"I really appreciate your support and constant clarifications on everything." ~an NMI student

You have questions, we have answers! Below are categories for a few of the most frequently asked questions we get at NMI.

• Midwifery

• Certificate Program

• Cost to Attend

• Program Length

• Preceptorship

• Student Location

Do I have to be a nurse to be a midwife? 

No. A midwife may be certified by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and/or licensed in many states without any nursing background.  However, the American College of Nurse Midwives does offer certification for nurses wishing to pursue careers in midwifery. For more information about our graduates' qualifications, visit Direct Entry Midwifery or Glossary of Terms. 

Can I get NARM certified (NARM CPM) if I finish this program?

Graduates of National Midwifery Institute, Inc. qualify for the MEAC route to the NARM Certified Professional Midwife credential. MEAC program grads DO NOT take the NARM Skills exam. The MEAC route offers an extremely abbreviated application process with a savings of $700. The CPM credential is awarded upon graduates’ passing the NARM written exam.

Can I get a degree from National Midwifery Institute, Inc.?

NMI is a vocational midwifery training program. NMI is not a degree granting or credit granting program. 

Can I get a license in California if I finish this program?

Our program has been designed to meet California’s midwifery licensing requirements, which meet or exceed those of most other states. NMI has been approved by the California Medical Board and NMI graduates are eligible to sit the California licensing exam.

Can I legally practice or become licensed in any US state if I finish this program? 

Over thirty states currently regulate direct-entry midwifery. Almost all of these states license or certify midwives by using either the CPM credential or the NARM Written Examination. While graduation from our program and passing the NARM exam leads to a national credential, application for additional state licensure is required in many states. State licensing or certification applications are made separately from application to NMI or to NARM, with regulations specific to each state. Visit  Certification and Licensure for more information. 

Can I practice abroad after graduating?

Graduates of National Midwifery Institute qualify for the NARM Written Examination which, if passed, leads to the CPM credential. The CPM credential is a United States midwifery credential and does not translate to legal practice abroad, although increasing numbers of CPMs do participate in international relief work.

Is Heart & Hands Still Part of the NMI Curriculum?

NMI was founded in 1995 by Elizabeth Davis and Shannon Anton and originally comprised two separate curriculums—Heart & Hands, owned and operated by Elizabeth Davis, and Study Group, owned and operated by Shannon Anton. Heart & Hands has long served as a comprehensive overview course designed to build student confidence and inspire students to pursue midwifery. At the same time, Heart and Hands provides the foundational knowledge necessary for students to succeed in the Study Group coursework, where students can take modules in nearly any order and can tailor the pace and sequence of the program to support their learning during apprenticeship. 

In late 2021, Elizabeth Davis proposed that Heart & Hands be removed from the NMI curriculum to serve as a prerequisite, that it might reach a broader audience of aspiring midwives internationally. NMI agreed, and established a new prerequisite requirement, which was approved by the NMI Owners in early 2022. Heart & Hands is now a preferred NMI prerequisite, continuing to provide the foundational knowledge necessary for entry into NMI's Certificate of Midwifery Program. Read more about NMI prerequisite requirements here.

What is Study Group Coursework
Prior to 2022, NMI Curriculum had two parts - Heart & Hands, owned, operated, and taught by Elizabeth Davis, and Study Group, owned, operated, and initially taught by Shannon Anton. 

Students would first complete Heart & Hands to gain a foundational understanding of midwifery that would prepare them to move on to Study Group. Study Group modules could be taken in any order and at the student’s pace, allowing a student to tailor the path of their study at NMI to support their learning in apprenticeship.

Over the years, Study Group hired additional instructors, expanded the material covered, and restructured itself to include foundational modules that must be completed before more advanced study.

As of 2022, the Study Group curriculum fulfills all NMI graduation requirements, as well as all essential core competencies required by our accreditor, MEAC. 

How much does NMI’s program cost?

NMI uses a subscription tuition model as part of our flexible program structure. Students pay a $525/month subscription fee to access curriculum materials and institutional services and support. The total cost of the program is dependent on a student’s individual time to completion.

For more information, visit our Tuition and Fees page. 

Do students who completed Heart & Hands get a credit toward NMI tuition?

Prior to 3/18/2022, NMI offered a credit to students who had completed Heart & Hands before enrolling in NMI. This credit was applied to the down payment that NMI previously required of all students, and covered the cost of the Heart & Hands component of NMI’s program. 

As of 3/18/2022, Heart & Hands is now a preferred prerequisite to the NMI Midwifery Certificate Program and no longer part of its curriculum. NMI has also eliminated the down payment that covered this expense, instituting instead a low monthly subscription fee. 

Students who enroll in NMI after 3/18/2022 will not receive financial credit for Heart & Hands completion prior to enrollment, and will pay the same tuition subscription and all other applicable fees as every other NMI student enrolling after 3/18/2022. All students will pay the tuition subscription fees only for active time spent in the NMI Midwifery Certificate Program. For more information about prerequisites, visit our prerequisites page.

I enrolled prior to March 18, 2022, is my tuition changing?

Students who enrolled in NMI prior to March 18, 2022 will pay tuition according to the policies outlined in their respective enrollment agreements. NMI may review these financial agreements and offer an updated enrollment agreement, converting these students to the subscription tuition model and granting them the benefits of graduating under the subscription model. These offers will be made available after a detailed, individual student account review. All students enrolled prior to March 18, 2022, will have the opportunity to maintain their current payment plan OR accept the updated offer.

