Frequently Asked Questions

The Hybrid Direct-Entry Midwifery program is designed to meet the educational needs of aspiring midwives across the United States, with no prior midwifery, nursing, or medical training. The Hybrid program is MEAC accredited and adapted to be hosted primarily online, with clinical preceptorships in your local area. We are currently approved by the Medical Board of California and licensed by the  BPPE in California. We are approved by the Council of Licensed Midwifery and licensed by the Department of Education CIE in Florida.  

Steps to Apply…

1. Schedule an Admissions Call 

2. Submit Completed Application and Fee

(Application fee is $75 and is non-refundable)

3. Admissions Interview for completed applications only

4. Completion of Clinical Externship Attestation

5. Submission of a completed Technical Performance Standards Evaluation and Physical Exam by a Primary Care Provider

6. Selective Admissions Decisions based on all previous steps

8. Decision Letter emailed from Admissions Department and Enrollment

Our 3-Year Direct-Entry Program’s tuition is $350 per credit for our 90 credit program. Additional administrative fees, skills lab fees, and technology fees, books and equipment bring the total to an estimated $40,000. We offer payment plans to help spread the cost of education, as well as scholarship opportunities to our students.

Scholarship opportunities vary based on CCSM donors and funders for the year. If opportunities are available students must  meet all eligibility requirements to apply. Please email admissions@commonsensemidwifery.org to learn more about our scholarship opportunities.

We do not currently accept FAFSA, Title IV or GI Bill funds at this time. To stay up to date on our financial aid options, feel free to inquire to admissions@commonsensemidwifery.org. 

Below is a list of the required prerequisites. While we do not require that our prerequisites be completed at the linked institutes, these are just some suggestions where you can meet our prerequisites:

• Doula Certification – Cornerstone Doula Trainings
• Lactation Educator Training
• College-level Math Course – StraighterLine.com or Sophia Learning
• College-level English Course – StraighterLine.com or Sophia Learning
• College-level Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2 Courses – Straighter Line or Sophia Learning
• College-level Chemistry- Straighter Line or Sophia Learning
• HIV/AIDS 4-hour Course – KIBI
• CPR Certification – American Red Cross
• NRP Certification – Birth Emergency Skills Training

If you have any questions about whether or not your previous experience will meet our prerequisites, feel free to email at admissions@commonsensemidwifery.org!

If you are applying to our school and are interested in determining if some of your previous education could be applied as for credit, all you need to do is complete this Transcript Evaluation Request Form and pay the applicable transcript evaluation fee. You will need to gather a copy of your course catalog(s), as well as have an official transcript.

Please note, transcript evaluations are not required for our college-level prerequisites, just your official transcript(s) submitted with your application.

How Preceptor Placement Works

CCSM’s Clinical Department leads the process of matching students with preceptors. Rather than students identifying and presenting their own preceptors, our Clinical Team recruits, vets, and onboards preceptors directly into the program, including through our Preceptor Pilot Program, which prepares and supports preceptors specifically to precept for CCSM and to teach within the philosophy of the school.

Once enrolled, students meet with a member of the Clinical Team to discuss their specific location and clinical needs. Placement is determined by the Clinical Team based on where a student lives in relation to our onboarded preceptors, and in some cases may require a student to travel in order to access an available clinical site.

If at any time a student’s clinical placement changes, the student is responsible for notifying their assigned Clinical Coordinator before the change takes effect, and for remaining in good clinical standing throughout the transition.

Online classes one day a week, on Friday’s  via Zoom.

Once per semester (Spring, Summer & Fall) mandatory, in-person hands-on skills week event for clinical lab test outs in either California or Florida.

Our program is two-fold: academic and clinical.

The academics will require 10-20 hours per week for course work, home work, and studying. The clinical will require for students to establish a schedule with their preceptor to attend their clinical site weekly to meet their clinical requirements (# of clinical hours and # of prenatal visits, newborn visits, postpartum visits, etc.). Student midwives are also expected to be on-call with their preceptor midwife throughout the duration of the program to meet their required # of births for completion.

Our program uses the following software:

Google Suite: student GMail accounts and Google Drive access

Zoom: to attend live classes and meetings. 

Populi: student online information system for admissions, billing and tuition.

Canvas LMS: attendance tracking, grade reporting, and delivery of academic courses

Typhon: Student tracking for clinical experience