St. Catherine University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:
- BSN-DNP
- Postgraduate Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP | $82.8K | 3 years (9 semesters), or 4 years (12 semesters) on the extended plan | 69 |
| Certificate | $26.4K | 2 years (6 semesters) | 22 |
St. Catherine University’s defining advantage is that the 22-credit FNP certificate is assembled from nine courses lifted intact from the 69-credit doctorate, same course codes, same credit values, same 810 clinical hours. An already-certified APRN gets the identical FNP specialty training and the identical patient contact for about a third of the tuition. Note that the school labels both tracks “Hybrid,” and both carry one to three in-person sessions per semester.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN-DNP (69 credits) and FNP Post-Graduate Certificate (22 credits) |
| Format | Mostly Online. One to three in-person sessions per semester, on campus or at clinical sites. |
| Clinical Hours | 810 FNP clinical hours in both tracks. DNP project practicum hours are additional and unpublished. |
| Clinical Placement | School-arranged. A dedicated placement coordinator secures sites for all nurse practitioner students. |
| Population | Family, across the lifespan |
| Distinctive Coursework | Clinical Reasoning, Diagnostics and Procedures. Four-course primary care sequence split by patient age group. |
| RN License Requirements | Current unencumbered RN license. No minimum RN work experience for doctoral entry. |
| Start Terms | Fall only, both tracks |
| Certificate Eligibility | Requires a graduate nursing degree plus current APRN certification in another population focus |
| Enrollment Restrictions | Applicants in some states outside Minnesota may be ineligible. The states are not named. |
| Tuition | $1,200 per credit, both tracks. Rate held flat from 2025-26 into 2026-27. |
| Accreditation | Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), not CCNE. Approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing. |
BSN to DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the DNP: Family Nurse Practitioner at St. Catherine University is approximately $82,800 (69 credits at $1,200/credit). The program can generally be completed in about three years full-time, with a published four-year plan for students who need a lighter term load.
BSN-DNP Curriculum
Doctoral core comes first. The sequence opens with leadership, biostatistics, interprofessional evidence-based practice, informatics, and outcomes measurement before any specialty content. Healthcare economics and health policy land in the middle years. This is a heavier management and systems load than an MSN-level FNP program carries, and it is the reason the credit count sits at 69 rather than the mid-40s typical of a master’s route.
The primary care spine is split by patient group, not by difficulty. Most FNP programs number their primary care courses I through III by complexity. St. Kate’s divides them by who is in the exam room: uncomplicated acute and chronic conditions across the lifespan, then children, then reproductive health, then adults and elderly. Each specialty course pairs with a matching clinical course, so didactic content and patient contact move together rather than stacking clinicals at the end.
Diagnostics gets its own course. NURS 6260, Clinical Reasoning, Diagnostics, and Procedures, sits alongside advanced health assessment rather than being folded into it. Procedural skill and diagnostic interpretation are frequently the thinnest part of an online FNP curriculum, so a dedicated three-credit course is worth noting.
The DNP project runs as four sequential practica. NURS 8515 through 8518 walk one quality improvement project from planning through implementation, data analysis, and dissemination across four consecutive terms. You cannot compress this. It is the structural reason the doctorate cannot be finished faster than three years.
- NURS 6160 Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan (3)
- NURS 6143 Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan (3)
- NURS 6260 Clinical Reasoning, Diagnostics, and Procedures (3)
- NURS 6540 Primary Care I: Uncomplicated Acute and Chronic Conditions Across the Lifespan (3)
- NURS 6940 Primary Care II: Chronic and Complex Health Conditions in Children (2)
- NURS 7540 Primary Care III: Reproductive Health (2)
- NURS 8040 Primary Care IV: Chronic and Complex Conditions in Adults and Elderly (3)
- NURS 8536 Healthcare Economics and Finance (3)
- NURS 8543 Health Care: Power, Policy and Politics (3)
- NURS 8515-8518 DNP Practicum I through IV (2 each)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- Both published plans of study are term-locked. Specialty courses and their paired clinicals run in a fixed order, which is consistent with the single fall intake and leaves little room to drop a course without pushing graduation out a full year.
