Marymount University offers 3 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:
- MSN
- BSN-DNP
- Post-Master’s Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $60.3K | 2.3 years (7 semesters) | 45 |
| BSN-DNP | $84.4K–$93.8K | 3.3 years (10 semesters) | 63–70 |
| Certificate | $40.2K | 1.7 years (5 semesters) | 30 |
Tuition estimates multiply credits by Marymount’s 2026-27 nursing rate of $1,340 per credit.
Marymount is built for working RNs who already hold a multistate compact license, or licenses in two states where they could do clinicals. That license gate exists because Marymount’s placement team finds every site and preceptor at no extra cost, and the placement it secures may sit across a state line from your home.
The trade-off is the clinical calendar. Practicum hours run Monday through Friday, roughly 20 hours a week in the two heaviest courses, and Marymount says a weekend-only schedule may not be possible. Coursework is online, but each track includes at least one required campus residency in Arlington.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN, BSN-DNP, Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Format | Mostly Online: online coursework plus a 5-day campus skills intensive (certificate page lists two residencies) |
| Clinical Hours | 750 (MSN); 1,000+ post-baccalaureate (BSN-DNP); 700 or 750 (certificate, sources conflict) |
| Clinical Placement | School secures site and preceptor near your home at no added cost |
| Clinical Schedule | Generally Monday–Friday; weekend-only schedules may not be accommodated |
| RN License Requirements | Online: compact license or licenses in two clinical jurisdictions (120-mile exception) |
| RN Experience | One year full-time (program pages); two years (catalog) |
| Start Terms | Online: fall and spring, rolling admission |
| Tuition | $1,340/credit (2026-27), plus $490 per FNP clinical course |
| Accreditation | CCNE (MSN, DNP, post-master’s certificates per program pages) |
Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN at Marymount University is approximately $60,300 (45 credits at $1,340/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 2.3 years (7 consecutive semesters, part-time only).
The Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner is the core credential at Marymount. The BSN-DNP and the certificate both run through its FNP course sequence.
MSN Curriculum
Core first, then a three-course clinical spine. The 45 credits split into 31 core credits and 14 FNP specialty credits. Pharmacology and pathophysiology come before advanced assessment (NUF 500 requires both), and NUF 500 carries the mandatory campus intensive. The clinical work then concentrates in three courses: NUF 501, 503, and 504.
A heavier leadership block than most MSNs. Four core courses (NU 701, 706, 707, and IPE 715) cover care-delivery models, policy, quality and ethics, and research methods. These are the same four courses the DNP requires, so a BSN-DNP student completes them once. For an MSN-only student, they add 12 credits of non-clinical coursework.
- NU 552 Advanced Pharmacology (3)
- NU 554 Advanced Pathophysiology (4)
- NUF 500 Advanced Assessment and Health Screening for the FNP (3)
- NU 590 Health Care Data Analysis (3)
- NU 701 Innovative Models of Care Delivery (3)
- NU 707 Leadership, Quality, and Ethics in Health Care (3)
- NUF 501 Introduction to Primary Care of the Family (3)
- NUF 503 Primary Care of the Family I (5)
- NUF 504 Primary Care of the Family II (6)
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 750 clinical hours (published on the program page and in the catalog)
- Practicum hours sit in NUF 501 (150), NUF 503 (275), and NUF 504 (275), per the certificate page’s breakdown of the same courses; that sums to 700
- Marymount’s placement team secures the site and preceptor, aiming for a reasonable distance from your home
- Clinicals generally run Monday through Friday; you do not choose the schedule
- Mandatory 5-day campus skills intensive during NUF 500
- Compliance tracked in Exxat for students starting clinicals fall 2026 or later: annual TB test, AHA BLS only, NP student malpractice insurance, health insurance, background check, 9-panel drug screen, and immunizations including COVID-19 with booster
- Students arrange their own transportation to clinical sites
- A comprehensive exam must be passed before graduation
At 750 hours, Marymount sits above the 500-hour certification floor and the 600 to 700 hours common among FNP programs. The bigger practical issue is timing. Spread over 14-week semesters, NUF 503 and 504 each work out to about 20 clinical hours a week (derived), on weekdays. A full-time RN on day shifts will likely need to move to nights, weekends, or reduced hours for at least two semesters. The placement service removes the preceptor search, but you trade away control over where and when you go.
You Should Know
- The three practicum courses account for 700 hours. Marymount does not say where the remaining 50 of the 750 come from; NUF 500’s lab component is a likely source but is not confirmed.
- Placement is a stated goal (“within a reasonable distance”), not a guarantee of a site in your county.
- Older students on Complio follow the prior compliance rules; the Exxat switch applies from fall 2026.
