Midwestern State University FNP Programs

Wilson School of Nursing • Wichita Falls, TX • Mostly Online • $493/credit

Midwestern State University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • Post-Graduate Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$25.3K 2 years
(6 semesters)		48
Certificate$17.6K–$19.1K1.5 years
(5 semesters)		33–36

Tuition estimates use MSU Texas’s Fall 2026 rate table plus its published graduate, nursing, instructional enhancement, and distance learning fees.

Midwestern State University bills out-of-state online students at the in-state rate, yet it will not enroll anyone without a Texas or multistate RN license. For nurses who clear that gate, the MSN comes to about $25,300 in tuition and mandatory fees wherever they live.

The low price comes with a lean clinical plan. The published requirement is 512 hours, just above the 500-hour certification floor, packed into two back-to-back practicum semesters. Students find their own preceptors and travel to Wichita Falls for mandatory immersions in each clinical semester.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN; Post-Graduate Certificate
FormatMostly Online: online courses plus mandatory campus immersions in Wichita Falls
Clinical Hours512 published (two 256-hour practicums)
Clinical PlacementStudent-arranged; faculty coordinator approves every site and preceptor
PopulationFamily practice sites; set percentages for adult, geriatric, pediatric, and women’s health
Distinctive CourseworkSix-credit Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan; two-semester evidence-based project
ConcentrationsNone; no dual FNP/PMHNP track
RN License RequirementsTexas license or multistate compact license; unencumbered
Experience GateAt least one year of RN experience, plus a coordinator interview
Start TermsMSN: fall only. Certificate: spring or summer
TuitionAbout $493 per credit all-in (derived); same for in-state and out-of-state online
AccreditationCCNE (master’s program); SACSCOC institutionally

Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner program at Midwestern State University is approximately $25,258 (48 credits at $492.95/credit, plus $266 in flat fees per semester). The program can generally be completed in about 2 years (6 semesters), following the fixed fall-start sequence in the graduate handbook.

MSN Curriculum

Year one is all foundation. Fall, spring, and summer cover research, theory, pathophysiology, pharmacology, population health, and the first half of the evidence-based project. Health assessment and diagnostics close the first year in summer.

Year two is all specialty. The FNP content sits in three courses: a six-credit Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan course in fall, then Advanced Practicum I in spring and Advanced Practicum II in summer. The design is simple, but it leaves no room to slow down. The handbook states some courses run once a year, so dropping one can push graduation back a full year.

  • NURS 5043 Pathological Processes for Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
  • NURS 5133 Pharmacotherapeutics in Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
  • NURS 5113/5111 Health Assessment and Clinical (4)
  • NURS 5102 Diagnostic Studies and Ambulatory Procedures (2)
  • NURS 5166 Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan (6)
  • NURS 5182/5184 Advanced Practicum I and Clinical (6)
  • NURS 5372/5374 Advanced Practicum II and Clinical (6)
  • NURS 6843/6853 Evidence Based Project I and II (6)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • The program page says the MSN includes “thesis or evidence based project” courses. The catalog and handbook list only the two-course evidence-based project.
  • The two project courses must be taken in back-to-back semesters. Withdrawing from either means starting over with Project I.
  • The “FNP Degree Requirements” PDF linked from the program page returns a 404 error. The course sequence here comes from the graduate handbook.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • Total published hours: 512 (256 in NURS 5184 plus 256 in NURS 5374), or 64 hours per clinical credit.
  • Timing: spring and summer of year two, in consecutive semesters.
  • Required mix in each practicum: adult 40%, geriatric 20%, pediatric 15%, women’s health 10%, health promotion and teaching 10%, counseling and psychiatric management 5%.
  • Setting: the majority of hours must be in a family practice site. Urgent care, ER, and specialty clinics count only for a small share.
  • Placement: students find their own sites and preceptors. The clinical coordinator approves each preceptor, and preceptors sign a new agreement every semester.
  • Affiliation agreement: required before any hours count. Hours logged without one are not credited.
  • Preceptor presence: the preceptor must be physically present at all times.
  • Employer sites: allowed only outside the student’s usual unit, unpaid, and with coordinator approval.
  • Immersions: mandatory campus sessions for health assessment, diagnostics, and Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan. The handbook says clinical semesters can require up to two campus visits. Missing one caps the course grade below B.

At 512 hours, this program sits just above the 500-hour certification minimum and below the 600 to 700 hours common among FNP programs. Across the two practicums, that works out to about 77 pediatric and 51 women’s health hours, so nurses without prior exposure to those populations should plan to seek extra experience. The practical load is also concentrated: 256 hours in a 16-week spring term is about 16 hours a week, and summer asks for the same 256 hours in a shorter term. Because students source their own sites and agreements can take months, the site search should start during year one.

