Northeastern University FNP Programs

Bouvé College School of Nursing • Boston, MA • Mostly Online • $1,061/credit

Northeastern University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$50.9K2–3 years (semester count not published)48
Certificate$20.2K–$30.8K1–2 years (12–24 months)20–30

Tuition estimates use Northeastern’s published $1,061 per-credit rate for online MS Nursing; the certificate range is Northeastern’s own published figure.

Northeastern builds all six of its nurse practitioner concentrations on a single 16-credit MS core. That architecture is what makes the post-master’s FNP certificate credential-priced rather than fixed-price: a licensed pediatric NP finishes in 20 credits, a licensed nurse anesthetist needs 30, because the school strips out only the population coursework you have already completed. Very few schools publish the ladder that explicitly.

The trade-off is campus travel that Northeastern’s own materials do not agree on.

  • The graduate program page labels the format online and describes two Clinical Intensive weekends in Boston for the entire degree.
  • The graduate catalog calls the FNP concentration hybrid and states that students are on the Boston campus twice per semester.

Across a two-to-three-year program, those two statements differ by roughly ten trips. Get the number in writing before you enroll from out of state.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN with FNP concentration; post-master’s FNP graduate certificate
FormatMostly Online. Boston campus intensives required; frequency disputed between program page and catalog
Clinical Hours720 for the MSN; 750 stated for the certificate
Clinical PlacementPlacement model not clearly stated. Certificate hours may be completed locally or in Boston
PopulationIndividuals and families across the lifespan, including pediatrics and women’s health
Distinctive CourseworkFamily Theory; Healthcare of Women and the Pregnant Individual; pediatric prescribing
ConcentrationsFNP is one of six NP concentrations sharing the same 16-credit MS core
RN License RequirementsCurrent US RN licensure. MSN also requires one year full-time direct patient care
Tuition$1,061 per credit for online MS Nursing, well below Northeastern’s standard graduate rate
AccreditationCCNE for the master’s and post-graduate APRN certificate; NECHE institutionally
Entry TermsFall and spring for both tracks. Application deadlines July 1 and November 1
International StudentsNeither track meets F1 visa requirements

MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

The estimated tuition for the Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner at Northeastern is approximately $50,928 (48 credits at $1,061/credit). The program can generally be completed in about two to three years, with entry available in either fall or spring and both full-time and part-time schedules offered.

MSN Curriculum

The shared core. Every Northeastern NP student, regardless of specialty, completes the same 16-credit core: healthcare systems and professional role development, epidemiology and population health, advanced pharmacology, advanced pathophysiology, and a two-course research-translation sequence. A grade of B or higher is required in each. The practical effect is that your foundation coursework sits in classrooms with neonatal, psych-mental health, and acute care students rather than an FNP-only cohort.

Where FNP diverges. The FNP concentration adds 32 credits and totals 48, which is the heaviest of Northeastern’s six NP concentrations. Three run at 43 credits and two at 41. That extra load is not padding. It is the cost of covering four distinct patient populations instead of one, and at $1,061 per credit it adds roughly $5,300 to $7,400 over the school’s other NP concentrations.

Pharmacology is split three ways. Rather than one survey course, Northeastern distributes six pharmacology credits across three population-specific courses: Advanced Pharmacology in the core, Pharmacology of Adults and Older Adults, and Prescribing Considerations in the Pediatric and Adolescent Populations. Pediatric dosing and prescribing get their own graded course. For a nurse coming from adult medical-surgical work, that structure directly targets the weakest part of the FNP transition.

A dedicated family theory course. NRSG 6392 Family Theory is a graded two-credit course on family systems. Most FNP curricula fold family dynamics into clinical management courses as a unit. Northeastern treats it as coursework in its own right, which signals the program’s orientation toward treating the family unit rather than a sequence of individual patients who happen to be related.

