Top Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) Programs

A Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) is an advanced practice registered nursing role  that requires a Masters's or Doctorate degree. CNMs can earn over six figures, but they also have flexibility in their practice field. 

Certified Nurse Midwife Career Overview >>

Certified Nurse Midwife Salary Guide >>

Types of Master’s Degrees in Nursing >>

 

Fast Facts about Certified Nurse Midwife Programs
Salary	CNMS earn $112,830 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Program length	2 years full-time, or 3 years part-time
Requirements	RN license GRE Bachelor’s Degree

 

Top 10 Certified Nurse Midwife Programs 2023

Nurse.org has compiled a list of some of the best online and in-person certified nurse midwife programs for 2023. This list takes numerous factors into consideration including location, graduation rate, cost, credit hours, as well as others.

1. Baylor University

• Admissions: November 22nd
• Degree Awarded: DNP
• Program Length: 75 credit hours and 1,125 clinical hours
• Location: Online with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $1,100 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 888-227-5901
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: admissions@onlinenursing.baylor.edu

2. Columbia University

• Admissions: January 31st
• Degree Awarded: DNP
• Program Length: 87 credit hours
• Location: Hybrid including in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $2,110 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 212-305-5756
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: nursing@cumc.columbia.edu

3. Vanderbilt University

• Admissions: October 15th
• Degree Awarded: MSN
• Program Length: 52 credit hours and 945 clinical hours
• Location: In-person classes and clinical experience
• Program Cost: $1,793 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 888-333-9192
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: vusn-admissions@vanderbilt.edu

4. University of California - San Francisco

• Admissions: February 1st
• Degree Awarded: MSN
• Program Length: 565 total didactic hours and 870 total clinical hours
• Location: Hybrid with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $11,442.00 per year
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 415-476-4432
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: Kim.Dau@ucsf.edu

5. Emory University

• Admissions: December 1st
• Degree Awarded: MSN
• Program Length: 50-51 credit hours and 620-680 clinical hours
• Location: Hybrid with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $1,963 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 404-727-7980
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: nursingquestions@emory.edu

6. University of Washington

• Admissions: January 15th, May 1st, and October 15th
• Degree Awarded: DNP
• Program Length: 63 credit hours
• Location: Hybrid with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $925 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 206-543-8736
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: asknursing@uw.edu

7. Oregon Health and Science University

• Admissions: January 3rd
• Degree Awarded: DNP
• Program Length: 116 credit hours plus 1000 clinical hours
• Location: Hybrid with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: In-state: $ 648 per credit hour Out of state: $841per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 503-494-7725 or 866-223-1811
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: snweb@ohsu.edu

8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Admissions: March 15th
• Degree Awarded: MSN or DNP
• Program Length: MSN- 45 credit hours and 730 clinical hours  DNP- 70 credit hours and 1,290 clinical hours
• Location: Hybrid with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: In-state: $1,773 per credit hour Out of State: $3,221 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 734-763-5985
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: UMSN-GradAdmissions@med.umich.edu

9. Yale University

• Admissions: November 1st
• Degree Awarded: MSN
• Program Length: 57 credit hours and 1,024 clinical hours
• Location: In-person classes and in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: $47,114 total cost
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 203-785-5522
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: ysnadmissions@yale.edu

10. East Carolina University

• Admissions: March 15th and September 15th
• Degree Awarded: MSN
• Program Length: 53 credit hours
• Location: Hybrid (primarily online) with in-person clinical experience
• Program Cost: In-state: $979.83 per credit hour Out of State: $1,710.33 per credit hour
• Accreditation: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• College of Nursing - Contact Phone Number: 252-744-6358
• College of Nursing - Contact Email Address: bagleyr@ecu.edu

Show Me Nurse Midwifery Programs

How to Pick the Right Certified Nurse Midwife Program for You

Picking the right midwifery program can be overwhelming especially with the increasing number of available programs throughout the country. Online programs have given access to top-tier programs to those that are unable to relocate. 

The most important determining factor when choosing a program is understanding if the state in which you reside allows students to enroll in distance education programs and therefore participate in clinical practicums within the state. 