You Should Know
  • The 512-hour figure covers only the two practicums. NURS 5111 (health assessment clinical) and NURS 5166, which the handbook calls a “clinical major course,” have no published hours.
  • Lead time for affiliation agreements conflicts: the FAQ says up to 6 weeks, while the handbook says 3 to 4 months. Plan for the longer figure.
  • The handbook says students may be required to complete some hours in Texas, complete a portion with graduate faculty, or accept an assigned preceptor.
  • Students who finish Practicum II but do not graduate that semester must enroll in NURS 6911 each semester and complete 64 more clinical hours. Failing or dropping a clinical course triggers a similar 64-hour special topics requirement, and hours from the failed course are forfeited.
  • The clinical requirements page lists Practicum II as NURS 5371. The catalog and handbook use NURS 5372.
  • Specific immersion dates are not published. The FAQ still lists 2021 and 2022 dates, and the current immersion sheet gives week ranges only.

MSN Admissions

Admission is fall-only, with one annual deadline, an interview, and a one-year experience requirement.

  • BSN from a nationally accredited program
  • Unencumbered RN license: Texas, or a multistate compact license
  • GPA of 3.0 or higher on the last 60 undergraduate hours, excluding community college credit
  • Undergraduate statistics course (3 credits)
  • At least one year of general nursing experience
  • Evidence of physical assessment content; skills may be tested if the last exposure was more than 3 years ago
  • Interview with the graduate coordinator, scheduled after all materials arrive
  • Two applications: MSU Graduate School (with fee) and the Wilson School of Nursing application with essay
  • Deadline: April 1 each year for the fall cohort
  • Transfer credit: usually up to 6 credits, up to 12 with approval; clinical courses never transfer
You Should Know
  • The 2026 cycle has closed. The next opening is the fall 2027 cohort, with applications due in spring 2027.
  • Deadline sources conflict: the program page says April 1, while the admissions page shows an application window of January 1 to April 15. Treat April 1 as the safe date.
  • License rules conflict: the admissions page asks for a Texas license and a license in your state of residence, while the handbook accepts a Texas or multistate compact license. Either way, a single-state license from a non-compact state is not enough.
  • The handbook says every MSU graduate nursing program creates a physical presence in the student’s home state and may need that state’s approval before admission. MSU does not publish a state-by-state list, so out-of-state applicants should confirm eligibility first.

Post-Graduate Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate FNP Certificate at Midwestern State University is approximately $17,597 to $19,076 (33 to 36 credits at $492.95/credit, plus $266 in flat fees per semester). The program can generally be completed in about 1.5 years (5 semesters), a derived figure based on the handbook’s spring-start sequence.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is the MSN’s specialty half. It drops research, theory, and the evidence-based project, then follows the same sequence: the three core APRN courses and health assessment first, then Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan and both practicums.

Current APRNs get a meaningful discount. Nurses with an active APRN license and prescriptive authority may skip pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment (10 credits), which lowers the certificate to about 23 credits and roughly $12,700.

  • NURS 5043 Pathological Processes (3), waivable for current APRNs
  • NURS 5133 Pharmacotherapeutics (3), waivable for current APRNs
  • NURS 5113/5111 Health Assessment and Clinical (4), waivable for current APRNs
  • NURS 5102 Diagnostic Studies and Ambulatory Procedures (2)
  • NURS 5283 Role of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner (3)
  • NURS 5166 Advanced Practice Across the Lifespan (6)
  • NURS 5182/5184 Advanced Practicum I and Clinical (6)
  • NURS 5372/5374 Advanced Practicum II and Clinical (6)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • Credit totals conflict. The certificate page and handbook list 33 credits. The current catalog lists 36 because it adds NURS 5123 Population Health.
  • The handbook shows a spring start only. The admissions page says certificate students start in spring or summer based on transcript review.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

Certificate students complete the same two 256-hour practicums as MSN students, for 512 published hours, under the same placement, affiliation, and immersion rules described above.

Certificate Admissions

Certificate admission runs on a fall deadline for a spring or summer start, and space is limited.

  • MSN from a nationally accredited program
  • Same RN license, experience, and interview requirements as the MSN
  • Deadline: October 31 each year
  • APRN course waivers require current licensure, prescriptive authority, and practice in the specialty within the last 3 years
You Should Know
  • Deadline sources conflict: the program page says October 31, while the admissions page says all transcripts and applications are due October 15. Submit by October 15.
  • MSU’s CCNE statement names the baccalaureate and master’s programs but does not name the post-graduate certificate. Confirm how your state board treats the certificate before enrolling.
  • State boards set their own rules for adding a second APRN population focus. Current APRNs should confirm the certificate meets their board’s requirements.

