Tennessee State University FNP Programs | Family Nurse Practitioner

Tennessee State University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

MSN
Post-Graduate Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

Program	Est. Tuition (In-State / Out-of-State)	Est. Duration	Credit Hours
MSN	$30,044	6 sems (FT)	49
Certificate	$9,538	2 sems (FT only)	15

Tennessee State’s defining feature is a post-graduate certificate that delivers the same 750 clinical hours as the 49-credit MSN in only 15 credits and two semesters. One caveat belongs up front: TSU’s nursing programs are accredited by ACEN, not CCNE. ACEN is a fully recognized nursing accreditor, but it is the less common choice for FNP programs, so verify it against your employer’s requirements and any DNP program you plan to apply to.

Quick Facts

Feature	Details
Program Types	MSN FNP concentration; post-graduate FNP certificate
Format	Mostly Online. Online coursework, up to 3 campus visits to Nashville
Clinical Hours	750 stated for both tracks (1 credit = 125 clock hours)
Clinical Placement	Student-sourced. You identify preceptors; TSU approves and executes agreements
Population	Adult-gerontology, pediatric, and women’s primary care, taught as separate course pairs
Distinctive Coursework	6 elective credits plus a 6-credit thesis or scholarly project in the MSN
Concentrations	None within FNP. TSU permits only one MSN concentration per degree
RN License Requirements	Active, unencumbered RN license in the state where clinicals occur
Enrollment Restrictions	Not admitting residents of California, Louisiana, Nevada, or New York
Comprehensive Exam	Proctored exam in the graduation semester. Four failures ends enrollment
Tuition	$539/credit resident maintenance, credits 1–10, plus program service fees
Accreditation	ACEN (not CCNE); SACSCOC; Tennessee Board of Nursing approval

MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

The estimated tuition for the Master of Science in Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner) at Tennessee State University is approximately $30,044 in-state (49 credits billed at $539/credit maintenance plus program service fees). The program can generally be completed in about 6 semesters of full-time study, including one summer term, or 9 semesters part-time.

MSN Curriculum

Foundation Courses (22 credits). The core runs theory, research, role development, and health policy alongside the three advanced practice science courses. TSU splits advanced health assessment into a 3-credit didactic course and a separate 1-credit clinical, which is worth noting because that clinical credit carries 125 clock hours under the program’s own ratio.

FNP Specialty Sequence (15 credits). TSU does not teach a single combined lifespan course. Instead it runs three didactic-plus-clinical pairs: adult-gerontology in the fall, then pediatrics and women’s health together in the spring. Each didactic course is co-registered with its own clinical, so the classroom content and the patient encounters stay locked together by population.

Electives and Scholarly Work (12 credits). The FNP concentration requires 6 elective credits plus a 6-credit thesis or project sequence. That is 12 of 49 credits outside FNP clinical content, and it makes TSU’s MSN a traditional academic master’s rather than a clinically streamlined one. Students may transfer in up to 6 graduate credits toward the elective requirement.

NURS 5000 – Nursing Theory (3)
NURS 5210 – Pathophysiology (3, fall)
NURS 5280 – Pharmacotherapeutics (3, spring)
NURS 5100 / 5111 – Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical (3 + 1, summer)
NURS 5150 / 5154 – Primary Care in Adult-Gero Clients and Clinical (4 + 3, fall)
NURS 5160 / 5164 – Primary Care in Pediatric Clients and Clinical (3 + 2, spring)
NURS 5171 / 5174 – Primary Care in Women Clients and Clinical (2 + 1, spring)
NURS 5200 or 5220 – Thesis Writing or Project Writing (6)

You Should Know

Course sequencing is tight. Pathophysiology is offered fall only, pharmacotherapeutics spring only, and advanced health assessment summer only. Missing one can push graduation back a full year.
TSU’s course inventory lists four additional FNP-coded courses (NURS 5120, 5124, 5140, and 5144, Advanced Family Health Nursing I and II) that appear in neither program of study. They appear to be legacy listings, but confirm with an advisor if you see them referenced.
A proctored comprehensive examination is required in the graduation semester. A first failure allows a prescribed study plan and retake; a fourth failure results in dismissal from the program.