With the Subscription Model, what will my total cost to complete the program be?

Students are charged a monthly subscription tuition fee to access the curriculum materials and institutional supports and services. Our program has always been and continues to be, flexible and self-paced. Students determine their length of time in the program. 

With full-time study - more than 30hrs per week spent on coursework and clinicals - the program is designed to be completed in 3 years. The average student completion time is 3.5 years.

Occasionally, students need to take a break for financial reasons or other life responsibilities. In these cases, a student can request a Leave of Absence for up to 1 year. During a Leave of Absence, a student only pays a $50/mo continuation fee, instead of the $525/mo subscription tuition fee. During a Leave of Absence, students may not access curriculum materials, count apprenticeship experience, or submit modules for grading. 

All students, regardless of time spent on Leave of Absence, must complete the program in 7 years. 

Do you offer discounts or scholarships?

Prior to 3/18/2022, NMI offered alternative payment plans to BIPOC, LGBTQAI++, and other students. These alternative payment plans included a reduced down payment and reduced monthly tuition payments. All students paid the same full cost of tuition regardless of payment plan and time to completion.

As of 3/18/2022, NMI has eliminated the down payment for all students and switched to a subscription-based tuition model. All students pay $525/mo to access curriculum materials and institutional services and support. Total cost is dependent on a student’s individual time to completion. Students are able to take a Leave of Absence for up to one year at a time, during which they pay a modest monthly continuation fee and no monthly subscription fee. 

Our private, for-profit tax status prevents us from raising funds to support student scholarships. 

The monthly subscription fee is intended to be fair and accessible to all students while allowing for fair and equitable payment of staff and instructors, and institutional sustainability. 

Does National Midwifery Institute accept federal financial aid?

National Midwifery Institute students are ineligible from receiving Title IV funding (Federal Financial Aid) due to NMI's program structure: in order to qualify for Title IV funds, educational institutions must provide on campus programs. As a correspondence program with no campus, NMI does not qualify to receive Title IV funding. However, NMI does offer standard and personalized payment plan options. Financing is also available through our partnership with Meritize. 

Can I use the GI Bill to pay for National Midwifery Institute? 

Unfortunately, you cannot use the GI Bill to pay for your education with NMI. Although the GI Bill is available for correspondence programs that do not lead to a degree, correspondence programs are only approved if offered by an accredited institutions that is degree granting. NMI does not grant degrees. 

As an NMI student, will I be eligible for in-school loan deferment of my existing student loans? 

Generally, no...but it depends on the type of loan. The US Department of education typically allows students to defer their loans when they are enrolled full time at an eligible school. "Eligible school" is defined as a school that has been approved by the US Department of Education to participate in the Department's Federal Student Aid programs, even if the school does not participate in those programs. Due to the type of program we offer, NMI is not eligible to participate in the Department's Federal Student Aid programs and is therefore not considered an eligible school. However, loan programs and products vary: prior to enrolling in NMI, we encourage you to consult with your loan providerif you hope to defer prior student loans . 

How long does it take to complete the program? 

The NMI curriculum takes full time students an average of three years to complete; however, students have up to seven years to complete the program, including any leaves of absence.

Does the program find me a preceptor? 

NMI’s Clinical Director keeps a running list of preceptors who have worked with the program; students may work with existing precepting faculty or with any midwife meeting the necessary criteria. By student request, the Clinical Director speaks to potential preceptors regarding the program’s requirements and expectations. The Clinical Director also sends out email notifications and makes Facebook postings regarding apprenticeship opportunities. However, students are ultimately responsible for finding a preceptor and establishing that relationship. 

Do I have to live in California in order to participate? 

Although NMI was founded as Midwifery Institute of California, it is now a national correspondence program. Students may participate from a large number of U.S. States, please check the current list and contact us if you have any questions.

Can I complete the program from anywhere, since NMI is online?

NMI must be legally authorized to operate or exempt from such authorization with all regulatory  agencies that govern midwifery education programs, post-secondary education, vocational education,  and/or degree-granting institutions in every state or local jurisdiction where our institution has a  presence and in which our students permanently reside. A list of states in which we are currently authorized or exempt from authorization can be found here.

I live in, or would like to move to or precept in, a state in which NMI is not authorized to operate. Can you obtain permission to operate in that state?

This is a complicated answer! In many states, the process to be recognized requires a large application fee (often $2000-$5000 dollars) and yearly renewal fees (as much as $500-$3,000), in addition to paperwork and reporting requirements. In some states, NMI cannot obtain permission to operate because of the structure of our program, or students cannot apprentice there because of the legal status of midwifery. 

We are actively working on reviewing state laws, regulations, and fee structures to expand our permission to operate and ensure that all communities can access midwifery education. As we work on this, we are trying to balance physical access to our program (ability to enroll from a certain state/location) and financial access to our program (keeping our costs reasonable to avoid increases in tuition and fees). 

Alphabet Soup?

If you're new to midwifery, the acronyms can get confusing.  See our glossary of terms.

What does the NMI logo represent?

The National Midwifery Institute logo is a pomegranate. With its tart red juice surrounding hundreds of plump, glistening seeds, the pomegranate has long been used to represent and celebrate fertility.

More Questions?

Contact us. We enjoy helping students find their way.

To learn more, view the NMI Handbook.