Admissions
Whether you’re here to become a board certified Nurse Coach or to add a new specialty to the way you already practice, this page walks you through it: who can enroll, what it costs, how nurses pay for it, and what happens once you’re in. INCA runs two very different kinds of program, and almost everything about enrolling differs between them, so start with the comparison below. Or let’s figure it out together on a call.
The INCCP. Cohort based, RNs and APRNs, roughly 7 months. How to apply
Self paced, start any day, and open to LPNs, LVNs and CNAs as well as RNs. How to enroll
Every Admissions Specialist is an INCA graduate and board certified. Book a free call
- Accredited provider of nursing continuing professional development by the ANCC
- 100% online, with contact hours accepted in all 50 states
- INCCP graduates in all 50 states and on six continents since 2010
Two kinds of programs, two different admissions processes
Most of what nurses ask Admissions comes down to a fact in this table. Almost none of it is the same across both columns, which is why the rest of this page is split in two.
Integrative Nurse Coach® Certificate Program (INCCP)
Specialty & Continuing Education Programs
Who can enroll
RNs and Advanced Practice Nurses holding an active license
RNs, APRNs, LPNs, LVNs and CNAs. Every Specialty Program is open to every one of these licenses
Format
Cohort based. Live faculty mentor meetings in small groups, plus a supervised practicum with pro bono clients
Self paced and on demand. No cohort, no scheduled meetings
Length
About 7 months, 250+ contact hours
Varies by program, with one year of access from purchase
Tuition
$4,300 to $5,500, depending on which of the three Pathways you choose
Varies by program. Current pricing is shown on each program page, and promotional pricing runs from time to time
Monthly payment plans
Klarna, Affirm, PayPal Credit and INCA’s Monthly Auto-Debit Plan
Klarna, Affirm and PayPal Credit. The Auto-Debit Plan applies only to programs over $500
Full scholarships
Yes. One full scholarship per cohort, four a year
Not available
Military & veteran discount
10%
10%
Refund window
Within 48 hours of registering, if you registered 30 or more days before the start date and have not accessed materials
Within one business day, if you have not accessed materials
Deferrals
One deferral to a later cohort. Free in week one, $400 after that up to the halfway mark
Not available
Access afterwards
Lifetime alumni access to materials and the Alumni Community Hub
One year from the date of purchase, with no extensions
What it leads to
NC-BC and HN-BC board certification eligibility, plus ANCC contact hours
ANCC contact hours and a specialty certificate. Not a board certification pathway on its own
Integrative Nurse Coach® Certificate Program (INCCP)
Cohort based · RNs and APRNs · $4,300 to $5,500
This is the program with a real admissions process. Registration is open continuously and cohorts fill on a first come basis. Nothing here needs to happen in one sitting, but the order matters, because scholarships and discounts have to be applied before you pay.
Confirm you can enroll
The INCCP is built for Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses holding an active license. You do not need coaching experience, a background in integrative health, or a private practice. Most students arrive straight from bedside, community or leadership roles, and internationally licensed nurses are welcome.
You do not need an entrance exam, an essay, or letters of reference either. If you are an LPN, LVN or CNA, the INCCP is not open to you, because the board certifications it leads to are restricted to RNs and APRNs. Every one of our Specialty Programs is open to you.
Choose your Pathway
All three Pathways include the same board certification core: Integrative Nurse Coach® Foundations, the Integrative Nurse Coach® Practicum, and both board certification review courses. What changes is how far past certification you want to go. You choose this once, at registration.
Pathway
Tuition
What it adds
CertificationMost affordable
$4,300
Levels 1 to 3 in full: Foundations (90 contact hours), Practicum (156 contact hours), and both the Nurse Coach and Holistic Nurse Board Certification Review Courses. NC-BC and HN-BC (HWNC-BC) eligibility. Lifetime alumni access.
ImplementationMost popular
$4,900
Everything above, plus your choice of one implementation course: Launching Your Nurse Coaching Business & Private Practice, or Implementing Nurse Coaching in Organizations & Communities. Adds alumni discounts on Specialty Programs.
Expansion
$5,500
Both implementation courses, the Integrative Nurse Coaching Interventions™ bonus course (a $1,200 value), priority access to new Specialty Programs, and a 1:1 Career Pathway Meeting with faculty.
Choose your cohort
New cohorts begin three to four times a year. Foundations and the Practicum run consecutively across roughly seven months, and Levels 3 and 4 are self paced afterwards. Published start dates live on the Course Calendar, which is always the authoritative list.
If none of the published dates work, an Admissions Specialist can tell you what is coming before it is posted.
