Baylor University FNP Programs

Louise Herrington School of Nursing • Dallas, TX • Mostly Online • $1,250/credit

Baylor University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • BSN-DNP
  • Post-Master’s DNP (for certified FNPs)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
BSN-DNP$93.8K3.3 years
(10 semesters)		75
Post-Master’s DNP$46.3K–$47.5K1.5–2 years
(4–6 semesters)		37–38

Tuition estimates use Baylor’s published $1,250 online DNP per-credit rate multiplied by catalog and program-page credit totals.

One required course in global health and missions, plus one required clinical in a low-resource or international setting: Baylor builds underserved care into the FNP credential itself. Both tracks are online with required on-campus immersions, and Baylor’s placement team secures sites and preceptors for every rotation.

The trade-off is commitment. Baylor offers the FNP only as a doctorate at private-school pricing, and it accepts applicants from just 24 states plus the District of Columbia.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesBSN-DNP (FNP concentration); Post-Master’s DNP for certified FNPs
FormatMostly Online: online coursework with required on-campus and virtual immersions
Clinical Hours1,125 (BSN-DNP); 1,000 minimum including master’s hours (Post-Master’s)
Clinical PlacementClinical Placement Coordinator secures sites and preceptors for all rotations, in your region
PopulationPrimary care across ages, with a catalog focus on underserved individuals from varied cultures
Distinctive CourseworkGlobal Healthcare and Missions; low-resource or international FNP clinical; Servant Leadership
ConcentrationsNone within FNP
RN License RequirementsCurrent unencumbered RN license (BSN-DNP); unencumbered APRN license (Post-Master’s)
Experience GateOne year of full-time RN experience (BSN-DNP)
Enrollment RestrictionsApplicants accepted from 24 states plus DC only
Tuition$1,250 per credit, no residency differential
AccreditationCCNE (DNP program); SACSCOC (institution)

BSN to DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP at Baylor University is approximately $93,750 (75 credits at $1,250/credit). The program can generally be completed in about three years and four months, which works out to 10 semesters on Baylor’s three-term calendar.

Official program: Online DNP – Family Nurse Practitioner

BSN-DNP Curriculum

The 75 credits split into a 47-credit Advanced Practice Nursing Core, a 23-credit FNP concentration, and a 5-credit Advanced Practice Nursing Residency. Courses run 15 weeks across three terms per year, and students move through the program with the same classmates.

Global and underserved care is built in. Every student takes Global Healthcare and Missions in the core. The FNP concentration then requires one 2-credit clinical: either a domestic low-resource clinical (NUR 5250) or an FNP international clinical (NUR 5251). Both are degree requirements, not electives.

Doctoral and leadership content runs alongside the clinical sequence. The core includes servant leadership, APRN business, epidemiology, ethics, translational science, and a three-course DNP project. Women’s health and pediatrics get their own 4-credit course rather than being folded into general primary care.

  • NUR 5349 Global Healthcare and Missions (3)
  • NUR 5211 Servant Leadership and Advanced Practice Nursing (2)
  • NUR 5312 The Roles and Business of the APRN (3)
  • NUR 5348 FNP I: Primary Care for FNP APRNs (3)
  • NUR 5440 Primary Care Women’s Health and Pediatric Management for the FNP (4)
  • NUR 5250 Advanced Family Practice III/Low Resource Clinical, or NUR 5251 FNP International Clinical (2)
  • NUR 5450 Family Nurse Practitioner Residency (4)
  • NUR 6V76 Advanced Practice Nursing Residency (5)
  • NUR 63C1, 61C2, 62C3 DNP Project I–III (6 total)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • Baylor’s clinical placement page lists NUR 5452 Advanced Health Assessment as a clinical course. The catalog core lists NUR 5354 Advanced Health Assessment/Promotion/Disease Prevention at 3 credits instead. The catalog version reconciles to 75 credits.
  • Baylor does not say how the international clinical is arranged, how many seats it has, or who pays travel costs.

BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Total: 1,125 practicum hours (published).
  • Clinical courses: NUR 5153 (1 credit), NUR 5250 or 5251 (2), NUR 5359 (3), NUR 5450 (4), and NUR 6V76 (5). Those 15 credits at 75 hours each equal exactly 1,125 (derived).
  • Derived load: about 5 hours per week per clinical credit over a 15-week term, peaking near 25 hours per week in the 5-credit residency.
  • Placement: a Clinical Placement Coordinator identifies and secures a site and preceptor for every rotation within your regional area.
  • Students may refer their own site or preceptor to the placement team to secure.
  • Site details arrive about 30 days before each rotation. Drug screen, background check, and vaccinations must be cleared first.
  • Preceptors provide one-on-one supervision and co-sign documentation. Students document encounters in SOAP notes reviewed by faculty.
  • Immersions: required on-campus and virtual immersions. The current catalog does not state the number.

At 1,125 hours, the BSN-DNP runs well above the 500-hour certification floor and the 600 to 700 hours common in FNP programs. The volume reflects the doctoral residency. The placement model matters as much as the hours: Baylor’s team does the site search, so a working nurse is not cold-calling clinics each term. The final residency terms are the ones to plan work schedules around.

You Should Know
  • Baylor publishes the 1,125-hour total but not hours by course. The 75-hours-per-credit split is derived, and it only reconciles if the health assessment course carries no practicum hours.
  • Baylor’s language is “collaborate” and “support,” not a placement guarantee. What happens if no site is found in your area is not clearly stated.
  • Immersion count, length, and location are not published on current pages. A 2023 catalog addendum listed three on-campus immersions for FNP. Budget travel either way.

BSN-DNP Admissions

Applicants need a year of full-time RN experience and must live in one of Baylor’s approved states.

  • BSN from a regionally accredited school of nursing.
  • 3.0 GPA. Pass/fail coursework is not accepted.
  • One year of full-time experience as a registered nurse.
  • Current, unencumbered RN license.
  • Personal statement or writing sample in your own words.
  • Three letters: an immediate supervisor, a peer RN, and a graduate-prepared nurse (the catalog also accepts an MD/DO).
  • No GRE or MAT.
  • Also open to MSN holders without APRN certification.
  • Eligible states: Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
You Should Know
  • Experience timing conflicts. The catalog requires the year of experience at the time of application. The program page allows it by the first day of class.
  • GPA basis conflicts. The catalog specifies a 3.0 nursing GPA; the program page says 3.0 cumulative.
  • The program page lists Spring 2027 as the next start. Whether FNP admits every term is not clearly stated.
  • Baylor does not say what happens if you move to a non-approved state mid-program.
  • Baylor says full-time work is not recommended during the program.

Post-Master’s DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner (No Role Change)

The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s DNP at Baylor University is approximately $46,250 to $47,500 (37 to 38 credits at $1,250/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 18 to 24 months.

Official program: Online DNP – Family Nurse Practitioner

Post-Master’s DNP Curriculum

This track does not prepare anyone to become an FNP. It adds the doctorate for nurses who already hold FNP certification. The 37 catalog credits are the BSN-DNP core minus its six clinical foundation courses (17 credits), plus a 7-credit Advanced Practice Nursing Residency. No FNP concentration coursework is repeated.

Global Healthcare and Missions stays required, so the mission emphasis carries into this track too.

  • NUR 5349 Global Healthcare and Missions (3)
  • NUR 5211 Servant Leadership and Advanced Practice Nursing (2)
  • NUR 6316 Transforming Health Care Organizations and Changing Outcomes (3)
  • NUR 6373 Clinical Epidemiology (3)
  • NUR 6375 Translational Science (3)
  • NUR 6377 Policy and Implications for Health (3)
  • NUR 63C1, 61C2, 62C3 DNP Project I–III (6 total)
  • NUR 6V76 Advanced Practice Nursing Residency (7)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • Credits conflict. The catalog totals 37; the program page says 38 to 75. Baylor does not explain the extra credit or the range up to 75.

Post-Master’s DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Total: 1,000 hours minimum across the MSN and DNP combined (published).
  • Applicants must verify total clinical hours from their master’s program.
  • The 7-credit residency equals 525 hours at the BSN-DNP ratio of 75 hours per credit (derived).
  • Same placement support as the BSN-DNP.

For most FNPs, the MSN already supplies 500 or more hours, so the residency covers the rest of the 1,000. The residency is doctoral practice work, not a second FNP clinical sequence.

You Should Know
  • Baylor does not publish the residency hour count or say whether residency credits increase for applicants with fewer master’s hours.

