Georgia State University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:
- MSN
- Post-Master’s Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | ~$22.3K + fees | ~2 yrs (FT) / 2.5+ yrs (PT) | 48 |
| Certificate | ~$12K–$19.5K | Varies by waived courses | 26–42 |
Georgia State’s defining advantage is public-school pricing with no out-of-state penalty: every online student pays the same $464 per credit, putting the full 48-credit MSN near $22,300 in tuition — a rate U.S. News paired with a No. 8 national ranking for online FNP master’s programs in 2026. The trade-off is structure: monthly synchronous class sessions and several mandatory on-campus lab days keep this from being a fully asynchronous program.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN, Post-Master’s Certificate; RN-MSN bridge for ADN/diploma RNs |
| Format | Mostly Online: monthly synchronous classes (WebEx); mandatory campus lab days for Advanced Health Assessment |
| Clinical Hours | 585 itemized across four courses |
| Clinical Placement | School assists via agency contacts; students expected to help find preceptors |
| Population | Family/individual across the lifespan |
| Distinctive Coursework | Gerontological Nursing, Diagnostic Reasoning and Procedures, Culture of Healthcare |
| RN License Requirements | Georgia RN license; 1+ year recent clinical experience |
| Tuition | $464/credit flat online rate + $660/semester online learning fee |
| Admissions | Interview required; GRE/MAT waived with 3.0+ BSN GPA or prior grad degree |
| Accreditation | CCNE (bachelor’s, master’s, post-master’s certificate, DNP) |
MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner at Georgia State is approximately $22,272 (48 credits at $464/credit), before the $660-per-semester online learning fee.
The program can generally be completed in about 2 years full-time (5+ semesters) or 2.5 or more years part-time (7+ semesters), with spring and fall starts.
MSN Curriculum
The 48 credits split into a 22-credit APRN core and a 26-credit FNP specialty sequence. Two design choices stand out. First, the specialty sequence is organized by population rather than by generic “primary care” blocks — separate high-credit courses in adult health (7 credits), pediatrics/adolescents (6), and women’s/reproductive health (6), plus a dedicated 3-credit gerontology course that many FNP programs fold into adult content.
Second, clinical hours are embedded in the specialty courses themselves, so didactic content and rotations for each population run together instead of stacking all clinicals at the end.
Representative courses:
- NURS 7310/7320 – Advanced Pathophysiological Concepts Across the Lifespan I & II
- NURS 7500 – Advanced Health Assessment (includes on-campus lab days)
- NURS 7550 – Pharmacology for the Advanced Practice Nurse
- NURS 7010 – Gerontological Nursing
- NURS 7340 – Common Health Problems of Adults (135 clinical hours)
- NURS 7342 – Common Health Problems of Children and Adolescents (135 clinical hours)
- NURS 7080 – Ambulatory Health Care of Women (135 clinical hours)
- NURS 7360 – Advanced Family Nurse Practicum (180 clinical hours)
RNs with an associate degree or diploma enter through a bridge pathway: two bridge courses (Caring for Families and Communities, 5 credits; Leadership and Management in Nursing, 3 credits) plus any missing undergraduate coursework before master’s classes begin. More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 585 clinical hours itemized: 135 (adults) + 135 (pediatrics) + 135 (women’s health) + 180 (advanced practicum)
- The official full-time program plan states 500 clinical hours; the course-by-course listings on the program page, FAQ, and catalog all sum to 585. Confirm the current total with the program.
- Placement model: the school assists with clinical paperwork and maintains contacts with major agencies, following AACN guidelines — but because metro-Atlanta preceptors are limited, students are asked to help identify preceptors through networking and the clinical placement coordinator
- Students may not pay preceptors or use fee-based preceptor-matching services
- Advanced Health Assessment (NURS 7500) requires several mandatory on-campus lab days; 23 lab hours
At 585 hours, the clinical requirement sits comfortably above the 500-hour certification floor and in the typical range for FNP programs (600–700+ is common at the high end). The placement model is best described as assisted, not guaranteed: Georgia State does real legwork through its agency contacts, but students in the crowded Atlanta preceptor market should expect to network. The ban on paid preceptors and matching services removes a costly shortcut some students use elsewhere.
MSN Admissions
Two things are unusual here: an interview is part of the admissions decision, and applicants need at least one year of recent general clinical experience before starting.
- Spring and fall admission; no set cohort size — admissions limited by resources, most qualified admitted
- Decision based on GPA, GRE or MAT, experience, references, personal statement, and interview
- GRE/MAT waived with a 3.0+ BSN GPA, a graduate degree in another field, or post-master’s certificate status
- 1+ year of recent general clinical experience (hospital or community) required
- Georgia RN license required for clinical courses
- Not ready to apply? A non-degree option lets you take core courses first
Post-Master’s Certificate – Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate – Family Nurse Practitioner at Georgia State ranges from roughly $12,064 to $19,488 (26–42 credits at $464/credit), depending on how many core courses your prior MSN coursework waives.