MSN Admissions
The online MSN admits in fall and spring on a rolling basis, but its license rule is stricter than most programs’.
- Apply through NursingCAS (verification takes at least two weeks)
- BSN with a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Unencumbered RN license
- Online students: a multistate compact RN license and/or licenses in at least two jurisdictions where clinicals will occur, unless you live more than 120 miles from your state’s border
- RN experience (see You Should Know)
- Two letters of recommendation, one from a direct supervisor (not a charge nurse) within the past two years
- 250- to 500-word professional essay
- Possible interview after preliminary review
- No GRE or GMAT
- Up to 12 transfer credits reviewed (grade of B or better)
You Should Know
- RN experience conflicts: the program page asks for one year of full-time practice by the first day of class; the 2026-27 catalog says two years. Confirm with admissions before applying.
- The program page accepts a BSN from a “regionally accredited institution”; the catalog asks for a nursing degree from a CCNE-accredited school.
- Online students may take only online nursing courses. Marymount also runs an on-campus MSN (fall start only, March 1 early deadline, June 1 final), which requires licensure in two of DC, Maryland, and Virginia before clinicals.
- A grade of B (85%) is the minimum in every course. One repeat is allowed; a second B- or lower means dismissal.
BSN to DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP at Marymount University is approximately $84,420 to $93,800 (63 to 70 credits at $1,340/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 3.3 years (10 consecutive semesters).
The Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner is a dual-enrollment pathway, not a separate curriculum.
BSN-DNP Curriculum
MSN first, awarded on the way. BSN students enroll in the FNP MSN and the DNP at the same time. Marymount awards the MSN when the master’s work is done, so you can sit for the national FNP certification exam and start practicing before finishing the doctorate.
Doctoral layer. The DNP adds epidemiology, research methods, multivariate analysis, health care accounting, a residency, and a doctoral project designed to run four semesters. Students present the project at a university, regional, or national conference.
- NU 515 Accounting Basics for Health Care Managers (3)
- NU 702 Epidemiology (3)
- NU 703 Research Methods and Applications (3)
- NU 705 Multivariate Analysis (3)
- NU 800 Residency (3)
- NU 801 Doctoral Project (3)
- NU 899 Independent Study (1)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- The catalog does not publish a BSN-DNP course total. Adding the 45-credit MSN to the DNP courses it does not already include gives 64 credits (derived), inside the published 63 to 70 range.
- If NU 703, NU 800, or NU 801 runs long, students register for NU 899 for up to three more semesters, which adds credits and cost.
BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements
- 1,000+ post-baccalaureate clinical hours (published)
- 750 FNP clinical hours through the MSN sequence
- 500 hours in 800-level doctoral coursework, typically project-focused
- Together these suggest about 1,250 hours (derived)
- One on-campus residency; same placement service and weekday clinical pattern as the MSN
The 750 direct-care FNP hours are what count toward certification. The extra doctoral hours are project work, so the DNP adds leadership and quality-improvement depth rather than more primary care patient contact.
BSN-DNP Admissions
Admission matches the MSN, with one addition: name an area of interest for your scholarly project.
- BSN with a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Online: fall and spring starts, rolling admission; on-campus: fall only
- Up to 9 transfer credits reviewed toward DNP coursework
- Not for applicants who already hold an MSN; they use Marymount’s separate post-master’s DNP
Post-Master’s Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the certificate at Marymount University is approximately $40,200 (30 credits at $1,340/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 1.7 years (5 semesters, 20 months).
The Post-Master’s Certificate-Family Nurse Practitioner uses the same FNP clinical sequence as the MSN.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is 8 courses: the three advanced practice foundations, population health, the leadership/ethics course, and the full NUF 500 to 504 sequence. Coursework runs in 14-week semesters. What gets added depends on your background: nurses without a prior APRN program take NU 501, and anyone without a graduate statistics course in the last five years takes NU 590.
- NU 510 Population Health (3)
- NU 552 Advanced Pharmacology (3)
- NU 554 Advanced Pathophysiology (4)
- NU 707 Leadership, Quality, and Ethics in Health Care (3)
- NUF 500 Advanced Assessment and Health Screening for the FNP (3)
- NUF 501 Introduction to Primary Care of the Family (3)
- NUF 503 Primary Care of the Family I (5)
- NUF 504 Primary Care of the Family II (6)
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Clinical hours: 700 on the program page (150 + 275 + 275), 750 in the catalog
- Placement services at no added cost
- Two campus residencies listed on the program page
Either figure clears the 500-hour floor. The certificate carries the same weekday clinical load as the MSN, compressed into 20 months.
You Should Know
- The 700 vs. 750 conflict is unresolved. Ask which total your plan of study requires.
