Nursing Graduate Studies
Accelerate Your Career. Elevate Your Life. Go Further. Faster.
Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing’s Department of Nursing Graduate Studies houses a variety of certificates and programs for Registered Nurses (RN) who hold at least a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree to take the next step and advance their career even further. Whether you’re an RN looking for a career change or an experienced RN with a master’s degree, the Department of Nursing Graduate Studies can help you Be Brilliant as a nurse educator, a leader, or an executive; or a nurse practitioner in family practice or psychiatric-mental health. Our ACEN-accredited programs will help you take that next step in your career in Utah and beyond.
PUBLIC NOTICE OF UPCOMING ACCREDITATION REVIEW VISIT BY THE ACEN
The Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing wishes to announce that it will host a site visit for continuing accreditation of its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
You are invited to meet with the site visit team and share your comments about the program in person at a meeting scheduled at 4:00-4:30 PM on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in room 401C of the Marriott Allied Health building located at 3875 Stadium Way, Ogden, UT. A Zoom option is also available by contacting catherineharmston@weber.edu with a request for the meeting link.
Written comments are also welcome and should be submitted to the ACEN via email at public-comments@acenursing.org or to the ACEN office:
Attn: Accreditation Services
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
3390 Peachtree Rd NE, Suite 1400
Atlanta GA, 30326
All written comments should be received by the ACEN by September 21, 2026.
Post-BSN to Master’s of Science in Nursing (Educator or Leadership & Management emphases available)
A Master’s of Science in Nursing MSN degree from our ACEN-accredited program will result in professional advancement and nursing leadership skills for academia and healthcare organizations.
Graduate students choose from two emphases: Nurse Educator and Nurse Leadership and Management. The 12-month program is 100% online except for a 90-hour residency arranged in your surrounding community.
Post-Master's to DNP: Executive Leadership
Designed to elevate master's-prepared nurses to the highest level of leadership in nursing practice at the doctoral level, our DNP Executive Leadership program will prepare you to shape professional practice environments, lead interdisciplinary care teams, and develop evidence-based practice standards and processes for patient care. This ACEN-accredited program will offer opportunities for practical, real-life experience in facilitating change and implementing health care delivery improvements at the organizational and systems level. As a DNP-prepared nurse leader, you will be able to provide interdisciplinary leadership, develop and implement local and national health care policies, promote standards of patient care and safety, use information technology to effect change, and critically analyze and apply current research to improve healthcare outcomes.
Post-BSN to DNP: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
In the DNP Family Nurse Practitioner program, you’ll progress from a bachelor's prepared registered nurse to a clinical family nurse practitioner and an expert nurse leader at the doctoral level. Your education will focus on providing primary care in this ACEN-accredited program, including assessments, diagnostic reasoning, and appropriate interventions with attention to overall patient wellness, as well as systems-level changes to improve healthcare outcomes in various populations and environments. With your DNP degree in the Family Nurse Practitioner emphasis, you will be eligible to take the FNP certification exam, allowing you to care for patients across the lifespan in the primary care setting and function as an experienced leader in organizations and systems.
Post-BSN to DNP: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
In the DNP Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, you'll progress from a bachelor's prepared registered nurse to a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and an expert nurse leader at the doctoral level. This ACEN-accredited program focuses on providing mental health care, including assessments, diagnostic reasoning, and appropriate interventions with attention to health and wellness, as well as systems-level changes to improve healthcare outcomes in various populations and environments. With your DNP degree in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner emphasis, you will be eligible to take the PMHNP certification exam, allowing you to provide patients with specialty care in mental health and function as an expert leader in organizations and systems.
Post-BSN to DNP: Nurse Anesthesia (NA)
WSU's Nurse Anesthesia Program will ready bachelor's prepared registered nurses to advance to a doctoral-prepared nurse anesthetist and nurse leader through developing advanced anesthesia knowledge and skills. Students will learn patient assessment, anesthetic planning, and the delivery of safe, evidence-based anesthesia care across the lifespan. The Nurse Anesthesia Program is currently undergoing Capability Review by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), with an accreditation decision anticipated in October 2027. Interested students are advised to continue to monitor the program website for updates, as the program cannot enroll students until initial accreditation has been granted.
Post-Master’s Certificates (Educator or Leadership & Management certificates available)
Nurses with master’s degrees in nursing can strengthen or expand their roles at the Department of Nursing Graduate Studies with ACEN-accredited post-master’s certificates in nursing education and administrative leadership. Students can complete the Nurse Leadership and Management Certificate (12 credits) and the Nurse Educator Certificate (14 credits) in two semesters, with a community-based residency experience in nursing clinical, academia, or administrative leadership.