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Online MSN in Women's Health Nurse Practitioner

Nurse practitioner performing a checkup with a stethoscope on a female patient during a routine wellness visit in a clinic.

Are you a registered nurse with a BSN looking to advance your career and develop expertise in diagnosing and managing the health needs of women across the lifespan? The Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) role may be the ideal next step—combining advanced clinical training with a patient-centered focus on women’s wellness.

What is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP)?

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNPs) are advanced-practice nurses who provide comprehensive, patient-centered care for women throughout their lifespan. From adolescence through adulthood, WHNPs focus on reproductive, obstetric, and gynecologic health—delivering expert diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care that supports women’s overall wellness.

To practice as a WHNP, candidates for licensure must hold a BSN and MSN with work experience as an RN.

University of Cincinnati’s MSN Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program

Women's Health Nurse Practitioner checking patient's breathing

Offered by the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, the online Master of Science in Nursing – Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program delivers the same expert faculty, high-quality education, and dedicated support—all in a flexible format designed for working nurses.

View the UC College of Nursing’s Online Nurse Practitioner Infographic

UC's WHNP online program is one of the top Women’s Health NP Programs online. Our courses focus on promoting the importance of the client-provider relationship and empowering women to make informed decisions regarding their health and well-being.

Women’s Health NP Program Overview

  • NCC certification exam first-time pass rate of 87.14%*
  • Eligible to sit for the National Certification Corp. certification exam.
  • Led by experienced faculty with extensive clinical backgrounds and a strong commitment to current best practices in patient care.
  • Three start dates a year.
  • You must already have a BSN to enroll in the program.
  • Previous women’s health experience is strongly preferred.
  • Requires 49 credit hours and 672 clinical hours.

* NCC certification pass rates are based on 2024 graduates. Data published 3/31/2025.


UC College of Nursing’s Master of Science in Nursing Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner online program is designed for working nurses with busy schedules. 

Courses can be completed on a full- or part-time schedule, often in as few as two years.

Prerequisites:

  • A current, active, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) licensure with no disciplinary action
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree conferred from a regionally and ACEN (formerly NLNAC) or CCNE accredited institution
  • Overall minimum BSN GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (recommended)
  • Completion of an undergraduate statistics course with a 2.0 or higher on 4.0 scale.
  • Science GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
  • A minimum of one year of RN experience in the United States

Application Deadline Schedule
Term Application Deadline Classes Start

Summer 2026

Fall 2026

March 15, 2026

July 1, 2026

May 11, 2026

August 24, 2026


The University of Cincinnati's online course fees differ depending on the program. On average, students will accrue fewer fees than students attending on-campus classes.

The one fee applied across all UC Online programs is the distance learning fee. Students living outside the state of Ohio must also pay an additional “non-resident” fee to enroll in courses at UC Online. This fee is lower than the out-of-state fee for traditional on-campus programs.

To view tuition information and program costs, visit the Online Program Fees page.


Applications for the online Master of Science in Nursing and online Women’s Health program are submitted through NursingCAS.

Create an account with NursingCAS and search Cincinnati to find the Women’s Health NP (MSN) program.

Helpful Tips:

  • You can work on the application without submitting the application
  • You can pay and submit while waiting on transcripts/reference letters
  • Full coursework entry is required for the application

Official transcripts from all institutions attended should be sent directly to NursingCAS (American Association of College of Nursing). NO TRANSCRIPTS should be sent to the University.

International Transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES). WES evaluations are to be sent to NursingCAS directly.

Three letters of reference:

References should come from individuals who can attest to your academic and professional skills. Reference letters should come from educators, managers, supervising physicians or APRNs in specialty. Peer references are not encouraged.

Length: 500–700 words

Your goal statement should:

  • Demonstrate a clear understanding of the specialty area
  • Explain your interest in the specialty
  • Highlight your preparedness and reasons for pursuing the program
  • Describe your goals after graduation

This statement will also serve as an academic writing sample.

Professional resume required.

Demonstrate your interests in Women’s Health by including leadership, committees, volunteer work, professional organizations, and special certifications.  Women’s Health experience is strongly preferred, but consideration for other work experiences will be considered.

The review committee is looking to see that you are devloping yourself professionally beyond your current role requirements. Take time to properly update your resume with all of the items listed above to set yourself apart from other applicants.

  • $65 ($70 international) non-refundable University of Cincinnati Graduate School application fee.*    * Currently waived through the 2025-2026 school year!
  • $85 NursingCAS application fee, paid directly to NursingCAS.
  • Non-refundable matriculation fee required upon acceptance (applied toward your tuition in your first semester).
  • State & U.S. Territory Restrictions

    • The University of Cincinnati’s online graduate nursing programs are not currently available to students located in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. For more information on restricted states, please visit our State Authorization page.
    • Kansas: Effective March 1, 2025, the Kansas State Board of Nursing made a change to their licensure education requirements for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN’s). Additional information can be found on the organization’s website.
      • Applicants who are admitted to an ARPN program that leads to licensure will be provided a revised plan to include an additional variable credit course (NURS8098: Clinical Elective) to complete the difference in clinical hours required by the University of Cincinnati and the Kansas State Board of Nursing (if applicable). The number of credit hours for this course will vary based on the number of clinical hours needed to meet licensure education requirements. Further guidance, including an individualized plan of study, will be provided for admitted students.
      • This change doesn’t apply to non-ARPN specialties: Systems Leadership, Public Health Nursing, Occupational Health Nursing, and Nursing Education.
    • Washington: The University of Cincinnati is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission to provide practice experiences in the state of Washington for the following programs:
      • Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
      • Family Nurse Practitioner
      • Nurse Midwifery
      • Nursing Administration
      • Women’s Health

For more information, visit Washington’s State Board of Nursing site.

  • Washington: The University of Cincinnati is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission to provide practice experiences in the state of Washington for the following programs:
    • Nursing Education

For more information, visit Washington’s State Board of Nursing Education site.

  • Currently, we cannot admit students from any U.S. territory: America Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • An international student is defined as someone who holds citizenship in another country and is not a permanent resident of the United States.
  • International students are admissible to our online programs, providing they commit to doing their clinical requirements in the United States.
  • Due to the clinical requirements in our graduate online programs, international students must already have a visa that gives them legal status to work within the United States or must be able to obtain the legal status that will allow them to come to the U.S. and engage in clinical activities.
  • International students are not eligible for student visas for online programs, including clinical requirements.
  • It is the responsibility of the international student to have the appropriate work authorization documents or be able to obtain the appropriate work authorization before applying to online programs in the College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati.
  • We cannot admit residents of U.S. Territories or in a country outside of the U.S. Only persons serving in the military who reside on a military base and can complete clinical requirements on the military base should apply to our College of Nursing graduate online programs. Prior to application to our program, the prospective student should confirm that they will have the ability to complete clinical requirements on the military base.
  • Students cannot complete clinicals at a U.S. Embassy.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the NCC (National Certification  Corporation) certification exam.

Federal regulations require the University of Cincinnati to publicly disclose whether completion of certain programs that lead or may lead to professional licensure or certification would meet a given state’s educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (regardless of whether the program is on-ground, online, or hybrid).   To learn whether a University program meets a given state’s educational requirements, please visit the University of Cincinnati State Authorization webpage.


UC’s College of Nursing Accredited MSN Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Online Program

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  • The baccalaureate, Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20001. Contact CCNE at 202-887-6791. CCNE is the accrediting arm of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
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Designated a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence in Nursing Education

A man in a blue collared shirt holding a pencil in his right hand is speaking to a woman in a green shirt who is sitting across from him at a table.

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