Loma Linda University FNP Programs

School of Nursing • Loma Linda, CA • Mostly Online • $947 est./credit

Loma Linda University offers 1 Family Nurse Practitioner track: a BS-to-DNP with an FNP concentration.

Program highlights:

  • Takes BSN-prepared nurses to a doctorate plus FNP certification in a single path
  • Hybrid format — online coursework with limited on-campus seminar weeks and on-campus exams
  • Clinical rotations across LLU’s academic medical center and the Inland Empire region
  • Whole-person, faith-based mission rooted in LLU’s Seventh-day Adventist heritage

The program runs 3 years and 9 months full-time, with a 5-year part-time option. Because clinical rotations are arranged within about 90 miles of Loma Linda, it’s best suited to nurses in Southern California’s Inland Empire who want a terminal degree with hands-on training near a Level 1 trauma center.

Program Tracks Overview

Program NameEst. TuitionEst. Duration
BSN-DNP FNP~$122K (tuition & fees)3 yr 9 mo (15 quarters); 5 yr part-time

Loma Linda University takes BSN nurses straight to a doctorate and FNP certification through a hybrid, whole-person program rooted in its Seventh-day Adventist mission, with clinical rotations across one of Southern California’s largest academic medical centers.

BSN-DNP FNP

The estimated cost for the BSN-DNP FNP at Loma Linda University is about $122K in tuition and fees, and the program would take about 3 years and 9 months (15 quarters) full-time — or up to 5 years part-time — to complete.

DNP Curriculum

The BS-to-DNP runs 15 quarters in a hybrid format. It combines a DNP core — role development, evidence-based practice theory, systems leadership, health policy, social determinants of health, finance, statistics, translational science, and professional writing, alongside religion and ethics courses reflecting LLU’s faith mission — with a 54-unit FNP concentration and a multi-part DNP Practice Inquiry (scholarly) project.

The concentration covers the APRN “three Ps” and a lifespan family primary-care clinical sequence:

NGFP 519 — Family Nurse Practitioner: Skills Lab
Builds hands-on primary care clinical skills and procedures through kinetic practice. Prerequisite: NGFP 511. (30 clinical hours)

NGRD 621 — Pharmacology in Advanced Practice I
Covers pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapeutics, and pharmacokinetics, major drug classifications, therapeutic applications, and legal/ethical issues in advanced practice.

NGRD 622 — Pharmacology in Advanced Practice II
Focuses on major drug classifications, therapeutic uses, and application to medical conditions in advanced practice settings.

NGRD 624 — Advanced Health Assessment
Develops advanced assessment skills for comprehensive histories and physical exams across the lifespan, emphasizing wholistic, culturally sensitive care and health promotion.

NGRD 625 — Advanced Clinical Pathophysiology
Integrates normal physiology with common pathological changes across the lifespan, using pathophysiological concepts to explain clinical findings and guide management.

NGFP 510 — Family Nurse Practitioner: Pediatrics and Adolescent
Focuses on FNP health promotion and management of common conditions in infants, children, and adolescents, including growth, development, and anticipatory guidance. (60 clinical hours)

NGFP 511 — Family Nurse Practitioner I
Introduces the FNP role, professional responsibilities, and primary care practice, covering health maintenance, wellness promotion, and common acute illnesses across the lifespan. (60 clinical hours)

NGFP 512 — Family Nurse Practitioner II
Focuses on health promotion and management of reproductive health and related conditions across the adult lifespan. (180 clinical hours)

NGFP 513 — Family Nurse Practitioner III
Covers health maintenance and management of patients with complex acute and chronic conditions across the adult lifespan. (120 clinical hours)

NGFP 514 — Family Nurse Practitioner IV
Continues focus on health maintenance and management of complex acute and chronic conditions across the adult lifespan. (120 clinical hours)

NGFP 515 — Family Nurse Practitioner V: Practicum
Integrates prior learning and builds clinical competence in primary care, including certification practice testing and final practicum experience. (210 clinical hours)

More curriculum details are available here.

DNP Clinicals

The FNP concentration includes roughly 750 direct clinical hours across its lifespan clinical sequence, plus 510 doctoral leadership/practice hours documented in a professional portfolio. Faculty arrange all clinical rotations within Southern California.

  • Direct clinical hours: about 750 across the FNP clinical courses, plus a 30-hour skills lab
  • DNP practice hours: 510 doctoral leadership/practicum hours, documented in a professional portfolio
  • Placement: faculty-arranged rotations within about 90 miles of Loma Linda (Inland Empire — Riverside and San Bernardino counties)
  • Format: clinical, skills, and simulation courses are hybrid with mandatory on-campus sessions and on-campus exams
  • DNP project: can be completed at the student’s workplace

DNP Admissions

Admission is for Fall or Winter cohorts and assumes a BSN and an active RN license.

  • Baccalaureate degree in nursing from an accredited institution
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA, both cumulative and in nursing coursework
  • Current, unencumbered US RN license at application; California RN license before classes begin
  • At least one year of full-time RN experience before starting clinical courses
  • Current AHA Basic Life Support (CPR) certification
  • Two electronic recommendations (a recent nurse manager or director, plus a nursing peer or spiritual advisor)
  • An Emotional Intelligence interview, if granted by the admissions committee

Deadlines are April 15 for the Fall start (September) and October 1 for the Winter start (January); applications run through NursingCAS ($70) with a $50 secondary fee.

Tuition

Loma Linda bills tuition and fees by the quarter.

For a 2026–27 entrant, the published cost of attendance runs $23,092 in the first (9-month) year, then about $28,112, $32,128, and $39,156 across the next three years — roughly $122,000 in tuition and fees over the full program.

Amounts rise each year with inflation, so later-year figures are estimates. Loma Linda notes that 70–75% of its nursing students receive financial aid.

Accreditation

Loma Linda University’s BS, MS, and DNP nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the university is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.

All School of Nursing programs are approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing. FNP graduates are certified by the California BRN and eligible to sit for national FNP certification through the ANCC or the AANP.

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