University of the Pacific's Master of Science (MS) Midwifery degree program prepares you to become a well-rounded and versatile nurse-midwife who can provide prenatal care, birth, postpartum and newborn care in the home, alternative birth centers and hospital settings. Pacific prepares midwives to lead new practices and innovate the midwifery model of care into existing practices.
For information about the program or how to apply, please send an email to midwifery@pacific.edu.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the MS-Midwifery Program is grounded in the belief that reproductive and physiologic life processes, including puberty, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and menopause, are normal human experiences that warrant compassionate, evidence-based, and individualized care.
The program embraces the Midwifery Model of Care, which emphasizes informed choice, human presence, cultural humility, physiologic birth, and partnership with individuals and families. We affirm the inherent dignity, autonomy, and diverse cultural contexts of all individuals and are committed to advancing health equity, reducing disparities for women, infants, and families, and promoting social justice in healthcare. As a graduate program, we believe midwifery education integrates clinical excellence, critical inquiry, leadership, scholarship, interprofessional collaboration, and lifelong professional development and advocacy for policies that promote equitable maternal and newborn outcomes.
Mission
The mission of the MS-Midwifery Program is to educate and empower a diverse cadre of CNMs to provide safe, evidence-based, full-scope midwifery care with clinical excellence and social consciousness. The program fulfills this mission by:
Championing the Midwifery Model of Care
Advancing health equity and reducing disparities
Preparing graduates for collaborative, interprofessional practice
Promoting leadership, scholarship, and policy engagement
Empower, engage, and prepare all graduates to be transformative professionals and socially conscious leaders through education, reflection, scholarship, and service
Vision
The MS-Midwifery Program collaborates with community and healthcare partners to advance midwifery education, practice, policy, equity, and inclusion.
Welcome to Pacific's Master of Science in Midwifery program. Our program was created to address the maternal health care crisis by educating well rounded midwives with the tools to create health care delivery systems in areas of need. We provide deep learning opportunities in family planning, health policy, out-of-hospital birth, newborn primary care and lactation care, because midwifery is not just about catching babies. Our graduates will be prepared to work in homes, birth centers and hospitals, make positive change in any setting, innovate, advocate and create access to care. I am thrilled to bring this program to our community.
—Bethany Sasaki, NP, CNM
A recent laptop that meets the below requirements is required.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Upon completion of the MS-Midwifery Program, graduates will:
Integrate advanced knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment into safe clinical decision-making.
Provide inclusive, patient-centered, evidence-based reproductive health care.
Independently manage normal pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and newborn care, recognizing and appropriately managing deviations from normal.
Demonstrate effective interprofessional collaboration, consultation, and referral within interdisciplinary healthcare systems.
Assess and address perinatal mental health needs within scope of practice.
Analyze the impact of racism, ethics, policy, and social determinants of health on perinatal outcomes and advocate for equitable care.
Apply principles of scholarship, quality improvement, and innovation to advance midwifery practice.
Demonstrate competency as a safe beginning-level midwife consistent with ACME and AMCB standards.
Engage in lifelong learning, reflective practice, and professional stewardship for lasting achievement and responsible leadership in their careers and communities.
Once established, the program will publish data on enrollment, graduation, attrition and AMCB passing rates.
Pacific’s Master of Science in Midwifery degree is uniquely designed for students who have a current, unencumbered RN licence and have completed the program admission requirements.
Read our Admissions information for everything you need to know about prerequisites, how to apply and more.
University of the Pacific is fully accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). WSCUC reaffirmed Institutional Accreditation in June 2019. The next accreditation review is scheduled for 2027.
The midwifery program is preaccredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, 2000 Duke St, Suite 300, Alexandria VA 22314, www.theacme.org.
The California board of registered nursing does not require approval of nurse-midwifery programs though it has a path to do so. Graduates who apply for a CNM license in the state of California will use "Method 3."
For information about the program or how to apply, please send an email to midwifery@pacific.edu.