Tuition

MSU Texas does not publish a per-credit price for the FNP. Based on its Fall 2026 rate table and fee schedule, the derived cost is about $492.95 per credit for a Texas resident, plus $266 in flat fees each semester. MSU charges online courses at the in-state rate for out-of-state students, so the same figure applies to them.

Per-Credit ComponentAmount
State tuition (resident)$50.00
Designated tuition$145.90
Graduate tuition surcharge$40.00
University services fee$87.95
Student service fee$25.00
Athletic fee$23.10
Instructional enhancement fees (college $24 + university $5)$29.00
Nursing differential fee$37.00
Distance learning fee$55.00
Total per credit$492.95
Flat per semester (recreation $130, student union $66, security $70)$266.00

Estimated totals:

  • MSN: 48 credits × $492.95 = $23,662, plus 6 semesters × $266 = $1,596, for about $25,258
  • Certificate (33 credits): $16,267 plus 5 × $266, for about $17,597
  • Certificate (36 credits, catalog): $17,746 plus 5 × $266, for about $19,076
  • Certificate with APRN waivers (23 credits): about $12,668

Confirmed costs:

  • Per-credit tuition and fee components from the Fall 2026 rate table, which reconciles exactly at 1, 6, and 9 credits
  • Graduate surcharge, instructional enhancement, nursing differential, and distance learning fees from MSU’s mandatory fees page
  • Semester loads of 6 to 9 credits, below the thresholds where the student service and athletic fees cap
  • Liability insurance must be bought through the MSU Business Office before the first clinical course

Be aware that:

  • The in-state rate for out-of-state students depends on MSU’s distance education tuition ($50 per credit) and the handbook’s statement that fully online classes are billed at in-state rates. If a course is not coded as distance learning, non-resident state tuition of $478 per credit applies. At that rate, the MSN would cost about $45,800.
  • The mandatory fees page was last updated in July 2025, and its per-credit fee amounts are lower than the Fall 2026 rate table. The graduate, nursing, and distance learning figures from that page may also have changed.
  • It is not clear whether the $5 university instructional enhancement fee applies to graduate nursing courses, or whether fully online students pay the recreation, union, and security fees.
  • The Fall 2026 table is labeled as a cohort table through Summer 2030, but MSU’s fixed tuition plan is offered to undergraduates only. Do not assume graduate rates are locked.
  • Unpriced extras include liability insurance, the clinical log system, testing fees, background checks, drug screens, proctored exam fees, and travel to Wichita Falls for immersions.
  • Every extra semester of NURS 6911 adds a clinical course and its fees.
  • The financial aid office’s cost-of-attendance figures are general bundles that include housing and living costs. They are not used here.

Even with unpriced extras and immersion travel added, the MSN’s all-in cost stays in the mid-$20,000s, and the out-of-state online rate matches the in-state rate. That makes the true cost unusually predictable for nurses living outside Texas. The bigger financial risk is time: a dropped course or an extra NURS 6911 semester can add a year, and courses run on a fixed yearly cycle.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

A strong fit for experienced RNs who want a low-cost, state-school FNP, can find their own preceptors, and can make a few trips to Wichita Falls.

For compact-license nurses outside Texas: These nurses get the program’s clearest advantage. The online in-state rate keeps the MSN near $25,300, and a multistate license meets the licensing rule without a separate Texas license. Before applying, they should confirm that MSU can enroll students from their state, since no state list is published.

For North Texas and southern Oklahoma nurses: Immersions are a short drive, and local clinical sites are easier to arrange. The rigid sequence works well for nurses who can commit to two years without breaks. It works poorly for anyone who may need to step out for a semester.

For current APRNs adding family practice: The waiver of the three core APRN courses cuts the certificate to about 23 credits and roughly $12,700. The clinical load stays the full 512 hours.

Who should look elsewhere: Nurses who want placement support, more than the minimum clinical hours, a DNP option, or more than one start term will not find them here. The 512-hour total is lean, and nurses with little pediatric or women’s health background may want a program with more clinical time.

Accreditation

The Wilson School of Nursing states that its baccalaureate and master’s degree programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). That covers the MSN FNP track. The school’s statement does not separately name the post-graduate certificate.

Midwestern State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Institutional accreditation supports federal financial aid eligibility and the transfer of graduate credit.

The program states that it meets the Texas Board of Nursing’s requirements for advanced practice nursing education.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC). MSU names both certifying bodies for its FNP graduates.

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