Admits in fall and spring
The CU College of Nursing received a $2 million grant to increase the number of midwives in rural areas of Colorado. The program supports the development of a Rural Midwifery Track and covers expenses (tuition, fees, stipend for living expenses) for three to five full-time students per year.
The University of Colorado College of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Program prepares the next generation of midwives to lead and transform the delivery of women's healthcare for the women of Colorado and the world, through excellence in clinical practice, education and research.
It is our goal to lead the nation in midwifery education, through clinical and teaching excellence, scholarship, leadership, and interprofessional endeavors. We accomplish this objective in the following ways:
Coursework and overall credit hours for future students may be different than outlined in the documents below.
updated as of 10/2021
A post-graduate certificate is available in this specialty.
Gainful Employment and Program Statistics for Post-Graduate Certificate
For more information regarding graduation rates, the median debt of students completing our certificate programs, and other important information, please visit the University of Colorado Denver Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.
Please see our FAQs below for questions regarding the Nurse-Midwifery program.
The Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Education program at the University of Colorado College of Nursing prepares graduates who are eligible for certification as Certified Nurse-Midwives.
Graduates of our program are eligible to apply for certification by examination from the American Midwifery Certification Board as Certified Nurse-Midwives. Upon successful completion of the board examination, Certified Nurse-Midwives are eligible for licensure in all 50 states, including Colorado (visit the Colorado Board of Nursing APRN application forms page), where licensure is granted as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
The CU NMW education program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education that offers doctoral (DNP) and master's-level (MS) education and a post-graduate certificate through July 2029.
Contact:
Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 1230
Silver Spring, MD 20190-6374
tel: 240-485-1803
email:
acme@acnm.org
www.midwife.org/acme
The Nurse-Midwifery Education Program at the University of Colorado seeks to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes - the head, hands, and heart of a safe, beginning practitioner, shaped by the following values:
Diversity: increasing diversity brings a richness to the profession and the community, which improves the value of care. We will pursue programs and strategies that promote a diverse student body.
Inclusiveness: we believe that midwifery education and midwifery care does not discriminate, but rather sets a standard for including everyone, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender and gender identity, country of origin, sexual orientation, or religious belief.
Cultural responsiveness: as midwives, we partner with patients and families from diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, we seek to educate practitioners who understand the importance of cultural beliefs and practices and hence align the provision of care with the beliefs of the patients to whom we provide care.
Please read the entire philosophy statement (PDF)
Prepare Providers To Serve Rural Coloradans
Scholarship and Stipend
Mentorship, Employment Preparation, and More
While our primary goal is to train midwives for Colorado, our program is available to students outside of Colorado who are committed to rural midwifery practice in any state.*
*States with Board of Nursing eligibility for out of state nursing education- please reference the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement webpage and contact the project coordinator.
Students who are admitted to a program (or plan to apply to a program) that will graduate in 2026 or 2027 can apply to the Rural Midwifery Track when they complete their midwifery program application in NursingCAS. Please use the following application links and deadlines.
| Planned Graduation Date | Application Deadline | Application to Complete |
| December 2024 or 2025 | Closed | |
| December 2026 | May 31, 2024 | Rural Midwifery Track Application - 2026 Graduation |
| December 2027 | May 31, 2025 | Rural Midwifery Track Application - 2027 Graduation |
If you have questions about the Rural Midwifery Track or the application process, please contact Project Coordinator Dr. Shannon Pirrie, DNP, CNM.
You can review the recorded info session from November 2023.
Meet the first cohort for CU Nursing’s Rural Midwifery Track! Five students were awarded scholarships (tuition, fees, and a stipend for living expenses), and are part of our Nurse-Midwifery (NMW) Graduate program. They see the critical need for maternal care and want to help make accessing care easier for people in rural areas.
Best Graduate School
Master's & Doctorate Nurse-Midwifery #3
2024 U.S. News & World Report's Best Graduate School rankings list our program tied for #3 in the country. The rankings reflect peer assessments of academic quality, cost (tuition and financial aid), and job placement.