It is important to check with your state board of nursing to see if your state allows this. Licensure requirements vary from state to state and by professional organization.  Any questions regarding state eligibility you can also contact the University’s Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs.

Other factors include: 

• How will I pay for the degree? Loans? Scholarships? Tuition Reimbursement?
• Does your current job have an affiliation with a specific midwifery program?
• Do I want to work in a private OB office of a large public hospital?
• Online versus in person?
• Do you prefer obtaining your MSN or DNP?
• Consider the program’s accreditation and graduate certification rate.
• Consider the entry prerequisites for which you qualify.
• Do you want a program that will find your clinical placements?
• What is the job placement rate?
• Is there program flexibility?

Show Me Nurse Midwifery Programs

About Certified Nurse Midwife Programs

Curriculum

Midwifery programs generally offer similar courses to adhere to accreditation criteria. To note, some of the courses are very similar to those offered in other advanced nursing degree programs. Students can expect the take the following types of courses:

• Advanced Pathophysiology
• Advanced Pharmacology
• Advanced Physical Assessment
• Advanced Reproductive Dynamics
• Antepartum Care for the Nurse-Midwifery
• Clinical Practicums
• Conceptual Frameworks for Midwifery
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Health Informatics
• Health Policy, Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Practice
• Intrapartum, Postpartum, and Newborn Care for Midwifery
• Leadership and Critical Decision Making
• Research Methods and Design
• Unique Women’s Health Issues
• Well Woman for Midwifery
• Women’s Health

Certified Nurse Midwife Prerequisites

Though every Certified Nurse Midwife degree program is different, most have similar entry requirements, which generally include:

• Completion of undergraduate statistics with a grade of C or better
• Current Basic Life Support certificates
• GRE if applicable
• Minimum of two years of nursing experience in obstetrics and midwifery
• Professional resume or curriculum vitae
• Satisfactory completion of an accredited baccalaureate program with at least 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
• Submission of official transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended
• Successful completion of a personal interview with the Nursing Admissions Committee
• TOEFL test if applicable
• Two or three professional references
• Unencumbered, active RN license in the state of practice (Some programs will require an RN license in the state of the program)
• Written statement of professional goals for graduate study and nursing career

Tuition

Certified Nurse Midwife programs vary greatly in cost. Factors include school, location, online versus in person, and ultimate degree.

• Credit hours can vary between $500 to $2,000 depending on the program.
• Doctoral-level programs tend to be more expensive than master's degree programs, in part because more credits are required overall. There are only a handful of these programs and are generally BSN-DNP programs.  
• Tuition costs also include program fees, lab fees, course materials, and other associated expenses. 

Examples of credit cost include: 

• DePaul University - $750 per credit hour
• Fairfield University - $1,030 per credit hour
• Georgia College - $473 per credit hour
• Marquette University - $1,220 per credit hour
• Thomas Jefferson University - $935 per credit hour

Accreditation

The Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) is the accreditation body for Certified Nurse Midwife programs in the United States.  The purpose of ACME “is to ensure that programs are performing at the highest level of quality and providing learning experiences that will lead to optimal outcomes for students.”

Accreditation by a program is entirely voluntary; however, students will want to seek out programs that are accredited by ACME. This can be essential when sitting for state boards at the end of the program. Furthermore, some healthcare systems will not hire individuals who have not attended an accredited midwifery program. 

ACME established the Criteria for Programmatic Accreditation of Midwifery Education Programs. This criterion was established to provide a framework for programs seeking accreditation. More specifically purposes of the criteria are:

• Provide structure for implementing peer evaluation in the assessment of the quality of midwifery education programs preparing
• midwives and nurse-midwives
• Assure all aspects of midwifery education programs lead to appropriate student outcomes and prepare competent midwives
• Serve as a guide to faculty in developing and improving their program and as a framework for self-evaluation 

Currently, there are six main criteria for accreditation by the ACME, including: 

• Organization and administration
• Faculty
• Students
• Curriculum
• Resources
• Assessment and Outcomes