Post-Master’s DNP Admissions

This track requires an existing APRN license and recent clinical practice.

  • Master’s degree with a major in nursing, 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA.
  • Unencumbered APRN license. Baylor’s FAQ specifies an MSN in FNP plus FNP board certification.
  • Graduate statistics course with a B or better, completed before starting.
  • Verification of master’s clinical hours.
  • Current clinical practice within the last two years.
  • Personal statement or writing sample, and three letters (same sources as the BSN-DNP).
  • Same 24-state-plus-DC eligibility list.
You Should Know
  • Duration conflicts. The program page shows 2 to 3 years; the FAQ says 18 to 24 months.
  • Eligibility is inconsistent. The FAQ requires FNP certification, but another FAQ says PMHNPs, acute care NPs, adult-gero NPs, CRNAs, and women’s health NPs “may be eligible to transfer.” The catalog admits post-master’s students only to the concentration matching their current APRN role.
  • A certified APRN in another specialty who wants the FNP role is not clearly served by either track. A 2023 catalog addendum placed role-changers in the BSN-DNP. Confirm with an advisor.
  • Non-APRN MSNs (educator, leadership, informatics, administration) may need the full program.

Tuition

Baylor charges $1,250 per credit hour for all online DNP programs. The rate is the same for Texas residents and out-of-state students.

TrackCreditsRateEstimated Tuition
BSN-DNP75$1,250$93,750
Post-Master’s DNP (catalog)37$1,250$46,250
Post-Master’s DNP (program page)38$1,250$47,500

All totals are derived. Baylor does not publish program totals and directs applicants to an enrollment advisor. See Baylor’s tuition page.

  • $1,250 per credit hour, online DNP programs.
  • No residency differential.
  • Transfer credits reduce the total.
  • Financial aid available to those who qualify.

Be aware that:

  • The tuition page does not date the rate. A Baylor brochure tied $1,150 to 2024–25 and $1,250 to 2025–26, an 8.7% increase. If rates rise again, a 10-semester BSN-DNP will cost more than $93,750.
  • Baylor’s financial services office posts a separate Online DNP tuition and required-fee schedule. Fees beyond the per-credit rate are not stated on the nursing pages and are not included above.
  • Travel for required immersions is not included.
  • Travel costs for the international clinical option are not stated.
  • Post-Master’s DNP credits can run as high as 75 per the program page, which would match the BSN-DNP price.

Treat $93,750 as the floor for the BSN-DNP, not the final bill. Add university fees, at least one annual rate change, and immersion travel. Compared with Baylor’s own $1,150 rate from 2024–25, the same 75 credits cost $7,500 more today.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

The strongest fit is a BSN nurse who wants the doctorate from day one, wants service in underserved communities to be part of training, and would rather have a placement team handle preceptor logistics.

Underserved care is required, not optional. The catalog frames the FNP track around underserved patients from varied cultures, and the degree plan backs that up. Every student completes Global Healthcare and Missions and a low-resource or international clinical. A nurse headed for community health, rural practice, or mission work gets structured experience before graduation.

Placement support covers every rotation. Baylor’s coordinators search for sites and preceptors near the student across 1,125 hours. That removes the term-by-term preceptor search from the student’s workload. The support is collaborative rather than guaranteed, so ask how often students in your area wait for a site.

The costs are price, time, and geography. There is no MSN or certificate exit. The BSN-DNP runs more than three years at about $94K before fees. Nurses outside the 24 approved states and DC cannot apply.

Decide on mission fit first. Baylor is a private Christian university, and servant leadership and missions are required courses, not electives. Nurses who want that integration will find it throughout the program. Nurses who want a secular, clinical-only doctorate should weigh that before the cost.

Accreditation

The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program at Baylor University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), which also accredits Baylor’s baccalaureate nursing program. Both FNP tracks sit inside the DNP degree, so both fall under that accreditation.

Baylor University holds institutional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Institutional accreditation supports federal financial aid eligibility and the transfer of graduate credit.

Baylor states that its DNP program of study conforms to Texas Board of Nursing guidelines, NONPF competencies, and National Task Force criteria for nurse practitioner education.

BSN-DNP graduates are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC). Post-Master’s DNP students already hold FNP certification, and the track does not add eligibility for a new exam.

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