  • NRSG 6115 Health Assessment (3)
  • NRSG 6390 Family Care of the Adult/Older Adult Patient (4)
  • NRSG 6392 Family Theory (2)
  • NRSG 6393 Family Care of the Pediatric and Adolescent Patient (4)
  • NRSG 6397 Healthcare of Women and the Pregnant Individual in Family Practice (3)
  • NRSG 6222 Pharmacology of Adults and Older Adults (2)
  • NRSG 6398 Prescribing Considerations in the Pediatric and Adolescent Populations (2)
  • NRSG 6391, 6394, 6396 Practicums for adult/older adult, pediatric/adolescent, and women’s health (4 each)

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • 720 clinical hours embedded throughout the program
  • Delivered through three practicum courses worth 4 credits each: NRSG 6391, NRSG 6394, NRSG 6396
  • The math works out to 60 hours per practicum credit, or 240 hours in each of three population blocks
  • Adult and older adult, pediatric and adolescent, and women’s health each get an equal share
  • Two required Clinical Intensive weekends on the Boston campus, with high-fidelity simulation, standardized patients, and individual faculty instruction
  • Placement model is not clearly stated: Northeastern does not say whether the school secures preceptors or the student does

At 720 hours, the MSN sits 220 above the 500-hour national certification floor and slightly above the 600 to 700 range most FNP programs land in. More useful than the total is how evenly it is divided. An FNP graduate’s weakest area is usually whichever population they never worked with as an RN, and a program that lets students concentrate hours in a comfortable setting produces exactly that gap. Northeastern’s structure makes 240 pediatric hours and 240 women’s health hours non-negotiable, which is a meaningful protection for an adult-med-surg nurse. The unresolved question is who finds those sites.

You Should Know
  • Northeastern publishes no clinical placement policy for the MSN. Whether the school places you, assists you, or leaves preceptor recruitment entirely to you is the single largest unknown on this page. Ask the FNP program director directly.
  • The program page and the graduate catalog disagree on campus attendance. Two Clinical Intensive weekends total is a very different obligation from twice per semester across two to three years.
  • The admissions page notes that additional fees may apply for travel, memberships, and clinical requirements, without naming amounts. For a distance student, Boston travel is a real unpriced cost.

MSN Admissions

Northeastern gates this program on prior RN experience and on a specific statistics prerequisite that trips up applicants who took a general math course instead.

  • Baccalaureate degree in nursing from an accredited US program
  • Current RN licensure
  • At least one year of active full-time nursing experience with direct patient care
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA, with grades of B or better in all undergraduate clinical courses
  • Completion of a statistics course covering probability theory and hypothesis testing
  • Two letters of recommendation, one academic and one professional
  • Personal statement, resume, transcripts from all institutions, and an application fee
  • Application deadlines run annually: July 1 for fall entry, November 1 for spring entry
You Should Know
  • The program is built for licensed nurses who do not already hold a master’s in nursing. There is no direct-entry or RN-to-MSN bridge on this pathway.
  • Applicants without a US degree whose native language is not English need TOEFL or IELTS. Northeastern now prefers a score of 5 on the banded TOEFL iBT scale that replaced the previous 100-point preference in January 2026.
  • This program does not meet F1 visa requirements, so it cannot support a student visa.
  • Northeastern determines your state of residence at the time of application and notifies applicants whether a program meets licensure requirements in that state. Confirm your state’s status before applying and keep your address current after matriculating, since relocating mid-program can affect eligibility.

Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Graduate Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner at Northeastern is approximately $21,220 to $31,830 (20 to 30 credits at $1,061/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 12 to 24 months, depending on how much of the FNP curriculum your existing APRN certification already covers.

Certificate Curriculum

Two courses everyone takes. Every certificate student completes NRSG 6392 Family Theory (2 credits) and NRSG 6561 Advanced Nurse Practitioner Clinical Intensive (1 credit). Everything beyond those three credits is determined by the APRN credential you already hold.

