The College of St. Scholastica FNP Programs

Department of Nursing • Duluth, MN • Mostly Online • $991/credit

The College of St. Scholastica offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • BS-DNP
  • Postgraduate Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
BS-DNP$78.5K3 years (9 semesters) full-time;
4 years part-time		78
Certificate$24.2K–$43.3KAbout 2 years (4–5 semesters)24–43

The College of St. Scholastica’s defining advantage is a curriculum aimed at settings where the FNP is often the only provider on site: a required rural and emergency practicum, a required psychiatric primary care course, and 1,080 direct patient care hours. Coursework is delivered mostly online, with 1 to 3 campus days per semester in Duluth or St. Cloud.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesBS-DNP with an FNP concentration, and a Post-Graduate APRN Certificate in FNP.
FormatMostly Online. Theory online with some live sessions; 1–3 campus days per semester for lab and simulation.
Clinical Hours1,080 direct patient care hours in both tracks. The BS-DNP adds 500 DNP project hours.
Clinical PlacementSchool arranges sites near the student’s home when possible, with St. Scholastica faculty oversight.
PopulationFamilies across the lifespan, with required rural, emergency, and psychiatric primary care content.
Distinctive CourseworkRural/Emergent Practicum; PMH for Primary Care; four population-specific Health Care Management courses.
ConcentrationsFNP, AGACNP, or PMHNP within the same BS-DNP. Applicants may name only one.
Campus LocationsFNP is offered at both Duluth and St. Cloud. PMHNP is Duluth only.
Start TermsOne intake per year. Both FNP tracks admit a May cohort through NursingCAS.
RN License RequirementsUnencumbered RN license in the state where clinicals will occur.
Employment GuidanceStudents are advised not to work more than 24 hours per week (0.6 FTE).
Tuition$991 per credit for both tracks, plus a $16 per credit technology fee.
AccreditationCCNE-accredited DNP and post-graduate APRN certificate; approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

Bachelor’s to Doctor of Nursing Practice, Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

The estimated tuition for the Bachelor’s to Doctor of Nursing Practice FNP concentration at The College of St. Scholastica is approximately $78,546, derived from 78 credits at $991 per credit plus the $16 per credit technology fee. The program can generally be completed in about 3 years (9 semesters) full-time, or 4 years part-time.

BS-DNP Curriculum

How the 78 credits split. Thirty-one credits are DNP core courses shared with the AGACNP and PMHNP concentrations. The remaining 47 credits are FNP-specific. The first two years front-load the doctoral coursework: informatics, evidence-based practice, epidemiology, quality improvement, biostatistics, health policy, and a three-course Clinical Project sequence. FNP clinical coursework concentrates in years two and three. That sequencing matters if you are weighing programs, because it means the specialty training you enrolled for does not begin in earnest until year two.

The population-by-population spine. Rather than teaching primary care as one broad course, St. Scholastica splits it into four Health Care Management courses taken in sequence: Adult, then Pediatric and Adolescent, then Older Adult and Chronic, then Women’s Reproductive Health. Each pairs with a practicum in roughly the same term, so the classroom population and the clinical population line up. Layered on top are two courses most FNP programs do not require: a Rural/Emergent Practicum and PMH for Primary Care, which covers psychiatric presentations in a primary care setting.

Course sequence highlights:

  • NSG 8110 Introduction to the DNP Role and Scholarly Writing (3 credits, 50 DNP hours)
  • NSG 8152 and 8154 Pathophysiology for Advanced Clinical Practice I and II (2 credits each)
  • NSG 8217 and 8219 Lifespan Health Assessment I and II (2 credits each)
  • NSG 8661, 8664, 8666, 8220 Health Care Management I–IV: Adult, Pediatric/Adolescent, Older Adult/Chronic, Women’s Reproductive Health
  • NSG 8201, 8206, 8207 Clinical Project I–III (3 credits each, 150 DNP hours each)
  • NSG 8669 Advanced Practicum IV: Rural/Emergent Practicum (3 credits)
  • NSG 8679 PMH for Primary Care (3 credits)
  • NSG 8668 Advanced Practice Nursing Roles: Interdisciplinary Practice Seminar (2 credits)

More curriculum details are available here.