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinical Requirements

750 clinical hours stated at program completion
TSU publishes an explicit conversion: 1 clinical credit = 125 clock hours
Students identify their own potential preceptors
A clinical affiliation agreement must be fully executed before you may register for a clinical course
Clinical work may not begin until you receive written notice of preceptor approval
Background check, drug screen, immunizations, liability insurance, and health insurance are required and paid by the student
Compliance documents upload through the Medatrax system

At 750 hours, TSU sits 250 above the 500-hour national certification floor and at the upper edge of the 600–700 range most FNP programs use. The volume is genuinely strong. The placement model is where the burden falls: TSU assigns you no preceptor and provides no placement office, and the requirement that agreements be executed before registration means a preceptor search that stalls does not just delay clinicals, it blocks you from enrolling in the course at all.

TSU also lists starting clinical hours before written approval as grounds for academic disqualification, so there is no informal workaround. Budget several months of lead time per clinical course, and confirm you can secure adult, pediatric, and women’s health sites separately, since the three sequences require different practice settings.

You Should Know

The stated 750 hours equals the six specialty clinical credits (NURS 5154, 5164, and 5174) at 125 hours each. Applying the same published ratio to the 1-credit assessment clinical (NURS 5111) would add 125 hours for a total of 875. TSU does not explain whether that clinical is excluded from the count or simply omitted from the total.
Faculty site visits are not mentioned in TSU’s materials. Whether a faculty member observes you in the clinical setting is unstated.
Preceptor credential requirements are not published. Ask whether nurse practitioners, physicians, or both are accepted, and whether a preceptor may supervise more than one student.
Summer clinical availability is not addressed, which matters because the six-semester full-time plan includes a 10-week summer term.

MSN Admissions

Two applications are required, and a single grade below B in any prior graduate nursing course is a hard disqualifier regardless of your overall GPA.

BSN from an NLNAC-, ACEN-, or CCNE-accredited program
Overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; applicants between 2.50 and 2.99 may be considered for conditional admission
Conditional admits must earn a B or better across their first 9 graduate credits to convert to unconditional status
Active, unencumbered RN license in the state where clinicals will occur
Current clinical practice
Both a NursingCAS application and a TSU Graduate School application, with fee
Three professional references, official transcripts from all colleges, resume, RN license copy, AHA BLS certification, and a one-page goals statement naming the FNP specialty
Applications are reviewed on an annual cycle: August 1 for fall entry, December 1 for spring entry
No GRE requirement is stated

You Should Know

Residents of California, Louisiana, Nevada, and New York are not currently admitted. TSU participates in NC-SARA, but those four state boards restrict distance nursing education from TSU.
The catalog states students are admitted three times each year but lists only fall and spring deadlines, and the program page states admission occurs each fall and spring. Confirm whether a summer intake actually exists.
Admission is competitive and space-limited, so meeting the stated minimums does not guarantee a seat. Cohort size is not published.
Estimated duration varies by source. The FNP program page describes a nine-semester part-time route; the catalog says seven to eight. Ask for the current plan of study in writing.

Post-Graduate Certificate – Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post Graduate Certificate: Family Nurse Practitioner at Tennessee State University is approximately $9,538 in-state (15 credits billed at $539/credit maintenance plus program service fees).

The program is offered full-time only and takes 2 semesters, fall through spring.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is the MSN’s FNP specialty sequence with nothing else attached. You take the same six courses in the same order, and you complete the same 750 clinical hours. What you skip is the 34 credits of foundation coursework, electives, and thesis or project writing that the degree requires.

That produces an unusual result within TSU’s own catalog: the certificate carries the identical clinical volume as the master’s degree at roughly a third of the credits and under a third of the in-state cost. The trade-off is that it is not a degree, so it will not satisfy an employer or doctoral program that requires an MSN in hand.