Arrange payment, then register
Do it in that order. Scholarships, the military discount and employer reimbursement all have to be arranged before you check out, because they cannot be applied retroactively to a completed registration. Monthly payment plans are different: you choose one at checkout.
When you are ready, the Register button on the program page is where you select your Pathway and your cohort and complete enrollment. You will receive a confirmation by email, followed by your Canvas login and orientation materials ahead of the start date.
Specialty & Continuing Education Programs
Self paced · Open to every nursing license · Start any day
There’s no cohort to wait for and no admissions process to speak of. Choose a program, choose how you’d like to pay, and you can start tomorrow. Every Specialty Program is open to RNs, APRNs, LPNs, LVNs and CNAs.
Choose your program
Seven programs, listed below. Each one carries ANCC contact hours and its own certificate, and all of them are open to every nursing license we serve.
Choose how to pay
Klarna, Affirm and PayPal Credit are available on every program. The Monthly Auto-Debit Plan applies above $500. If you are using the military discount, apply it before you check out.
Enroll and start
Access opens immediately and runs for one year from the date of purchase. There is nothing to schedule and no start date to wait for.
The programs
CannyNurse® Certificate Program
Cannabis Nursing.
Functional Nursing + Lifestyle Nursing Dual Certificate Pathway
Both frameworks in a single pathway.
Four ways nurses bring the cost down
Three of these apply to everything INCA offers. Full Scholarships are the exception, and they are INCCP only. Each card says which. The Payment Plans page carries the full tuition reference and worked monthly examples.
Both programs
Monthly Payment Plans
Klarna, Affirm and PayPal Credit on everything. INCA’s own Monthly Auto-Debit Plan through Partial.ly runs no credit check but applies only to programs over $500, which rules it out on the lower priced Specialty Programs.
Both programs
Military & Veteran Discount
Active duty service members, veterans and military spouses receive 10% off every INCA program. Apply before you check out, since it cannot be added afterwards.
INCCP only
Full Scholarships
One full INCCP scholarship is awarded per cohort, four a year, each on a different theme and worth $5,400 or more. Recipients can use theirs for any cohort starting within a year of the award. Specialty Programs are not covered.
Both programs
Employer Reimbursement
More than 30% of INCCP students receive employer support, and INCA contact hours qualify for CE reimbursement at most employers whichever program you take. The downloadable packet, with a request letter template, peer reviewed research and the program brochure, is written for the INCCP.
You will be talking to a Nurse Coach, not a call center
Every INCA Admissions Specialist completed the INCCP themselves and holds board certification as a Nurse Coach. They have sat where you are sitting, comparing programs, working out the money, and wondering whether the hours are realistic alongside a full time schedule.
Within 48 business hours
Course support and billing questions go through a Canvas ticket, which reaches the right team faster than Admissions.
The accreditation behind the contact hours
Two of these cover INCA as a provider, so they apply to every program on this page. The other three are specific to the INCCP. Each one says which. If your employer or your board is asking who accredits us, this is the answer.
American Nurses Credentialing Center
INCA is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the ANCC Commission on Accreditation. Every program on this page carries ANCC contact hours under that accreditation.
California Board of Registered Nursing
INCA is a California BRN approved provider, number CEP 17700, which again covers every program on this page.
American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation
Completing the INCCP meets AHNCC contact hour and coaching hour requirements for NC-BC and HN-BC eligibility.
American Holistic Nurses Association
The INCCP is an AHNA endorsed program.
Graduate credit recognition
Formal agreements with Notre Dame of Maryland University, Saybrook University and the California Institute of Integral Studies let INCCP graduates carry their training into master’s and doctoral study.
The policies worth reading first
Registering is an agreement to INCA course policies, and the two program types are governed differently. These summaries are plain language. The full terms govern.
INCCP
Refunds close after 48 hours
Available only within 48 hours of registering, and only if you registered 30 or more days before the start date and have not accessed materials. Approved refunds carry a 6% processing fee.
You can defer once
One deferral to a later cohort. Free during the first week, then $400 up to the halfway mark of the program. Past the halfway mark you re-enroll instead, with a one time 25% discount.
A payment plan does not pause
If you defer or re-enroll, your plan keeps running on its original schedule. Payments have to stay current, and your certificate is issued once tuition is paid in full.
Alumni access is for life
Materials and the Alumni Community Hub stay available after you finish, on every Pathway.
Specialty Programs
Refunds close after one business day
Available within one business day of purchase, and only if you have not accessed materials. Anything under $100 is non refundable. Approved refunds carry a 6% processing fee.
