Loyola University Chicago FNP Programs

Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing • Maywood, IL • Hybrid • $1,241/credit

Loyola University Chicago offers 3 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • DNP
  • DNP – Family Nurse Practitioner with Emergency Specialty
  • Post-Graduate APRN Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
DNP$89.9KNot stated72
DNP + Emergency$98.6K–$103.6K4–5 yrs79 or 83
CertificateNot statedVariesIndividualized

Loyola’s defining advantage is the Emergency specialty layered onto the FNP track, which Loyola describes as the only one of its kind in the Chicago area. Specialty students complete 525 primary care hours plus a second 525-hour emergency department rotation, and faculty design and secure every placement rather than leaving preceptor hunting to the student.

One clarification before you read further: Loyola’s Master of Nursing (MN) is a 16-month pre-licensure degree that prepares non-nurses to sit for the NCLEX-RN. It is not an FNP pathway and is not covered on this page. At Loyola, every route to FNP practice runs through the doctorate or a post-graduate certificate.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesDNP, DNP with Emergency specialty, Post-Graduate APRN Certificate. No MSN-level FNP.
FormatHybrid. Most coursework online, some on-site courses and immersions at the Maywood campus.
Clinical HoursEmergency track: 525 primary care plus 525 emergency. Standard FNP track total not published.
Clinical PlacementFaculty design and secure all rotations through Chicago-area academic-practice partnerships.
PopulationFamily across the lifespan; Emergency specialty adds urgent and high-acuity care.
Distinctive CourseworkSuturing and Acute Wound Management; Basic Diagnostics; Emergency and Acute Care Procedures.
RN Experience GateMinimum 2,000 hours of recent RN practice required before the first practicum.
Admissions GateInterview required. DNP tracks closed to nurses already certified as an NP or CNS.
Tuition$1,240 per credit for all graduate nursing students, degree-seeking and certificate alike.
AccreditationCCNE-accredited nursing programs; Higher Learning Commission institutional accreditation.

Doctor of Nursing Practice – Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the DNP Family Nurse Practitioner track at Loyola University Chicago is approximately $89,850 (72 credits at $1,240 per credit, plus $570 in course fees). Loyola does not publish a completion timeline for this track, though its 79-credit Emergency sibling is described as four to five years for BSN-prepared students, which is a reasonable reference point.

This is the Family Nurse Practitioner (DNP) track, and it is the only degree-level FNP option Loyola offers. There is no MSN FNP here, so a nurse who wants a master’s-level credential and nothing more will need to look elsewhere.

DNP Curriculum

Structure. The 72 credits divide into five blocks: 24 foundational credits, 12 role credits, 18 population credits, 6 DNP project credits, and 12 practicum credits. The project sequence is split across four separate courses, which spreads the scholarly work over multiple terms instead of concentrating it into a single capstone.

What stands out. Two courses signal a program that expects graduates to do procedures, not just prescribe. Suturing and Acute Wound Management is a dedicated one-credit course, and Basic Diagnostics for Advanced Practice adds two more. Most primary-care FNP curricula fold wound management into a broader management course, if they cover it at all. Loyola also splits adult primary care into common and complex problems, four credits each, which is a heavier adult-medicine load than the usual single survey course.

Pediatric and childbearing content arrives through two separate three-credit courses rather than one combined lifespan course, and each pairs with its own practicum.

  • GNUR 425 Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan (4 credits)
  • GNUR 526 Management of Common Adult Health Problems (4 credits)
  • GNUR 528 Management of Complex Adult Health Problems (4 credits)
  • GNUR 529 Family-Focused Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (3 credits)
  • MCN 401 Child/Family Health (3 credits)
  • MCN 414 Childbearing/Family (3 credits)
  • MSN 433 Suturing and Acute Wound Management (1 credit)
  • GNUR 476 Basic Diagnostics for Advanced Practice (2 credits)

More curriculum details are available here.

DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Practicum block: 12 credits, spread across GNUR 543 Adult Primary Care NP Practicum and MCN 516 Pediatric Primary Care NP Practicum
  • Total clinical hours: not clearly stated for this track
  • Placement model: faculty design all clinical rotations and secure placements for students
  • Sites: Chicago-area academic-practice partnerships, with an emphasis on underserved communities
  • Pre-practicum gate: RN license plus a minimum of 2,000 hours of recent RN clinical practice

The placement model is the strongest practical feature here. Many online and hybrid FNP programs hand students a preceptor packet and a deadline, and finding a willing primary care preceptor in a saturated metro area can delay graduation by a full term. Loyola secures the sites itself. The trade-off is geographic: these partnerships sit in the Chicago metropolitan area, so this is not a program you complete from another state.

You Should Know
  • Loyola publishes no clinical hour total for this track. The Emergency specialty page states 525 hours in primary care, drawn from the same practicum courses, which suggests 525 for this track as well. Loyola has not confirmed that, so treat it as unverified and ask the program director directly.
  • If 525 is correct, this track sits 25 hours above the 500-hour national certification floor and below the 600 to 700 hours common among FNP programs. That is a fair question to raise before you enroll.
  • The 2,000-hour experience requirement is a practicum gate, not an admissions gate. You can be admitted without it, but you cannot start clinicals until you have it. At full-time bedside hours that is roughly one year of practice; part-time nurses should map this out before committing.