- The four-year plan is described as part-time, but it still carries 15 to 20 credits per year across three terms, including a 20-credit final year identical to the three-year plan’s. Treat it as a slower start, not a light program.
- The catalog describes the DNP-NP as a full-time doctoral program while the program page advertises a four-year part-time option. Both plans are published, so the label is the inconsistency, not the coursework.
BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements
- 810 FNP clinical hours, stated by the school and completed in person.
- Hours sit in four courses: NURS 6545 (1 credit), NURS 7045 (3), NURS 7445 (3), NURS 8045 (2), for 9 clinical credits total.
- Derived ratio: 810 divided by 9 clinical credits gives 90 hours per clinical credit, so roughly 90, 270, 270, and 180 hours across the four courses. The school publishes the 810 total but not the per-course split.
- Placement model: a dedicated clinical placement coordinator provides placements for all nurse practitioner students. Students do not cold-call preceptors.
- The university reports partnerships with regional healthcare organizations that feed clinical sites, internships, and hiring.
- Four DNP project practicum courses (NURS 8515-8518, 8 credits) sit outside the 810. Their hour value is not published.
At 810 hours, this program runs 310 hours above the 500-hour national certification floor and above the 600 to 700 range common among FNP programs. That surplus is not free time. In the three-year plan, the two heaviest clinical courses fall in the third-year fall and spring terms at roughly 18 clinical hours per week each, on top of 8 credits of coursework in the same terms. The placement model is the offsetting benefit: school-arranged placement removes the single most common reason online FNP students stall, and it is worth real money in states where students otherwise pay agencies to find preceptors.
You Should Know
- The four DNP practicum courses carry unpublished hours. Applying the school’s own 90-hours-per-credit ratio to those 8 credits gives roughly 720 additional hours, for a derived program total near 1,530. This is a derived figure using an internal ratio, not a published one, and doctoral project practica frequently carry a lower hour value than direct-care clinicals. Ask the program for the actual number.
- The school’s language is that the coordinator “provides clinical placements,” which is stronger than placement assistance but is not published as a written guarantee. There is no published policy on what happens if a site withdraws mid-term.
- Campus obligation is described three different ways across university pages: one to two on-campus intensives per semester on the program page, one to three per semester in the graduate catalog, and one to three sessions “on campus or at clinical sites” on the nursing landing page. Budget for the upper figure and confirm locations before committing to travel.
BSN-DNP Admissions
The notable feature here is what is absent: the nurse practitioner DNP options set no minimum RN work experience, which is unusual for a doctoral-entry FNP program and stands in contrast to the two years St. Kate’s requires for its post-master’s DNP.
- Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- The nursing degree must come from a program accredited by ACEN or CCNE.
- Undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- No grade below B- in any nursing course.
- Current unencumbered nursing license.
- Fall start only.
- No application fee and no GRE.
- Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with a June 1 priority deadline for fall entry; later applications are considered on a space-available basis.
You Should Know
- Students are expected to finish within seven years of initial enrollment. That ceiling is generous against a three-year plan but worth knowing if you anticipate a leave.
- Both FNP pages state that restrictions may apply to applicants living outside Minnesota and direct you to contact the school for eligibility. The restricted states are not named anywhere public, so out-of-state applicants should resolve this before paying for transcripts.
- Separately from admission eligibility, the university’s professional licensure disclosure reports that its APRN curricula meet the educational requirements for all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, and that requirements are undetermined for Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia. That disclosure carries an accuracy date of June 26, 2024.
- The detailed application checklist published in university materials, including the essay, resume, video statement, and recommendation, belongs to the post-master’s DNP rather than the nurse practitioner DNP. Confirm the FNP-specific checklist with an admission counselor rather than assuming it matches.
- A virtual interview may be requested by the admission committee for doctoral applicants.
Family Nurse Practitioner Post-Graduate Certificate
The estimated tuition for the Family Nurse Practitioner Post-Graduate Certificate at St. Catherine University is approximately $26,400 (22 credits at $1,200/credit).
The program can generally be completed in about two years across six semesters, with part-time and full-time plans of study available.
