited university is highly recommended
  • Current, active unrestricted nursing license
  • Current Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Recent direct patient care recommended;
  • Shadow an FNP or WHNP (as applicable) for a minimum of 20 hours. Contact your chief nurse/senior nurse executive for guidance and direction if needed. Have your Shadow Nurse fill out the shadow questionnaire form and submit it along with your letter of recommendation.
  • Applicants may be required to complete an interview with the faculty
  • Three letters of recommendation with unconditional endorsements of the applicant for admission:
  1. Chief Nurse/senior nurse executive (or another officer in direct chain of command)
  2. Immediate supervisor
  3. APRN in the specialty for which applying
  • If invited, applicants are required to complete an interview with USU faculty.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner DNP

Must be a commissioned officer or service sponsored civilian in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy or Public Health Service with an earned Bachelor’s (or pre-licensure Master’s) Degree with a concentration in Nursing from an accredited university.

Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admissions or that an applicant will be competitive for this year’s application cycle.  The Psychiatric Mental Health Program uses a comprehensive admissions process that evaluates each applicant's academic performance, interview, writing skills, and letters of recommendations to select the most competitive applicants from the application cycle.

Academic Requirements:

  • USU Application with evidence-based writing requirement;
  • Current CV;
  • For active duty and reservist applicants: current single page service-specific officer brief (e. g. OCB [SURF], SORB, OSR, OS);
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, showing:
  1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
    1. The GRE is optional for applicants. However, a competitive GRE score may strengthen an application package, particularly for applicants with GPAs near the minimum threshold or limited upper-level science coursework. Excellent performance on the GRE may be seen as a secondary indicator of academic readiness. 
  2. Combined science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale (chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, biology, microbiology, genetics, etc.);
  3. Grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better in a science course within the past 5 years from an accredited university. Anatomy, physiology, combined anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology, or pharmacology graduate level preferred, 200-400 level courses considered;
  4. An undergraduate or graduate statistics course from an accredited university is highly recommended.
  • Competitive GRE Score:
    •  Applicants with an Overall GPA and Science GPA of 3.5 or higher are not required to take the GRE. However, applicant packages may be bolstered by excellent performance on the GRE as a secondary indicator of academic readiness. Applicants are encouraged to submit GRE scores regardless of their GPA.
  • Current, active unrestricted nursing license
  • Current Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Recent direct patient care recommended
  • Shadow a PMH Nurse Practitioner (preferred) or Psychiatrist if PMHNP is not available, for a minimum of 20 hours. Contact your chief nurse or senior nurse executive for guidance and direction, if needed. Have your Shadow provider fill out the shadow questionnaire form and submit it along with your letter of recommendation.
  • Three letters of recommendation with unconditional endorsements of the applicant for admission:
  1. Chief Nurse/senior nurse executive (or another nursing officer in direct chain of command)
  2. Immediate supervisor
  3. PMH Nurse Practitioner (preferred) or Psychiatrist
  • If invited, applicants are required to complete an interview with USU faculty.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist DNP

Must be a commissioned officer or service sponsored civilian in the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, or Public Health Service with an earned Bachelor’s (or Master’s Degree with a concentration in Nursing) from an accredited university.

Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admissions or that an applicant will be competitive for this year’s application cycle.  The Nurse Anesthesia Program uses a comprehensive admissions process that evaluates each applicant's academic performance, interview, writing skills, and letters of recommendations to select the most competitive applicants from the application cycle.

Academic Requirements:

  • USU Application with evidence-based writing requirement;
  • Current CV;
  • For active duty and reservist applicants: current single page service-specific officer brief (e. g. OCB [SURF], SORB, OSR, OS);
  • Competitive GRE Score:
    • Combined Verbal and Quantitative score of 297 or higher; Analytical Writing score of 3.5 or higher;
    • The GRE test is optional for applicants with an overall GPA and Science GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. However, applicant packages may be bolstered by excellent performance on the GRE as a secondary indicator of academic readiness. Applicants are encouraged to submit GRE scores regardless of their GPA.
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, showing:
  1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
  2. Combined science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale (chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, etc.);
  3. Grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better in a Biochemistry, Physiology or Pathophysiology course (physiology and pathophysiology from undergraduate nursing curricula will NOT be accepted) from an accredited university within the past 5 years. Graduate level is preferred, undergraduate courses considered;
  4. Grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better in a Statistics course from an accredited university. Graduate level is preferred, undergraduate courses considered.
  • An unencumbered license as a registered professional nurse and/or an APRN in the United States or its territories or protectorates,
  • At least one year of full-time experience as a RN in a critical care setting in a military or civilian hospital. Critical care experience must be obtained in a critical care area within the United States, its territories, or a US military hospital outside of the United States. During this experience, the registered professional nurse is to have developed critical decision-making and psychomotor skills, competency in patient assessment, and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitoring techniques. A critical care area is defined as one where, on a routine basis, the registered professional nurse manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitors (such as pulmonary artery catheter, CVP, arterial); cardiac assist devices; mechanical ventilation; and vasoactive infusions. Examples of critical care areas may include but are not limited to: Medical or Surgical Intensive Care, Pediatric Intensive Care, and Neonatal Intensive Care. Those who have experiences in other areas may be considered provided they can demonstrate competence with managing unstable patients on a routine basis with invasive monitoring, ventilators, and critical care pharmacology. For example, a military nurse who worked in an ICU at a military hospital for 6 months and then deployed to Kandahar and worked in critical care or trauma for 7 months may possess the necessary one-year experience requirement to apply.
  • CCRN certification preferred, not required;
  • Shadow a CRNA for a minimum of 20 hours. Shadow hours are documented on the RNA Program Shadow Experience Evaluation Form and submitted with the application;
  • Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS);
  • Current Basic Life Support (BLS);
  • Current Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS);
  • Three letters of recommendation with unconditional endorsements of the applicant for admission:
  1. Chief Nurse/senior nurse executive (or another officer in direct chain of command)
  2. Immediate supervisor
  3. CRNA
  • If invited, applicants are required to complete an interview with USU faculty.

Nursing Science PhD

Nurses from the uniformed services have priority for admissions. Nurses employed in federal agencies are also eligible for admissions on a space available basis.  Must have an earned Bachelor’s (or pre-licensure Master’s) Degree with a concentration in Nursing from an accredited university.

 

Academic Requirements:

  • USU Application;
  • Clear and succinct statement of the applicant's reason for PhD study and a match to faculty programs of research;
    • (Optional) In addition to the statement of application, applicants may submit an essay, term paper, thesis, or published article, or professional report to demonstrate their ability to communicate logic and concepts.
  • (Optional) in addition to the statement of application, applicants may submit an essay, term paper, thesis, or published article, or professional report to demonstrate their ability to communicate logic and concepts.
  • Current CV;
  • For active duty and reservist applicants: current single page service-specific officer brief (e. g. OCB [SURF], SORB, OSR, OS);
  • GRE required;
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attending, showing:
  1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
  2. Graduate level statistics course within the past 5 years is strongly recommended.
  • Three letters of recommendation from professors or others who can accurately describe the applicant's potential for success in a research doctoral program. Prefer that at least two of the letters are from nurses prepared at the PhD level.
  • If invited, applicants are required to complete an interview with USU faculty.