BS-DNP Clinical Requirements

  • 1,080 direct patient care hours across five practicum courses: 240 + 180 + 180 + 240 + 240.
  • 500 additional DNP project hours attached to NSG 8110 and the three Clinical Project courses.
  • Combined practice hours across the degree: approximately 1,580.
  • Practicums run in five consecutive semesters, from year two fall through year three spring.
  • Preceptors are nurse practitioners, primary care physicians, or specialty physicians.
  • Clinical experiences are arranged near the student’s home whenever possible, with St. Scholastica faculty oversight.
  • Practicum courses carry 1 to 3 on-campus days per semester for skills training and simulation.

The clinical volume here is well above what most FNP programs require. The national certification floor is 500 hours and 600 to 700 is the common range, so 1,080 hours is more than double the minimum. In practical terms the heaviest terms run about 16 hours of clinical work per week across a 15-week semester, and the lighter ones about 12. That load is the reason the college advises students to hold employment to 24 hours per week or less. The trade-off is real: more supervised patient contact before graduation, at the cost of three years in which your paid schedule has to bend around clinical placement.

You Should Know
  • The college publishes two different clinical hour totals for this concentration. The graduate catalog states 1,020 hours; the published FNP program schema states 1,080. The course-level hours add to 1,080, so that is the figure used here. Confirm with the department before relying on either number for a state board requirement.
  • The 500 DNP project hours are not direct patient care and do not count toward certification eligibility.
  • Placement is described as arranged “whenever possible,” which is support language rather than a guarantee. No formal placement guarantee is published.
  • Campus days occur at the campus you enrolled in, Duluth or St. Cloud. Neither is in the Twin Cities.

BS-DNP Admissions

Two features of this application are unusual enough to plan around: there is a single annual intake, and naming more than one specialty track disqualifies the application outright.

  • Applications are submitted through NursingCAS, opening in mid-August for the following May cohort.
  • Annual cycle: priority deadline December 1, final deadline March 15.
  • Applicants may select only one track. Naming two, such as FNP and PMHNP, removes the application from consideration.
  • Applicants may apply to more than one campus location.
  • A four-year nursing degree conferred before the program start.
  • Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
  • Current, unencumbered RN licensure in the state where clinicals will occur.
  • New baccalaureate graduates may be admitted conditionally, pending licensure by the end of the summer semester.
  • Official transcripts and a resume through NursingCAS. No high school transcripts, and nothing sent directly to the college.
You Should Know
  • Entry requirements are stated two ways. The program’s fast facts describe the BS-DNP as open to holders of a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, or bachelor’s in nursing, while the eligibility list requires a four-year nursing degree. If your bachelor’s is not in nursing, confirm eligibility before applying.
  • No FNP-specific RN experience minimum is published. The AGACNP track prefers a year of acute care experience and PMHNP requires prior psychiatric nursing experience, but neither gate is stated for FNP.
  • The license requirement is tied to the state where you will complete clinicals, not simply any state. Relocating mid-program can affect placement eligibility.
  • St. Scholastica participates in NC-SARA. State-by-state licensure requirements are published in a separate college knowledge base rather than on the program page, so check your own state before enrolling.
  • Graduate assistantships are available, roughly 25 or more positions a year across Duluth, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities, mostly in clinical and simulation lab settings. They are competitively awarded and can be taken as a tuition reduction.

Post-Graduate APRN Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate APRN Certificate in FNP at The College of St. Scholastica ranges from approximately $24,168 to $43,301, derived from 24 to 43 credits at $991 per credit plus the technology fee. The program can generally be completed in about 2 years (4 to 5 semesters), depending on how much prior APRN coursework transfers in.