Certificate Curriculum
It is the doctorate’s specialty spine, unmodified. All nine certificate courses appear in the 69-credit DNP course list at identical credit values. Nothing has been condensed, substituted, or reduced for the certificate audience. What has been removed is everything that is not FNP-specific: the three Ps, informatics, biostatistics, leadership, economics, policy, and the DNP project.
That subtraction is the point. A nurse practitioner already certified in another population focus completed advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and assessment during the first credential. Paying for them again adds nothing. The 47-credit gap between the certificate and the doctorate is almost entirely coursework that a practicing APRN has already covered or does not need for a second population focus.
- NURS 6360 Health Promotion and Population Health in Primary Care: Family (3)
- NURS 6540 Primary Care I: Uncomplicated Acute and Chronic Conditions Across the Lifespan (3)
- NURS 6940 Primary Care II: Chronic and Complex Health Conditions in Children (2)
- NURS 7540 Primary Care III: Reproductive Health (2)
- NURS 8040 Primary Care IV: Chronic and Complex Conditions in Adults and Elderly (3)
- NURS 6545 Primary Care Clinical I: Family (1)
- NURS 7045 Primary Care Clinical II: Family (3)
- NURS 7445 Primary Care Clinical III: Family (3)
- NURS 8045 Primary Care Clinical IV: Family (2)
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- The certificate carries the same four clinical courses as the doctorate: NURS 6545, 7045, 7445, and 8045, totaling 9 clinical credits.
- Derived clinical hours: 810, the same figure the school publishes for the DNP, since the clinical course set and credit values are identical. The school does not state an hour total on the certificate page.
- The published plan places the clinical sequence in the first summer and then across the entire second year.
- The same clinical placement coordinator arranges sites for all nurse practitioner students, certificate students included.
This is the number certificate shoppers most often get wrong. Trimming 47 credits of coursework removes no clinical time at all: the certificate requires the same 810 supervised hours as the doctorate, in the same courses, on the same schedule. In practical terms a certificate student works a full second year at roughly 18 clinical hours per week in fall and spring while carrying only three to six didactic credits. The savings are entirely tuition and classroom time, not patient contact, and anyone still working full time should plan around the clinical load rather than the credit count.
Certificate Admissions
The eligibility gate here is narrower than most post-graduate FNP certificates and is the first thing to check.
- A completed graduate degree in nursing, MSN or DNP.
- Current certification in an existing APRN population focus.
- Fall start only.
- No application fee and no GRE.
- Part-time and full-time plans of study are published.
You Should Know
- An MSN alone does not qualify. The program is built for nurse practitioners adding a second population focus, so graduates of nurse educator, informatics, or nursing business master’s programs are not the intended audience. Many post-graduate FNP certificates elsewhere accept any MSN plus an RN license.
- Certificate-specific GPA thresholds, transcript rules, and license requirements are not published separately from the DNP admission criteria. Confirm them directly.
- Duration is stated inconsistently. The certificate page publishes six semesters and “as little as two years,” while the university’s nursing overview says a second certificate may be completed in one year. The published plan of study supports six semesters.
- State boards set their own rules for recognizing a second APRN population focus, and a few require additional documentation or hours beyond the national certification. Check with the board in the state where you intend to practice before enrolling.
- The out-of-state enrollment restriction noted for the doctorate applies to the certificate as well.
Tuition
St. Catherine University publishes a single rate of $1,200 per credit covering all Doctor of Nursing Practice nurse practitioner tracks, which includes both the FNP doctorate and the FNP post-graduate certificate. This is a published rate rather than a derived one, and it held flat from the 2025-26 schedule into the 2026-27 schedule effective with the summer 2026 term.
| Component | BSN-DNP | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | 69 credits x $1,200 = $82,800 | 22 credits x $1,200 = $26,400 |
| Mandatory fees (derived) | $330 per term x 9 terms = $2,970 | $330 per term x 6 terms = $1,980 |
| Estimated all-in | $85,770 | $28,380 |
Confirmed costs:
- $1,200 per credit for both FNP tracks, published on the student accounts rate schedule and on both program pages.
