This eight-week online course covers palliative care models, whole-person assessment, self-awareness for the palliative care community specialist, the impact of illness and suffering on the individual, communication skill development, goals of care, and ethics. This course includes online coursework completed before and after a virtual three-day intensive that takes place over a long weekend in September of each year. Students meet with faculty, complete communications training and participate in group work that complements online content.

Part A covers assessment and management of chronic illnesses (cardiopulmonary, end stage liver and renal diseases) with emphasis on early PC combined with disease-focused therapy, while Part B covers the assessment and management of cancer and HIV with emphasis on early palliative care and disease-focused therapy. In both parts, attention is given to prognostication and transition into palliative/hospice care or discontinuing treatments with bioethical review and IDT support. Students also engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.

This course focuses on methadone, opioid infusions, interventional pain management, and other complex modalities. This course also focuses on ethics (e.g., Medical Aid in Dying) and psychosocial issues, including pain in the face of addiction and public policy around opioids and REMS. Students engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.

Tuition and fees are based largely on the degree program you enroll in. We know that affordability is an important factor, and that’s why we’re here to help you explore all of the options available to fund your education.  

Financial aid and scholarships may be available for those who qualify.

The Master of Science in Palliative Care and Interprofessional Palliative Care Graduate Certificate programs participate in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), which is a tuition-reciprocity arrangement with 15 participating states and one commonwealth. The WRGP program allows students who are residents of these participating states to pay in-state tuition for the duration of their degree or certificate program. In addition to Colorado, the participating states include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

WRGP tuition-reciprocity is available to all incoming students who qualify. Those wishing to apply for WRGP status must complete the WRGP application and submit it to the Program Administrator upon admission to the program.

Questions about the WRGP program and application process can be directed to the program administrator at palliativecareamc@cuanschutz.edu.

An individual must have been domiciled in Colorado for one calendar year before he or she is entitled to in-state tuition. A domicile is a person's true, fixed, and permanent home. Having a domicile in Colorado involves more than mere physical presence or "residence" in the state. In order to establish a domicile for tuition purposes, there must be 1) physical presence for at least 12 months within the state along with 2) demonstrated intent to make Colorado one’s permanent home. Intent is demonstrated by several kinds of connections with the state dated one year prior to the beginning of classes. Please contact the program administrator for more details.

No, the MSPC program is offered 100% online, which means you will never be required to attend classes in person. With both asynchronous and synchronous learning elements, our innovative online learning technologies give you access to the best education CU Anschutz has to offer. You’ll be able to share ideas with your classmates, collaborate on projects, and connect directly with faculty through our easy-to-use remote learning platform.

The first year (MSPC Year 1) includes a three-day virtual synchronous intensive in late September. The second year (MSPC Year 2) has an additional three-day virtual synchronous intensive in early August the summer between first and second year.

The MSPC program at CU Anschutz was the first master’s degree in palliative care offered in the United States. Our faculty are experts in their fields with real-world experience in palliative care, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, social workers, psychologists, spiritual care providers, and pharmacists.

Our program is truly interdisciplinary, meaning you’ll learn alongside students in other professions with their own unique perspectives on palliative care. Learning online also gives you the flexibility to balance other commitments with your studies and immediately begin integrating what you learn into your current workplace.

Palliative care is available for patients at any stage of a chronic, serious, or life-threatening illness, whereas hospice is offered to patients in the final months of life. Palliative care providers find themselves treating patients across their lifespan. Our palliative care programs will teach you to manage long-term symptoms and pain by integrating both clinical and a psycho-social-spiritual approaches and perspectives.

This program leads to a master's degree, which can help prepare you to take a certification exam. Nurses, social workers, spiritual care providers can take a certification exam through their respective organizations:

• CHPN/ACHPN through HPNA
• APHSW-C through SWHPN
• BCC-PCHAC through BCCI

This program is excellent preparation but not required. Physicians may use the MSPC with the Community-Based Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship program to become board eligible. The fellowship must be applied to separately from the MSPC.

The CHPM is an ACGME-certified palliative care fellowship in which physicians may become board-eligible in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Only physicians enrolled or accepted as students in the MSPC can apply for this program. If physicians are interested, they should apply to the MSPC and will be invited to apply for the CHPM Fellowship. Typically, students must complete the first year of the program in order to begin the CHPM fellowship.

The CHPM Fellowship allows for mid-career physicians interested in palliative care to pursue a fellowship without leaving their community. The program is 36 credit hours over 2+ years and includes a clinical component within a palliative care/hospice setting. Students are expected to work with their home institution and the CHPM leadership to secure a learning agreement (PLA) prior to beginning the fellowship.

All MSPC courses are online; most are asynchronous, and students are able to complete their assignments over the course of one week per module. Some assignments are synchronous Zoom video conferences at designated dates/times. The program also includes two three-day weekend intensives completed in virtual synchronous Zoom sessions.

Typically, information sessions for each professional group are offered once a month in the fall and spring. It is free to register for an information session and can give you an opportunity to learn about faculty, ask questions, and investigate whether the program is right for you. If you attend an information session, your application fee will be waived.