Duration is not clearly stated and varies with the individualized plan built at admission.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is a gap-analysis program for MSN-prepared nurses from other specialties. The 26-credit FNP specialty sequence — identical to the MSN’s, including all 585 clinical hours — is required of everyone. Up to 16 credits of core courses (advanced pathophysiology, diagnostic reasoning, health assessment, pharmacology, professional practice issues, interprofessional collaboration) can be exempted if your original master’s coursework is deemed equivalent. In practice, nurses from non-NP master’s backgrounds (e.g., education, leadership) should budget for more of the core than current APRNs switching populations.
- NURS 7315 – Advanced Pathophysiological Concepts Across the Lifespan (waivable)
- NURS 7500 – Advanced Health Assessment (waivable)
- NURS 7550 – Pharmacology for the Advanced Practice Nurse (waivable)
- NURS 7330 – Diagnostic Reasoning and Procedures (waivable)
- NURS 7010 – Gerontological Nursing (required)
- NURS 7340 / 7342 / 7080 – population clinical courses, 135 hours each (required)
- NURS 7360 – Advanced Family Nursing Practicum, 180 hours (required)
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Full 585 itemized clinical hours required — no clinical hour reductions regardless of core waivers
- Same assisted placement model and preceptor rules as the MSN
Requiring all 585 hours is stricter than certificate programs that reduce clinicals for practicing APRNs, but it keeps certification eligibility clean and gives career-changers genuine cross-population experience.
Certificate Admissions
One financial caveat matters more than the requirements themselves: post-master’s certificate students may not be eligible for federal financial aid because they are not degree-seeking. Plan on employer tuition reimbursement, scholarships, or self-funding.
- Master’s degree in another nursing specialty required
- GRE/MAT waived for post-master’s certificate applicants
- Prior coursework evaluated for core-course equivalency at admission
Tuition
Georgia State charges $464 per credit hour for its online nursing master’s, the same rate for all students regardless of geographic location.
That puts the 48-credit MSN at approximately $22,272 in tuition; the certificate runs roughly $12,064–$19,488 depending on waived credits. Fees add meaningfully:
- $660 per-semester online learning fee at 6+ credit hours ($110/credit for 1–5 hours) — roughly $3,300 over a 5-semester full-time plan, $4,600+ part-time
- Clinical-related costs: liability insurance (~$35/yr), CPR certification, drug screen/background check (~$85), Typhon tracking (~$80), ACEMAPP (~$85), diagnostic equipment for NURS 7500 ($400–$800)
- Books estimated at $50–$1,500 per semester depending on load
- Certificate students may not qualify for federal financial aid (non-degree-seeking)
All-in, budget roughly $25,600–$27,000 for the full-time MSN — still low for a top-10-ranked program, and notably free of any out-of-state markup. Current rates: gsu.edu/tuition.
Why Choose This FNP Program?
Best suited for nurses who want a nationally ranked public-university FNP at a flat, residency-neutral price and don’t mind scheduled class time.
The value case is straightforward: $464 per credit whether you live in Atlanta or Anchorage, a total tuition near $22,300, and a U.S. News No. 8 ranking among online FNP master’s programs for 2026. Out-of-state nurses in particular rarely find public-school pricing without a nonresident surcharge attached. The 585 clinical hours, embedded course-by-course across adult, pediatric, women’s, and geriatric populations, exceed the certification floor by a healthy margin, and graduates leave eligible for either the ANCC (FNP-BC) or AANP (FNP-C) exam.
The honest trade-offs: this is a distance-learning program, not an asynchronous one. Every course holds at least one mandatory synchronous session per month, and Advanced Health Assessment requires several days on the Atlanta campus — a real cost for out-of-state students drawn by the flat rate. Admissions has more friction than open-enrollment competitors: an interview, references, a one-year experience gate, and a Georgia RN license for clinicals. And while the school assists with placement through established agency contacts, metro-Atlanta preceptor scarcity means students share the search — and paying a preceptor-matching service is explicitly prohibited. Nurses who want zero campus travel and fully self-paced coursework should look at fully asynchronous alternatives; nurses who want structure, faculty contact, and a strong price-to-ranking ratio will find this hard to beat in Georgia.
Accreditation
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master of science degree program in nursing, post-master’s certificate, and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Georgia State University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Georgia State is a public institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Graduates of the FNP option are eligible for national certification through both the American Nurses Credentialing Center (FNP-BC) and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (FNP-C).
Compare More FNP Programs in Georgia
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