Drexel University FNP Programs

College of Nursing and Health Professions • Philadelphia, PA • Mostly Online • $1,169/credit

Drexel University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • Post-Master’s Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$65.5K3 yrs56 (quarter)
Post-Master’s Cert.$44.4K2 yrs38 (quarter)

Drexel’s defining feature is its quarter calendar. Four 10-week terms run each year, and tuition is billed in quarter credits worth two-thirds of a semester credit, so the $1,169 rate cannot be compared directly against semester-based programs.

Two structural consequences follow, and both are unusual among online FNP programs. Lectures are synchronous rather than on-demand, meaning you attend class at a set time. And the published plan of study contains several terms that fall below the federal half-time threshold, so financial aid will not disburse in those quarters.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN; Post-Master’s Certificate
FormatMostly Online — synchronous lectures plus a four-day on-campus intensive
Academic CalendarQuarter system: four 10-week terms per year
Clinical Hours720 — identical across both tracks
Clinical PlacementStudent-arranged site and preceptor; department provides supporting resources
PopulationFamily and individual across the lifespan, birth through end of life
Distinctive CourseworkSecond FNP-specific pharmacology course beyond core advanced pharmacology
Campus RequirementFour days on campus in NURS 534, week one of summer quarter
RN License RequirementsPennsylvania RN license required before clinical courses begin, not at admission
Financial Aid NoteSeveral planned terms fall under the 4.5-credit half-time minimum
Tuition$1,169 per quarter credit, 2026–27, plus a $125 annual online program fee
AccreditationCCNE, both tracks

MSN — Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner (Individual Across the Lifespan) at Drexel is approximately $65,464 (56 quarter credits at $1,169 per credit). The program can generally be completed in about three years, spread across twelve consecutive quarters of part-time study.

MSN Curriculum

Structure. The 56 quarter credits divide into four blocks: 15 credits of graduate nursing core, 14 credits of clinical support science, 24 credits of FNP specialty practicum courses, and a 3-credit elective. Converted at Drexel’s own ratio of 1.5 quarter credits per semester credit, the degree is roughly 37 semester credits — a normal MSN length delivered in a different unit of measure.

Double pharmacology. Most FNP curricula carry one advanced pharmacology course. Drexel requires two: NURS 549 Advanced Pharmacology as the APRN core requirement, then NURS 556 Pharmacology for Family Nurse Practitioners as a population-specific follow-on. That is 6 quarter credits of prescribing content, and it sits deliberately between the core sciences and the first practicum.

Specialty sequence. The five FNP courses are segmented by population rather than by skill level. FNP I covers the emerging family, FNP II covers infants through adolescents, FNP III and IV split adults and older adults across two full terms, and FNP V is an integrative lifespan practicum. The two-term adult block is the notable design choice — it gives adult and geriatric primary care twice the dedicated time that pediatrics receives.

Elective latitude. The single 3-credit elective accepts any graduate course numbered 500–699 with a NURS, NUPR, Interprofessional Studies, or Complementary and Integrative Health prefix. Anything outside those prefixes requires department chair approval. This is wider latitude than most FNP programs allow, and it is the only place in the degree where you choose your own content.

Core and support courses:

  • NURS 500 — Confronting Issues in Contemporary Health Care Environments (3.0)
  • NURS 502 — Advanced Ethical Decision Making in Health Care (3.0)
  • NURS 544 — Quality and Safety in Healthcare (3.0)
  • RSCH 503 — Research Methods and Biostatistics (3.0)
  • RSCH 504 — Evaluation and Translation of Health Research (3.0)
  • NURS 548 — Advanced Pathophysiology (3.0)
  • NURS 550 — Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostic Reasoning (4.0)
  • NURS 664 — Professional Issues for Nurse Practitioners (1.0)
  • NUPR 520 — Nurse Practitioner Clinical Orientation Seminar (0.0)

NOTE: The published sample plan of study reports a total of “28–56” credits. This is a display artifact — the practicum courses are listed with dual values (0.0, 5.0) and the low end of the range sums those zeros. The degree requirement table confirms 56.0 credits.

