Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care

The Master of Science in Nursing with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Acute Care (PNP-AC) clinical specialty prepares advanced practice nurses who will promote the health and development of children and adolescents as individuals and as population groups encountering changing health care systems within urban and global environments. MSN graduates with a PNP-AC clinical specialty are prepared to provide expert clinical care to meet the specialized physiological and psychological needs of children and adolescents with complex acute, critical and chronic health conditions and/or urgent, emergent and life-threatening conditions.

The curriculum combines both broad foundational knowledge essential for the care of children as a vulnerable population as well as specialty knowledge in pediatrics. Attention is given to health promotion, prevention of disease and disability, disease process, treatment, clinical management, and family-centered care provided in a variety of acute and critical care settings including hospitals, intensive care units, emergency departments and clinics. Upon completion, students are eligible to take a certification examination through the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB).

Learn more about this career path in an episode of our Nightintales podcast

International applicants must complete the equivalent of a U.S. four-year bachelor's degree, including all state and external/internal examinations required for the degree. Some three-year general degrees (from Canada, India, Pakistan, France, Lebanon, etc.) may not be equivalent to a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree. However, if you have completed an honors degree, additional undergraduate coursework beyond the three-year bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree, you may be considered for admission.

If you are applying to a master's program, your minimum undergraduate GPA must be 2.75 or its equivalent in upper division coursework. If you are applying to a doctoral program, your minimum undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or its equivalent in upper division coursework.

Submit your transcript(s)

To begin the application review, upload unofficial copies of English-translated international transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions from which you earned a bachelor's degree or higher, including Mark Sheets, if applicable. If you are admitted, you must submit an official course-by-course academic evaluation of your completed bachelor's degree.

Demonstrate English proficiency 

Non-native speakers of English must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting the minimum requirements. You are required to submit an official qualifying score meeting minimum Graduate School requirements. Send official test scores to Wayne State University Graduate Admissions, using the school code 1898.

To begin the application review, upload an unofficial copy of your English proficiency test score(s). Once admitted, an official test score must be submitted to Graduate Admissions.