California State University, LA FNP Programs

School of Nursing • Los Angeles, CA • Campus • $430/credit

California State University, Los Angeles offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner tracks:

  • MSN-FNP (56 units) — for BSN-prepared RNs
  • Post-Master’s FNP Certificate (32 units) — for MSN-prepared nurses

Both are full-time, in-person programs at the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing, built around an urban health-equity mission to serve Los Angeles’s diverse and vulnerable communities.

Each requires 900 clinical hours and prepares graduates for FNP certification through the ANCC or AANP. Entry is Fall-only, at affordable public-university tuition.

Program Tracks Overview

Program NameEst. TuitionEst. Duration
MSN FNP$24K 2 years (5 semesters)
Post-Master’s Certificate FNP$14K 1 year (3 semesters)

Cal State LA’s Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing offers an affordable, in-person FNP built around urban health equity — preparing nurse practitioners to serve Los Angeles’s multicultural and vulnerable communities, with 900 clinical hours.

MSN FNP

The estimated cost for the MSN FNP at California State University, Los Angeles is about $24,000 in resident tuition and fees (five semesters of full-time CSU rates).

The program takes two years (five semesters) full-time. Non-residents pay an extra $471 per unit.

MSN Curriculum

The MSN-FNP totals 56 units — a 21-unit core (APRN role and policy, the “three Ps,” advanced assessment with practicum, informatics, and nursing theory/research), a 32-unit FNP option (three FNP courses plus three FNP practicums), and a 3-unit culminating experience (comprehensive exam or thesis/project).

It’s in-person and full-time, including a summer term.

NURS 5020 — Role, Health Care & Policy
Examines the Advanced Practice Nurse role and its influence on healthcare policy and delivery systems.

NURS 5280 — Advanced Pharmacology
Covers pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapeutics for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common conditions in primary and acute care.

NURS 5660 — Advanced Pathophysiology
Explores disease processes, adaptive physiologic mechanisms, and clinical intervention rationale for pathophysiologic alterations.

NURS 5720 — Advanced Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
Develops advanced health assessment and diagnostic reasoning skills using holistic perspectives to analyze patients’ physical, psychosocial, developmental, and environmental needs across the lifespan.

NURS 5730 — Advanced Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning Practicum
Supervised practicum applying advanced assessment and diagnostic reasoning skills using holistic perspectives across the lifespan.

NURS 5800 — Nursing Informatics
Focuses on using information management technology and nursing science to manage data and enhance nursing care and scholarship.

NURS 5900 — Nursing Theory, Research & Practice
Synthesizes nursing theory and research methods to develop evidence-based practice and disseminate nursing and interdisciplinary knowledge.

NURS 5211 — Family Nurse Practitioner I
Introduces evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, and intervention planning for primary care needs of newborns, children, adolescents, women, and families.

NURS 5213 — Family Nurse Practitioner II
Covers health promotion, disease prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and management of acute episodic conditions in culturally diverse adult and older adult patients.

NURS 5214 — Family Nurse Practitioner III
Builds advanced primary care skills for managing acute episodic conditions in culturally diverse adult and older adult patients through evidence-based practice.

NURS 5310 — Family Nurse Practitioner Practicum I
Applies evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, and intervention skills in primary care for newborns, children, adolescents, and women.

NURS 5312 — Family Nurse Practitioner II Practicum
Provides supervised practice in health promotion, disease prevention, and management of acute and chronic conditions in diverse adult and older adult patients.

NURS 5313 — Family Nurse Practitioner III Practicum
Expands clinical competency in assessing, diagnosing, and managing acute and chronic conditions for diverse adult and older adult patients.

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinicals

The FNP program requires 900 clinical hours (effective Fall 2024, meeting NONPF standards), completed across three practicums.

  • Total hours: 900 (FNP Practicum I: 315, II: 315, III: 270)
  • Placement: the School of Nursing’s clinical placement office arranges sites (students may request their own)
  • Settings: community-based and ambulatory primary care across Los Angeles
  • Schedule: clinical 2–3 times per week in the second year, negotiated with preceptors
  • Population focus: family primary care across the lifespan, in urban/multicultural communities

MSN Admissions

Admission is Fall-entry only and requires a BSN and a California RN license.

  • BSN from an NLN- or CCNE-accredited program
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA (cumulative and nursing)
  • Prerequisites: inferential statistics, a health assessment course with lab, and undergraduate nursing research
  • Current, unrestricted California RN license
  • Three letters of recommendation and a personal essay (no more than three pages)
  • Mandatory interview (on-campus or virtual)

Applications run through Cal State Apply (October–January, priority January 15, final April 15). Before the first clinical, students must complete a background check, CPR certification, a physical exam, and immunizations.

Post-Master’s Certificate FNP

The estimated cost for the Post-Master’s FNP Certificate at California State University, Los Angeles is about $14,000 in resident tuition and fees (three semesters of full-time CSU rates).

The program takes about one year (three semesters). Non-residents pay an extra $471 per unit.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is 32 units for MSN-prepared nurses. It skips the master’s core — assuming the APRN role course, the three Ps, and advanced assessment were already completed — and delivers the FNP specialty courses and practicums. Non-NP applicants may need to complete prerequisite core courses (advanced pharmacology, pathophysiology, assessment, and role) first, which can be taken through Open University.

  • NURS 5211 — Family Nurse Practitioner I (4)
  • NURS 5213 — Family Nurse Practitioner II (4)
  • NURS 5214 — Family Nurse Practitioner III (4)
  • NURS 5310 — Family Nurse Practitioner Practicum I (7)
  • NURS 5312 — Family Nurse Practitioner Practicum II (7)
  • NURS 5313 — Family Nurse Practitioner Practicum III (6)

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinicals

The certificate also requires 900 clinical hours across three FNP practicums.

  • Total hours: 900 (three FNP practicums)
  • Placement: the clinical placement office arranges sites (students may self-source)
  • Population focus: family primary care across the lifespan
  • Schedule: full-time and in-person, with clinical 2–3 times per week
  • Prerequisites: NP core (role, the three Ps, assessment) required before starting

Certificate Admissions

The certificate is for master’s-prepared nurses, Fall-entry only.

  • MSN from an NLN- or CCNE-accredited program
  • Minimum 3.0 MSN GPA
  • Completed core courses: APRN role, advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced physical/health assessment with lab
  • Current, unrestricted California RN license
  • Three letters of recommendation, a personal essay, and a mandatory interview

Non-NP applicants may complete missing core courses through Open University. Applications run through Cal State Apply (October–January, priority January 15).

Tuition

Cal State LA is a public CSU on a semester system. Full-time graduate tuition and mandatory fees run about $9,648 per year (roughly $4,824 per semester) for California residents.

Over the MSN’s five semesters that’s about $24,000, and over the certificate’s three semesters about $14,000 — among the most affordable FNP options in California.

Non-resident students pay an additional $471 per unit (about $26,000 more across the 56-unit MSN). Additional School of Nursing fees, books, and clinical costs apply.

See the official cost page for current rates: Cost of Attendance.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate, master’s, and post-graduate APRN certificate nursing programs at Cal State LA’s Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The university is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. FNP graduates are recognized as advanced practice nurses by the California Board of Registered Nursing and are eligible to sit for FNP certification through the ANCC or the AANP.

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