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • 720 total clinical hours, stated in the graduate catalog alongside the 56-credit requirement.
  • Hours are carried entirely by the five FNP practicum courses totaling 24 quarter credits.
  • ⚠ Derived: at 30 hours per quarter credit, the sequence distributes as roughly 150 hours each in FNP I–IV and 120 hours in FNP V. Drexel does not publish a per-course breakdown.
  • Students locate and coordinate their own clinical site and preceptor. The Department of Advanced Practice Nursing supplies resources to assist but does not place students.
  • Drexel states directly that site and preceptor availability varies by state and that you may need to travel to complete your hours.
  • A four-day on-campus intensive occurs in NURS 534 during week one of the summer quarter, held in the simulation lab with faculty supervision.
  • Pennsylvania RN licensure must be in place before clinical components begin. It is not an admission requirement.

At 720 hours, Drexel sits 44 percent above the 500-hour national certification floor and near the upper end of the 600–700 band that most FNP programs occupy. That volume is a genuine strength. The placement model is the counterweight: you own the search. Self-sourcing preceptors is common in online FNP education, but it is the single most frequent cause of delayed graduation, and a quarter calendar compounds the risk because missing a practicum start pushes you a full 10 weeks rather than a few days. The Pennsylvania RN license requirement narrows the problem further if you practice elsewhere — you will hold a license in a state where you may never intend to work.

MSN Admissions

Admission is BSN-entry only, with no bridge pathway for associate-degree or non-nursing-degree applicants into this track. The experience expectation is stated as a preference rather than a gate.

  • BSN from an institution accredited by CCNE, ACEN, or NLN CNEA.
  • Cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or above.
  • One to two years of medical-surgical nursing experience preferred, not required.
  • Current, unrestricted United States RN license.
  • Two professional letters of recommendation from supervisors or former nursing faculty. Colleagues and family members are not accepted.
  • Personal statement under 1,000 words addressing program fit, post-graduation plans, and how current work experience applies.
  • Resume detailing responsibilities and job experience.
  • Official transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended, including trade schools.
  • The source lists a January 4, 2027 start with a December 7, 2026 application deadline. Drexel runs four entry points a year on the quarter calendar; confirm the specific term you want.

Post-Master’s Certificate — Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate in Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner is approximately $44,422 (38 quarter credits at $1,169 per credit).

The program can generally be completed in about two years across eight quarters.

Certificate Curriculum

What is removed and what is not. The certificate strips exactly 18 credits from the MSN: the entire 15-credit graduate nursing core and the 3-credit elective. Every clinical science course and every FNP practicum survives intact. Advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, FNP pharmacology, health assessment, professional issues, and all five practicum courses transfer over unchanged.

Why that matters. Some post-master’s certificates also waive the 3 Ps on the theory that an MSN-prepared nurse already completed them. Drexel does not. If your master’s included advanced pathophysiology and pharmacology, you will take them again here. Ask the Graduate Nursing Division in writing whether any of those courses can be waived on transcript review, because the answer is worth roughly $11,690 in the four core science courses alone.

Required courses:

  • NUPR 520 — Nurse Practitioner Clinical Orientation Seminar (0.0)
  • NURS 548 — Advanced Pathophysiology (3.0)
  • NURS 549 — Advanced Pharmacology (3.0)
  • NURS 550 — Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostic Reasoning (4.0)
  • NURS 556 — Pharmacology for Family Nurse Practitioners (3.0)
  • NURS 664 — Professional Issues for Nurse Practitioners (1.0)
  • NURS 534–538 — FNP I through V practicum sequence (24.0 combined)

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • 720 clinical hours, matching the MSN exactly.
  • Same five practicum courses, same 24 credits, same sequence.
  • Same student-arranged placement model and same four-day on-campus intensive in NURS 534.
  • NOTE: The catalog lists instructional delivery as “Online” while describing a mandatory on-campus intensive in the same entry. Treat the campus requirement as active.
  • Drexel does not publish whether prior APRN clinical hours reduce the 720-hour requirement. Certificate applicants who already hold NP certification in another population should ask.

The certificate delivers the full clinical load in two years rather than three, which is the meaningful trade. Compressing 720 hours into eight quarters means the practicum courses run back to back with no gap term, while the MSN spreads the same hours across a longer runway with core coursework front-loaded. If you are working full time, the certificate is the denser commitment of the two despite being the shorter program.

Certificate Admissions

The catalog states a completed master’s degree in nursing as the entry requirement. Drexel does not publish a separate admissions checklist for this certificate in the material reviewed.