The credential ladder. Northeastern publishes seven named entry options, each with its own course list. Working the published course lists produces a clean ladder:

  • Licensed pediatric NP or pediatric CNS: 20 credits
  • Licensed adult-gerontology primary care NP or adult CNS: 20 credits
  • Licensed nurse midwife: 23 credits
  • Licensed AGACNP, PMHNP, or NNP: 28 credits
  • Licensed nurse anesthetist: 30 credits

Why the ladder falls where it does. The logic is population coverage, not seniority. A pediatric NP already owns the pediatric block, so Northeastern only adds adult, older adult, and women’s health. An adult-gero primary care NP has the inverse gap and lands at the same 20 credits. A nurse anesthetist has no primary care population coverage at all and takes nearly the full FNP sequence. If you are choosing between certificate programs, this is the comparison that matters: a flat-credit certificate charges the pediatric NP and the CRNA the same price for very different amounts of new material.

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • Northeastern states that students gain 750 hours of clinical experience required for certification
  • All students gain clinical experience in women’s health, pediatrics, and adult gerontology
  • Clinical hours can be completed locally or in the Boston area
  • Practicum requirements are individualized based on previously earned certification
  • NRSG 6561 Advanced Nurse Practitioner Clinical Intensive is a required graded course for every entry option

The 750-hour figure needs careful reading. Northeastern’s own MSN reconciles at 60 clinical hours per practicum credit, and no certificate option reaches 750 on that basis. The 12-practicum-credit options reach 720, and the 20-credit options reach only 480. The most plausible reading is that 750 describes the total hours you will hold at certification, counting hours banked in your original APRN program, not hours Northeastern will deliver. That distinction matters if your state board audits FNP-specific hours separately.

You Should Know
  • Northeastern does not break the 750 hours down by entry option. Ask how many new, FNP-population clinical hours your specific pathway carries before you assume the number applies to you.
  • A pediatric NP and a nurse anesthetist both see 750 published, but the published course lists give them 8 and 12 practicum credits respectively. Confirm your figure in writing.
  • State boards set their own rules on recognizing a second APRN population focus, and some require FNP-specific clinical hours completed within the certificate itself. Verify with the board where you intend to practice.
  • Placement responsibility is not stated. “Locally or in the Boston area” describes where hours may be completed, not who arranges them.

Certificate Admissions

This is a narrow-entry program. You must already be a certified APRN with a year of practice in that role, which rules out master’s-prepared nurses who never certified.

  • Master’s degree in nursing from a CCNE- or NLNAC-accredited program
  • National certification (ANCC or AANP) in your current specialty area of practice
  • One year of post-master’s advanced practice nursing experience
  • Current US registration and licensure to practice nursing
  • Transcripts for undergraduate and graduate coursework with a 3.0 GPA
  • Statement of purpose, professional resume, and two letters of recommendation
  • Application submitted through NursingCAS with a fee
  • Fall and spring entry, with annual deadlines of July 1 and November 1
You Should Know
  • Northeastern’s certificate page names the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses as an FNP certifying body. That organization certifies acute and critical care credentials, not family practice. FNP certification runs through AANP or ANCC, which the same page states correctly elsewhere.
  • The program is sequenced around your prior certification, so admission and a completion timeline cannot be quoted until the school reviews your transcript and credential.
  • This program does not meet F1 visa requirements.
  • Northeastern’s state-authorization process applies here too. Your eligibility is determined by the state you list at application.

Tuition

Northeastern charges $1,061 per credit for online MS Nursing, the rate that governs both FNP tracks. That figure is a published exception on the university’s graduate tuition schedule, where most graduate programs bill $1,995 per credit. On a 48-credit degree, the difference between those two rates is roughly $44,800, which is the single most important number on this page.