- $82,800 in DNP tuition and $26,400 in certificate tuition, derived by multiplying published credits by the published rate.
- A $30 mandatory student activity fee and a $300 mandatory technology fee per semester, published in the Graduate College cost of attendance.
- No application fee and no GRE requirement for either track.
- A 10 percent partner scholarship for students employed by a St. Kate’s corporate or community partner, which would bring tuition to $74,520 for the doctorate and $23,760 for the certificate.
Be aware that:
- The fee totals above are derived. The university publishes the $330 per-semester figure but does not publish a program fee total for either track.
- Whether fees are charged in summer terms is unclear. The graduate catalog describes the academic year as two semesters, while both plans of study register summer coursework. If summer carries no fee, the doctorate falls to about $84,780 and the certificate to about $27,720.
- The four-year doctoral plan adds three more billable terms, raising derived fees to $3,960 and the all-in estimate to about $86,760 for identical coursework.
- Rates are subject to change each June 1. The flat rate between 2025-26 and 2026-27 is a data point, not a locked price, and no cohort rate lock is published.
- The 10 percent partner scholarship depends on your employer holding a partnership agreement. There is no public list of partner organizations.
- Travel and lodging for one to three in-person sessions per semester appear in no published figure. Over nine terms that is a meaningful separate budget line for anyone outside the Twin Cities.
- Books, clinical compliance costs, background checks, and certification exam fees are not itemized for either track.
The honest read is that the doctorate is a private-university sticker price with no in-state discount available, while the certificate is priced like a short specialty add-on. The gap between them, roughly $56,400 in tuition, buys the doctoral credential and the systems coursework behind it. It buys no additional clinical training. That distinction should drive the decision more than the totals do.
Why Choose This FNP Program?
Best suited for two specific people: an already-certified nurse practitioner who wants FNP scope without funding a second degree, and a BSN nurse who wants to enter a doctorate immediately without first accumulating years at the bedside.
The certificate delivers full specialty training at a fraction of the price. Because all nine certificate courses are pulled directly from the doctoral curriculum at the same credit values, a certificate student sits in the same primary care sequence and completes the same 810 clinical hours as a DNP student. At $26,400 in tuition, this is one of the cleaner second-population-focus routes available to a practicing APRN, and the shared course architecture means the training is not a reduced version of the doctorate.
Doctoral entry has no experience gate. Many BSN-to-DNP FNP programs require one to two years of RN practice before admission. St. Kate’s sets no minimum for its nurse practitioner options, asking only for a 3.0 GPA, no nursing grade below B-, and an unencumbered license. Paired with school-arranged clinical placement, this makes the program genuinely accessible to a new-ish BSN graduate who is confident about the FNP path and does not want to wait.
The trade-offs are real and worth weighing. The pace is demanding: the three-year plan runs 24 to 25 credits per year across three terms, and the fourth-year workload on the extended plan is identical to the third-year workload on the standard one. The single fall intake means a missed deadline costs a full year. In-person sessions occur one to three times per semester with location described inconsistently across university pages, so this is not a zero-travel program. The accreditor is ACEN rather than CCNE, which satisfies certification bodies but occasionally requires explanation on employer or board paperwork. And the unnamed out-of-state enrollment restrictions mean applicants outside Minnesota cannot confirm eligibility without calling.
Accreditation
All nursing programs at St. Catherine University, at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels, are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), based in Atlanta. The scope covers the DNP nurse practitioner options, and ACEN’s own program directory carries a post-master’s certificate record for the university, which places the FNP certificate inside the accredited scope as well.
ACEN rather than CCNE is worth naming plainly. Both are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and both satisfy the accreditation requirement set by the national certification bodies. CCNE is simply the more common accreditor among graduate nurse practitioner programs, so an occasional employer form or licensure application that names CCNE specifically may require a short explanation. It does not affect eligibility.
The university is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Institutional accreditation is what governs federal financial aid eligibility, the transferability of credits, and whether another university will accept the degree as a prerequisite for further study. St. Kate’s nurse practitioner programs are also approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.
Graduates of both the DNP and the post-graduate certificate are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam through either AANP or ANCC.
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