No deferrals
Because there is no cohort to defer to. If your circumstances change, your one year of access still runs from the date of purchase.
Access runs one year, with no extensions
If access expires before you finish, re-enrollment is at current tuition rather than what you originally paid.
Applying to both: professional conduct is required, and program materials are licensed for your personal use only.
What people ask us before they enroll
Each answer is tagged with the program it applies to.
Which program should I take?
Both programs
If you want to practice as a board certified Nurse Coach, the INCCP is the pathway, and nothing else at INCA substitutes for it. If you want to add a specialty to how you already practice, or you need ANCC contact hours, a Specialty Program does that in less time and for less money. Plenty of graduates do both, in that order.
Is there an application deadline?
Both programs
No. Registration for a cohort stays open until it starts or fills, whichever comes first. Cohorts do fill, so registering early is the safer move, particularly if you are arranging employer reimbursement, which takes time on your employer’s side. Specialty Programs have no deadlines at all.
How much time per week does the INCCP take?
INCCP
The program is designed around working nurses. Integrative Nurse Coach® Foundations runs 14 weeks and 90 contact hours. The Integrative Nurse Coach® Practicum runs 16 weeks and 156 contact hours and includes coaching sessions with pro bono clients. Live faculty mentor meetings happen every other week in small groups. Everything else is asynchronous and schedulable around shifts.
What board certifications does this make me eligible for?
INCCP
Completing Foundations and the Practicum satisfies the contact hour and coaching hour requirements to sit for two national board certifications through AHNCC: Nurse Coach Board Certified (NC-BC) and Holistic Nurse Board Certified (HN-BC). Pass both and your credentials merge into Health & Wellness Nurse Coach Board Certified (HWNC-BC). Specialty Programs do not carry board certification eligibility. Full eligibility requirements.
Can an LPN, LVN or CNA enroll?
Both programs
Not the INCCP, which requires an RN or APRN license because the board certifications it leads to are restricted to those licenses. Every Specialty Program is open to you, though: seven of them, each carrying ANCC contact hours and its own certificate. More on LPN and LVN eligibility.
Can I take just the Practicum for supervision hours?
INCCP
This one comes up a lot, usually from nurses who trained as a coach somewhere else and now need supervised hours to sit for board certification. The answer is no, and here is why. The Integrative Nurse Coach® Practicum isn’t a standalone block of supervision. It’s the applied half of one integrated model, and it builds directly on Foundations, where you learn the Integrative Nurse Coaching framework, the assessment tools and the coaching competencies you then practice with real clients. Supervising you in a method you haven’t been taught wouldn’t serve you or the people you coach. That’s why the INCCP is sold as a complete Pathway, and why Foundations is no longer sold separately either.
Will my employer pay for this?
Both programs
Often, yes. More than 30% of our students receive employer support, and INCA contact hours qualify for continuing nursing education in all 50 states, which is true of the Specialty Programs as well. The downloadable packet, with a request letter template and supporting peer reviewed research, is written for the INCCP. Download the employer packet.
What happens if the dates stop working for me?
INCCP
You get one deferral to a later cohort. It is free during the first week and $400 after that, up to the halfway mark. Your payment plan continues on its original schedule either way. Specialty Programs cannot be deferred, but they are self paced, so there is nothing to miss.
Is INCA open to nurses outside the United States?
Both programs
Yes. INCA has graduates on six continents and every program is fully online. Board certification through AHNCC has its own eligibility rules for internationally licensed nurses, so if certification is your goal, talk to Admissions before registering.
How is this different from a health coach or life coach certification?
Both programs
Nurse Coaching is a nursing specialty, practiced within your nursing license and scope, and INCA programs are accredited nursing continuing professional development rather than general coach training. What is a Nurse Coach? and how to choose a Nurse Coach certification program both cover the distinction properly.
Can I talk to a graduate before I decide?
Both programs
Yes. The simplest way is to book an Admissions Call, because every Admissions Specialist is an INCA graduate and a board certified Nurse Coach, so the person walking you through your options has been through it too. Beyond that, hundreds of written and video reviews sit on the testimonials page, and the Integrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! podcast is alumni talking about the work in their own words.
More answers in the full FAQ knowledge base.
Ask us anything
If a call feels like more than the question deserves, send it here instead. A board certified Nurse Coach on the Admissions Team will answer within 48 business hours.
Already enrolled? Course access and billing questions are handled through a Canvas support ticket, which reaches the right team faster than this form.
Ready when you are
Register for the program that fits, or spend twenty minutes with a Nurse Coach who has been through it.