NURS 5150 / 5154 – Primary Care in Adult-Gero Clients and Clinical (4 + 3)
NURS 5160 / 5164 – Primary Care in Pediatric Clients and Clinical (3 + 2)
NURS 5171 / 5174 – Primary Care in Women Clients and Clinical (2 + 1)

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

750 clinical hours, matching the MSN, across 6 clinical credits at 125 hours each
Same student-sourced preceptor model, affiliation agreement, and pre-registration approval rules as the MSN
Same background check, drug screen, immunization, and insurance requirements at student cost

Compressing 750 hours into two semesters is the real consideration here. That averages roughly 375 hours per term, or about 25 hours weekly across a 15-week semester, on top of nine didactic credits. Because there is no part-time option, you cannot spread the load. Nurses planning to keep a full-time clinical job through the certificate should map the schedule against their employer before applying.

Certificate Admissions

The gate here is coursework recency, not experience. Your three advanced practice science courses must be no more than five years old at enrollment.

MSN or doctoral degree from an NLNAC-, ACEN-, or CCNE-accredited nursing program
Graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher
Advanced Health Assessment with clinical (4 credits), Advanced Pathophysiology (3), and Advanced Pharmacology (3) completed within 5 years prior to enrollment
Any of those three missing from your prior degree must be taken at TSU before certificate coursework begins, which extends both timeline and cost
Current unencumbered RN license in the state where clinicals will occur
Full NursingCAS application plus TSU Graduate School admission
August 1 for fall entry, December 1 for spring entry

You Should Know

Whether the campus visit and comprehensive exam requirements apply to certificate students is not stated. The three campus milestones TSU lists are all MSN degree events, so certificate students may owe none, but this is unconfirmed.
Because entry is fall-only under a two-semester fall-through-spring sequence, a December application appears to lead to a spring start that does not align with the published course rotation. Confirm your actual start term before applying.
Federal financial aid eligibility for a stand-alone certificate is not addressed in TSU’s materials. Non-degree certificates are frequently ineligible.

Tuition

Tennessee State bills graduate students at $539 per credit in maintenance fees for credits 1 through 10, dropping to $106 per credit for credits 11 and above in the same term. Out-of-state students add $642 per credit on top of that for credits 1 through 10. A program service fee of $97 per credit applies through 7 credits and then caps at $774 per semester. Figures below are derived from the university’s published Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 fee schedule and are estimates.

MSN, 49 credits, in-state: approximately $30,044, or about $613 per credit all-in
MSN, 49 credits, out-of-state standard rate: approximately $60,988, or about $1,245 per credit
Certificate, 15 credits, in-state: approximately $9,538, or about $636 per credit
Certificate, 15 credits, out-of-state standard rate: approximately $19,168
TSU publishes a separate graduate eRate schedule for out-of-state online students that replaces the $642 per-credit surcharge with $270 per credit. At that rate the MSN runs about $43,707 and the certificate about $13,588

Be aware that:

The eRate schedule is described as an all-online initiative applicable to Quottly courses, and it does not apply to TN eCampus Section R50 sections. TSU does not state which schedule the online MSN nursing courses fall under, and the difference for an out-of-state student is roughly $17,000 across the MSN. Get this answered in writing by the Bursar before you enroll.
MSN totals depend on your semester loads because the maintenance rate drops after the tenth credit and the program service fee caps at eight. The estimate above assumes a six-semester full-time plan of 9, 9, 4, 10, 11, and 6 credits. A part-time schedule spread across nine semesters costs more in fees.
The fee schedule excludes departmental course fees, lab fees, and book costs, none of which TSU itemizes for the nursing programs.
Clinical compliance costs are separate and student-paid: background check, drug screening, immunizations, professional liability insurance, personal health insurance, and Medatrax platform access.
All rates are subject to approval by the TSU Board of Trustees and can change year over year.