- The program page lists two campus residencies; the catalog names only the NUF 500 intensive.
Certificate Admissions
The certificate requires documented master’s-level clinical hours and a 3.0 MSN GPA.
- MSN with a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Unencumbered RN license; online students meet the same compact or two-jurisdiction rule as the MSN
- Two letters of recommendation and a professional essay
- Documentation of clinical hours from your master’s program
- Copy of APN certification, if applicable
- Two-thirds of certificate credits must be completed at Marymount
You Should Know
- RN experience: the catalog requires two years; the certificate page does not list an experience minimum.
- Start terms conflict: the certificate page says three intakes per year; the catalog lists fall and spring for online and fall only on campus.
- State boards set their own rules for adding a second APRN population focus. Check your board before enrolling.
Tuition
Marymount’s 2026-27 published rate for Nursing (MSN and DNP) is $1,340 per credit. The certificate has no separate row on the rate table, so this page applies the same nursing rate to it.
| Item | MSN | BSN-DNP | Certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition ($1,340/credit) | $60,300 | $84,420–$93,800 | $40,200 |
| FNP course fees ($490 × 4) | $1,960 | $1,960 | $1,960 |
| NU 501 course fee | $246 | $246 | If assigned |
| Technology fee ($22/credit) | $990 | $1,386–$1,540 | $660 |
| New graduate student fee | $270 | $270 | $270 |
| Estimated total (derived) | $63,766 | $88,282–$97,816 | $43,090 |
- Tuition: $1,340 per credit for MSN and DNP courses (2026-27)
- Course fees: $490 each for NUF 500, 501, 503, and 504; $246 for NU 501
- Technology fee: $22 per credit
- New graduate student fee: $270, one time
- Enrollment deposit: $500, non-refundable
Be aware that:
- Program pages show older rates: $1,301/credit ($58,545) for the MSN, $1,275/credit ($38,250) for the certificate, and $1,275/credit ($89,250) for the BSN-DNP, labeled 2023-24. The 2026-27 rate adds about $1,755 to the MSN and $1,950 to the certificate.
- Certificate billing is assumed. If the certificate is billed at Marymount’s general graduate rate of $1,433, tuition would be $42,990.
- Certificate students assigned NU 501 add 3 credits and a $246 fee, about $4,332 at current rates.
- A $100 Health and Well-Being fee applies each fall and spring semester; whether online students pay it is not clearly stated.
- Whether the $500 deposit is credited toward tuition is not clearly stated.
- Tuition is set annually, and no cohort rate lock is published. A 7- to 10-semester program will likely see increases.
The real all-in MSN cost is about $1,417 per credit once the clinical course fees and technology fee are added, not the $1,301 still shown on the program page. Budget also for travel to the Arlington intensive and any income lost to weekday clinicals. See the Marymount tuition and fees page for current rates.
Why Choose This FNP Program?
Marymount fits a nurse with a compact license, flexible weekday time, and no appetite for cold-calling preceptors.
Placement handled for you. The placement team finds both the site and the preceptor, using a clinical network centered on Northern Virginia and DC. For nurses in a crowded market where preceptors are scarce, that removes the most common cause of delayed graduation.
One spine, three entry points. The MSN, BSN-DNP, and certificate all share NUF 500 to 504 and the same 700 to 750 practicum hours. BSN-DNP students earn the MSN along the way and can certify before finishing the doctorate, which lowers the risk of committing to a 10-semester program.
The honest drawbacks. Weekday-only clinicals of about 20 hours a week are hard to combine with a full-time day job. The two-jurisdiction license rule can rule out nurses in non-compact states near a border. Published experience requirements, clinical hours, and tuition rates conflict across Marymount’s own pages, so confirm each one in writing before you enroll.
Accreditation
Marymount’s program pages state that the master’s program, the post-master’s certificate programs, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). That covers all three FNP tracks on this page.
One older Marymount accreditation page and the DNP FAQ describe online programs as CCNE accredited “excluding certificates.” The current program and certificate landing pages name the post-master’s certificates explicitly.
Marymount University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Institutional accreditation is what makes Marymount eligible for federal financial aid, including Title IV aid for the certificate.
Graduates of the MSN, BSN-DNP, and certificate are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC).
More FNP Programs in Virginia
- ECPI University - Virginia Beach
- George Mason University - Fairfax
- George Washington University - Ashburn
- James Madison University - Harrisonburg
- Liberty University - Lynchburg
- Mary Baldwin University - Fishersville
- Old Dominion University - Virginia Beach
- Radford University - Radford
- Shenandoah University - Winchester
- University of Virginia - Charlottesville
- Virginia Commonwealth University - Richmond