Certificate Curriculum

Why the credit count moves so much. The certificate is published at 43 credits, but the sequenced plan of study is only 24 credits across five terms. The other 19 credits sit in a gap analysis block: pathophysiology, health assessment, pharmacology, Health Care Management I, and Advanced Practicum I. Applicants who already hold NP, CNS, CRNA, or nurse-midwife certification have typically completed some or all of that block, and the department credits it after reviewing your transcript. How much transfers determines both your cost and your timeline, which is why a certificate quote from this program is meaningless until the gap analysis is done.

What the certificate keeps. The sequenced courses are the same FNP specialty courses the doctorate uses, at the same codes and credit values, including the Rural/Emergent Practicum and PMH for Primary Care. What the certificate drops relative to the doctoral concentration is Introduction to Clinical Practice and the Interdisciplinary Practice Seminar, a difference of four credits, along with all 31 credits of DNP core coursework.

Sequenced coursework:

  • NSG 8664 Health Care Management II: Pediatric and Adolescent (3 credits)
  • NSG 8665 Advanced Practicum II (3 credits, 180 hours)
  • NSG 8666 Health Care Management III: Older Adult/Chronic (2 credits)
  • NSG 8220 Health Care Management IV: Women’s Reproductive Health (2 credits)
  • NSG 8669 Advanced Practicum IV: Rural/Emergent Practicum (3 credits, 180 hours)
  • NSG 8679 PMH for Primary Care (3 credits)
  • NSG 8667 Advanced Practicum III (4 credits, 240 hours)
  • NSG 8676 Advanced Practicum V (4 credits, 240 hours)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • The certificate’s published duration is stated two ways. The program page says four semesters; the published plan of study lays out five. Ask which applies to your gap analysis result.
  • The 43-credit figure assumes no transfer credit at all. Most applicants to a post-graduate APRN certificate will transfer part of the 19-credit gap block, so treat 43 credits as a ceiling rather than an expectation.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • 1,080 direct patient care hours in total, matching the doctoral concentration.
  • 840 of those hours sit in the sequenced plan: 180 + 180 + 240 + 240.
  • The remaining 240 hours belong to Advanced Practicum I, which falls inside the gap analysis block.
  • Same preceptor pool and same faculty oversight model as the BS-DNP.
  • Same 1 to 3 campus days per semester for skills and simulation.

A certificate carrying the same 1,080 hours as the doctorate is worth pausing on. Many post-graduate APRN certificates trim hours on the assumption that a certified NP already has supervised practice behind them. St. Scholastica does not, though it does allow the 240-hour Advanced Practicum I to be satisfied through the gap analysis if your prior program covered equivalent ground. If it does not, you are looking at the full doctoral clinical load without the doctoral credential.

You Should Know
  • The certificate program page states 1,020 direct supervised patient care hours; the graduate catalog states 1,080, and the course-level hours add to 1,080. The catalog figure is used here.
  • State boards set their own rules for adding a second APRN population focus. A certificate that satisfies Minnesota may not satisfy the board in another state, so verify with the board where you intend to practice.

Certificate Admissions

This certificate is restricted to nurses who already hold advanced practice certification, and like the doctorate it runs one intake a year.

  • Open to nurses already certified as a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse midwife.
  • Applications are submitted through NursingCAS, opening in August for the following May cohort.
  • Annual cycle: the FNP certificate deadline is January 15, earlier than the BS-DNP final deadline.
  • A gap analysis of prior APRN coursework sets your final credit count and completion time.
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA to graduate.
You Should Know
  • The certificate deadline is roughly two months earlier than the doctoral final deadline for the same May start. If you are undecided between the two credentials, the certificate clock runs out first.
  • Because your credit total is unknown until the gap analysis is complete, financial aid planning for this track is harder than for the doctorate. Ask for the analysis before committing.

Tuition

The College of St. Scholastica publishes a cost per credit of $991 for both the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Post-Graduate APRN Certificate for the 2026–27 academic year. That rate is not fee-inclusive. A technology fee of $16 per credit applies to all registered graduate and doctoral students, which brings the effective rate to $1,007 per credit (derived).