The practical takeaway: for a Tennessee resident, the in-state math is genuinely low for a program delivering 750 clinical hours. For anyone outside Tennessee, your real cost hinges entirely on which tuition schedule applies, and that is a single question worth a phone call before you apply.

Full rates are published on the TSU Bursar fee schedule.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who already hold an MSN and want the fastest credible route to FNP certification, and for Tennessee residents who want a low-cost public degree and can source their own preceptors.

The certificate is the standout. Fifteen credits, two semesters, 750 clinical hours. That is the same clinical volume TSU’s own 49-credit master’s produces, at roughly a third of the in-state cost. If you already have an MSN and your advanced patho, pharm, and assessment coursework is under five years old, this is an efficient path to a second credential. If those prerequisites have aged out, the calculation changes quickly, because you will pay for and sit through up to 10 additional credits before the certificate sequence even starts.

The MSN is a traditional academic degree, not a streamlined clinical one. Twelve of its 49 credits go to electives and a thesis or scholarly project, and a proctored comprehensive exam stands between you and graduation. For a nurse who wants to write, teach, or continue to doctoral study, that structure is an asset and the project becomes portfolio material. For a nurse who wants to see patients as soon as possible, it is a semester or more of coursework that other MSN programs do not require. Neither reading is wrong, but you should know which one you are.

The honest trade-offs are placement and outcomes. You find your own preceptors, and the affiliation agreement must be signed before you can register for the clinical course, which is a stricter sequence than most programs impose. TSU also publishes its own completion data, which sits near 50 percent over recent years. That figure reflects a working-nurse student body and a self-sourced clinical model, and it is a reason to be candid with yourself about your preceptor network and your schedule before committing. Certification pass rates, by contrast, have been strong for those who finish.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate and master’s nursing programs at Tennessee State University are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The FNP concentration and the post-graduate certificate are both covered. TSU reports that the most recent ACEN Board of Commissioners decision for the master’s and post-master’s certificate program was continuing accreditation, which is the standard outcome for a program in good standing.

ACEN rather than CCNE is the detail to register. Both are recognized nursing accreditors and both satisfy AANP and ANCC certification eligibility, so this is not a red flag. But CCNE accredits the large majority of NP programs, and some employers, credentialing bodies, and DNP admissions offices write CCNE into their requirements by habit rather than by policy. TSU itself accepts NLNAC, ACEN, or CCNE degrees for admission, which shows how the field generally treats them.

The practical step is short: if you have a specific DNP program or employer in mind, send them the program name and ask whether an ACEN-accredited MSN satisfies their requirement. Get the answer in writing.

The programs also hold full approval status from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. Tennessee State University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

TSU states that graduates are educationally prepared for future certification as an FNP but does not specify AANP versus ANCC eligibility. In practice, graduates of accredited FNP programs are typically eligible for the national FNP certification exam through either body.

You should know:

TSU’s published outcome table lists FNP certification pass rates of 100 percent in 2025, 80 percent in 2024, and 100 percent in 2023, which averages 93 percent. The surrounding text describes the mean pass rate as 100 percent.
The same text reports a 100 percent employment rate while the table lists 80 percent for 2025 and no reported figure for 2024.
Completion rates are listed as 50 percent for 2025, 43 percent for 2024, and 67 percent for 2023, and the narrative cites a three-year rate of 51 percent.
Ask the program for current-year figures directly rather than relying on the published page.

Compare More Family NP Programs

Austin Peay State University - Clarksville
Carson-Newman University - Jefferson City
East Tennessee State University - Johnson City
Lincoln Memorial University - Harrogate
Middle Tennessee State University - Murfreesboro
Tennessee Tech University - Cookeville
Union University - Jackson
University of Memphis - Memphis
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Chattanooga
University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Knoxville
University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Memphis
Vanderbilt University - Nashville

Compare all online Family Nurse Practitioner programs in Tennessee