Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

The Neonatal Nursing track is a 37 credit hour curriculum designed to prepare experienced registered nurses for the advanced practice nursing roles of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP). The curriculum emphasizes advanced nursing care of newborns and infants from birth through the first two years of life. The spectrum of health from promotion of wellness to management of acute and chronic illness in a variety of settings is incorporated into the program. 

The program of study conforms to educational guidelines from the State of Texas, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).  Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for national Neonatal Nurse Practitioner certification examination offered by the National Certification Corporation for the Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing Specialties (NCC).

There are three program study options.  The Master of Science in Nursing awards the Master of Science in Nursing degree with a major of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.  The Post-master’s Nurse Practitioner Study option allows nurses who have completed an advanced nursing degree (master’s or doctorate) to prepare for the nurse practitioner role.  Students must have a graduate nursing degree.  The Advanced Placement for Certificate Nurse Practitioners option is designed for certificate-educated nurse practitioners to acquire a graduate nursing degree.  Students must have successfully completed a certificate nurse practitioner program and hold current certification as a nurse practitioner.

Admission requirements include: licensure as a registered nurse; Bachelors degree in any field; undergraduate overall GPA of 3.0 and 3.0 in nursing; two years experience as a practicing professional nurse in neonatal critical care nursing;  acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT), acceptable writing sample, and basic statistics course.  The GRE or MAT requirement may be waived for students with a GPA of 3.5 or above.

Financial Assistance
Students admitted to the Graduate Program in Nursing are eligible for significant scholarship funds.   Students are responsible for books and fees.  Scholarship funds are awarded as students are admitted.  Students are urged to seek early admission.  With this generous support, the cost of a Baylor education is comparable to that of public universities.  Federal assistance in the form of educational loans is available through the Baylor University Financial Aid Office.

To begin the admission process:

Application Deadlines
Applicants should plan to complete all admission materials on or before:
      April 15 - Summer Admission
      July 15 - Fall Admission (individual exceptions until August 1)
      November 15 - Spring Admission

Baylor University
Louise Herrington School of Nursing
3700 Worth Street, Dallas, Texas  75246
Phone: (214) 820-4111; Fax: (214) 820-3375 and e-mail: Graduate_Nursing@baylor.edu