ComponentBS-DNP (78 credits)Certificate (24–43 credits)
Tuition at $991/credit$77,298$23,784–$42,613
Technology fee at $16/credit$1,248$384–$688
Estimated total (derived)$78,546$24,168–$43,301

Confirmed costs:

  • $991 per credit, published for both the DNP and the Post-Graduate APRN Certificate.
  • $16 per credit technology fee, charged to all registered graduate and doctoral students.
  • Rates apply to the 2026–27 academic year.
  • Graduate assistantships can be taken as a tuition reduction, with roughly 25 or more positions a year.

Be aware that:

  • The totals above are derived by multiplying published rates by published credit counts. St. Scholastica does not publish a program total for either track.
  • The college states plainly that rates are subject to change. A three-year BS-DNP will almost certainly cross at least two rate increases, so treat $78,546 as a floor priced at today’s rate rather than a locked figure.
  • The certificate total cannot be known until the gap analysis is complete. The $24,168 figure assumes the full 19-credit gap block transfers; $43,301 assumes none of it does.
  • The college notes that additional fees and course material costs may apply. Program-level or course-level fees for nursing are not published.
  • The $168 per semester health service fee listed on the tuition page is required for physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, exercise physiology, and PA students. It is not listed as a nursing charge and is excluded here.
  • Textbooks are not included. The college’s financial aid allowance is $600 per semester at 6 or more credits, which is a planning estimate rather than a college charge.
  • Travel and lodging for campus days in Duluth or St. Cloud are not included, and neither are travel costs to clinical sites.

The practical read on cost: this is a private-college rate applied to a high credit count, and the technology fee adds roughly $1,250 across the doctorate. Where St. Scholastica can move on price is the assistantship program, which is unusually accessible for a school this size and is worth asking about at the point of admission rather than after you enroll. For the certificate, the gap analysis is the one variable that moves cost most, and it is the first conversation to have with the department. See the college’s tuition and fees page for current rates.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who want clinical volume well beyond the certification minimum, expect to practice in rural or emergency-adjacent settings, and can commit to a single annual start with occasional travel to Duluth or St. Cloud.

The curriculum trains for thin-coverage settings. The Rural/Emergent Practicum and PMH for Primary Care are required, not electives. That combination reflects what actually happens in small-town primary care, where the FNP is often the only prescriber available and psychiatric presentations arrive alongside everything else. The college’s stated focus on rural and urban underserved practice, plus its telehealth emphasis, is consistent with what the course list actually requires rather than being mission-statement language alone.

Two credentials from the same clinical spine. The certificate and the doctoral concentration share their FNP specialty courses at identical codes and hours. For an already-certified NP adding family practice, that means the same 1,080 supervised hours as a doctoral student, without paying for 31 credits of DNP core coursework. For a BSN-prepared nurse, the doctorate is the only route, and it is a three-year full-time commitment.

The honest drawbacks. There is one intake a year and one track per application, so a rejected FNP application means waiting a full cycle rather than pivoting to a sibling specialty. Both campuses sit outside the Twin Cities, which makes the campus days a real trip for students in the metro. The 1,080-hour requirement is a genuine strength, but it also means more unpaid clinical time than most competing programs ask for, and the college’s own guidance to cap work at 24 hours a week reflects that. Finally, the published clinical hour totals conflict between the catalog and the program pages in both tracks, which is a documentation problem worth raising directly with the department.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate nursing program, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at The College of St. Scholastica are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. The certificate is named explicitly in that scope, which matters because certificate programs are not always covered by an institution’s nursing accreditation.

The pre-licensure degree program, the BS-DNP with an APRN concentration, and the post-graduate APRN certificate are approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

Institutionally, the college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has been continuously accredited since 1931, most recently reaffirmed for a ten-year term following a 2023 site visit. Institutional accreditation is what makes federal financial aid available and what allows credits to be considered for transfer, so it carries weight independent of the nursing accreditor.

Graduates of either FNP track are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC) in the family and individual across the lifespan population focus.

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