  • Master’s degree in nursing required for admission.
  • GPA threshold, recommendation letter count, and RN experience expectations: not clearly stated for this track. The MSN requirements are a reasonable starting assumption but are not confirmed to apply.
  • Pennsylvania RN licensure required before clinical components begin, consistent with the MSN.
  • Federal aid eligible, subject to the same half-time credit threshold that affects two planned terms.

Tuition

Drexel publishes a single rate for both FNP tracks: $1,169 per quarter credit for the 2026–27 academic year. That figure is already a 10 percent reduction from Drexel’s standard graduate rate of $1,298 per credit, applied to fully online students. Applying it across each track’s credit requirement produces an estimated $65,464 for the 56-credit MSN and $44,422 for the 38-credit certificate.

The quarter-credit unit is the number to watch. A quarter credit equals two-thirds of a semester credit by Drexel’s own conversion, so $1,169 per quarter credit is equivalent to roughly $1,754 per semester credit. Comparing Drexel’s headline rate against a semester-based program’s rate will mislead you in Drexel’s favor. Compare program totals instead.

  • A $125 graduate online program fee applies each academic year, adding about $375 to the MSN and $250 to the certificate.
  • Additional equipment and lab fees apply, including a Watermark assessment platform charge. Amounts are not published.
  • Rates increase at the start of each fall term. A three-year MSN spans three rate cycles, so the estimate above is a floor, not a fixed price.
  • Alumni, military, and partner-organization rates exist but must be requested from Drexel Online within the first two weeks of the term. They do not stack with each other.

Be aware that:

  • The discounted rate applies only to fully online courses. Drexel states that hybrid or on-campus courses may be billed differently, and NURS 534 carries a required on-campus intensive. Confirm how that course is billed.
  • Without the 10 percent online reduction, the same credit loads reach $72,688 (MSN) and $49,324 (certificate) at the $1,298 standard rate.
  • The MSN plan of study includes terms below the 4.5-credit half-time minimum, and federal aid does not disburse in those quarters. Budget for them out of pocket.

The all-in figure for the MSN is realistically above $66,000 once fees and annual increases are counted, and the aid-disbursement gaps mean the cash-flow timing is uneven even if the total is manageable.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who want live faculty contact rather than recorded lectures, who can build a schedule around a fixed class time and one Philadelphia campus week, and who are comfortable sourcing their own preceptors.

The synchronous format is the real dividing line. Most online FNP programs record lectures and let you watch them at 11 p.m. after a shift. Drexel does not — you attend at a set hour. For a nurse working rotating or night shifts, that is a scheduling problem that no amount of program quality solves. For a nurse on a predictable schedule who has found asynchronous learning isolating, it is exactly the thing that has been missing, and it comes paired with faculty who supervise the simulation intensive directly.

The clinical picture is strong on volume and demanding on logistics. At 720 hours you graduate well above the certification minimum, and the five-course population sequence gives adult and geriatric primary care a full two terms of dedicated time. But you find your own site and preceptor, and Drexel says plainly that you may have to travel. Pair that with a quarter calendar where a missed practicum start costs you 10 weeks, and the planning burden is front-loaded. Line up placements early.

On cost, be deliberate. Drexel is a private university charging private-university rates, and the quarter-credit unit makes the per-credit figure look more competitive than it is. Against Pennsylvania’s public options, the gap is substantial. What you are buying is a CCNE-accredited program with live instruction, hands-on simulation, and a reported 100 percent board pass rate — though Drexel publishes no cohort size or year for that figure, so weigh it accordingly. If the calendar and the classroom format fit how you actually work, the price is defensible. If they do not, no other feature of this program will compensate.

Accreditation

Both the MSN Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner program and the corresponding Post-Master’s Certificate at Drexel University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Drexel University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Drexel states that graduates of both tracks are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam through either AANP or ANCC — dual eligibility that is standard in FNP education but useful to have confirmed in the catalog. ⚠ Drexel’s marketing pages use the label “Certified Family Nurse Practitioner (CFNP),” which is not a current credential; the awarded credentials are FNP-C from AANP and FNP-BC from ANCC. Certification eligibility also depends on the requirements in force when you apply, and on your intended practice state’s own rules. Confirm state authorization with Drexel before enrolling if you plan to complete clinical hours outside Pennsylvania.

⚠ Drexel’s Post-Master’s Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner with Emergency Specialization is not currently accepting new students. Nurses seeking emergency-care preparation are directed to Drexel’s separate Emergency Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate, which is designed for practitioners who already hold FNP preparation.

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