TrackCreditsRateDerived Total
MSN, FNP concentration48$1,061$50,928
Certificate, pediatric NP or adult-gero primary care entry20$1,061$21,220
Certificate, nurse midwife entry23$1,061$24,403
Certificate, AGACNP, PMHNP, or NNP entry28$1,061$29,708
Certificate, nurse anesthetist entry30$1,061$31,830

Confirmed costs:

  • Per-credit rate of $1,061 for MS Nursing (Online), published on Northeastern’s graduate tuition and financial aid page
  • Published certificate tuition range of $20,159 to $30,769
  • 48 credits for the MSN FNP concentration, confirmed against the graduate catalog course list
  • Application fee required for both tracks; the certificate applies through NursingCAS

Be aware that:

  • Every total above is derived from credits multiplied by the published per-credit rate. Northeastern publishes no program total for the MSN.
  • ⚠ The published certificate range of $20,159 to $30,769 works out to exactly 19 and 29 credits, but the graduate catalog states 20 to 30 semester hours and the published course lists confirm 20 to 30. Budget about $1,061 above each end of the advertised range.
  • The program page and the catalog also disagree on credits directly: 19 to 29 on the marketing page, 20 to 30 in the catalog.
  • Northeastern’s admissions page states that additional fees may apply for travel, memberships, and clinical requirements, but publishes no amounts. No mandatory fee schedule for these programs was located.
  • Boston travel for Clinical Intensives is an unpriced cost, and its size depends on which campus-attendance statement turns out to be current.
  • Per-credit rates are published by academic year and are subject to change across a two-to-three-year program.

What this means in practice: the headline saving is real, but it is a tuition saving rather than an all-in saving. A distance student should model the sticker price plus repeated round trips to Boston plus unquantified clinical and membership fees. For a Massachusetts-based nurse the travel line is trivial and the $1,061 rate is close to the true cost. For someone enrolling from across the country, resolve the campus-attendance question first, because it can move the real total by thousands. Northeastern’s graduate tuition and financial aid page carries the current rate schedule.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who want a research-university credential at a discounted online rate, and for certified APRNs adding family practice who want to pay only for the population coursework they actually lack.

The certificate is the strongest offer here. A published, credential-by-credential credit ladder is unusual, and it works in your favor if you already hold a pediatric or adult-gerontology primary care certification. Twenty credits at $1,061 is a genuinely modest price for a second population focus from a CCNE-accredited program at an R1 university. The further your current credential sits from primary care, the less the advantage holds. A CRNA taking 30 credits is buying most of an FNP curriculum at certificate scale.

The MSN trades cost against curriculum weight. Northeastern prices its online nursing degree well below its own standard graduate rate, then asks FNP students to carry 48 credits when its other NP concentrations run 41 to 43. The two effects partly cancel. What you get for the extra credits is genuine, though: separate graded coursework in pediatric prescribing, women’s health, and family systems theory, plus 720 clinical hours split evenly across three populations so no group gets shortchanged.

The unresolved items are worth resolving before you apply. Northeastern does not publish a clinical placement policy, does not publish a fee schedule for these programs, and contradicts itself on campus attendance. None of those are disqualifying, but all three are questions a serious applicant should have answered in writing. If you are comparing this against a program that guarantees placement and states its travel obligation plainly, that program has removed risk Northeastern leaves on your side of the table.

Accreditation

The master’s degree program in nursing and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at Northeastern University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, located at 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001. That scope covers both FNP tracks on this page, which matters because certificate programs are sometimes left outside a school’s CCNE scope. Northeastern’s is not.

Northeastern is also in good standing with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, which approves rather than accredits nursing programs. Board approval and programmatic accreditation are separate mechanisms, and both are relevant when a licensing board reviews your application.

Institutionally, Northeastern University has been a member in good standing of the New England Commission of Higher Education since 1940, most recently reviewed in 2018 with the next review scheduled for fall 2028. Institutional accreditation is what makes a degree transferable, recognized by state boards, and eligible for federal financial aid. Programmatic nursing accreditation alone does not accomplish any of those things.

Graduates of both tracks are prepared to sit for the national FNP certification exam through AANP or ANCC. Note that Northeastern’s certificate page names a third organization in one place; the correct FNP certifying bodies are AANP and ANCC.

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