DNP Admissions

Two conditions narrow this pool more than most FNP programs: an interview is part of the decision, and the DNP nurse practitioner tracks are closed to nurses who already hold NP or CNS certification.

  • Registered nurse with a baccalaureate or master’s degree in nursing from an accredited program
  • Admission is competitive and based on application materials and an interview
  • Not open to applicants already certified as an NP or CNS
  • RN license and 2,000 hours of recent RN practice required before the first practicum
You Should Know
  • Loyola’s DNP licensure disclosure lists the program as satisfying curricular requirements in every state except Maryland, where the Board of Nursing has not determined status and must review and approve APRN programs individually. American Samoa and Puerto Rico are also undetermined.
  • Because the DNP tracks exclude already-certified NPs, a practicing AGPCNP or PMHNP who wants to add family practice must use the post-graduate certificate route instead.

Doctor of Nursing Practice – FNP with Emergency Specialty

The estimated tuition for the DNP Family Nurse Practitioner with Emergency Specialty track at Loyola University Chicago is approximately $98,600 to $103,560, reflecting a published credit conflict (79 or 83 credits at $1,240 per credit, plus $640 in course fees).

For BSN-prepared nurses, Loyola states the track takes approximately four to five years depending on level of entry.

The Family Nurse Practitioner with Emergency Specialty (DNP) track produces an FNP who has also completed a full emergency department clinical sequence. Loyola states it is the only DNP program in the Chicago area offering this combination.

Emergency Specialty Curriculum

What gets added. Three emergency courses totaling nine credits: Emergency and Acute Care Procedures for the NP, Emergency Health Care of Adults, and Special Populations and Topics in Emergency Health Care. The practicum block also grows from 12 credits to 14.

What gets removed. This is the detail most prospective students miss. The Emergency track drops two courses the standard FNP track requires: Family-Focused Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (3 credits) and Suturing and Acute Wound Management (1 credit). The suturing content is absorbed into the broader emergency procedures course. The health promotion course is not replaced.

The net arithmetic works out cleanly against the catalog: 72 credits, plus 9 specialty credits, plus 2 practicum credits, minus the 4 dropped credits, equals 79.

  • GNUR 504 Emergency and Acute Care Procedures for the NP (3 credits)
  • GNUR 522 Emergency Health Care of Adults (3 credits)
  • GNUR 525 Special Populations and Topics in Emergency Health Care (3 credits)
  • GNUR 562 Emergency Health Care Advanced Practice Practicum
  • GNUR 543 Adult Primary Care NP Practicum
  • MCN 516 Pediatric Primary Care NP Practicum

More curriculum details are available here.

Emergency Specialty Clinical Requirements

  • 525 clinical hours in primary care, covering family, adult, and pediatric focus areas
  • 525 clinical hours in the emergency department
  • Total: 1,050 clinical hours
  • Practicum block: 14 credits across three practicum courses
  • Placement model: faculty design and secure all clinical rotations
  • Pre-practicum gate: RN license plus 2,000 hours of recent RN clinical practice

At 1,050 hours, this track carries more than double the 500-hour national certification floor and roughly 50 percent more than the 600 to 700 hours typical of FNP programs. That volume is the point: the emergency hours are not a rotation folded into the primary care requirement, they are a separate 525-hour block. For a nurse who wants to work in an emergency department as an NP, that distinction matters, because many FNPs enter ED practice with no formal emergency clinical training at all.

You Should Know
  • Loyola’s program page lists 83 credit hours; the official catalog lists 79 and the course table sums to 79. At $1,240 per credit that is a $4,960 difference. Confirm the current requirement in writing before you budget.
  • The practicum credit-to-hour relationship does not reconcile. Dividing 1,050 hours across 14 practicum credits yields 75 hours per credit, but applying that same ratio to the standard track’s 12 credits would produce 900 hours, which contradicts the 525 primary care figure Loyola publishes. Per-course clinical hours are not published.
  • Dropping Family-Focused Health Promotion and Disease Prevention is a real curricular trade. If your intended practice is community primary care rather than emergency, the standard track covers that ground more directly.
  • Loyola does not state whether graduates are eligible to sit for a separate emergency nurse practitioner certification, or whether the specialty is documented on the transcript. Ask.

Emergency Specialty Admissions

Admissions criteria match the standard FNP track, including the interview requirement.

  • Registered nurse with a baccalaureate or master’s degree in nursing
  • Competitive admission based on application materials and an interview
  • Not open to applicants already certified as an NP or CNS
  • 2,000 hours of recent RN clinical practice required before the first practicum
You Should Know
  • Loyola does not state whether emergency department nursing experience is required or preferred for entry into this specialty. Given that the track culminates in 525 ED hours, this is worth confirming with the track director.
  • The same Maryland licensure caveat noted for the standard DNP track applies here.

Post-Graduate APRN Certificate – Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate APRN Certificate at Loyola University Chicago cannot be calculated, because credit requirements are individualized and not published; the graduate nursing rate of $1,240 per credit applies.

Duration varies with the plan of study each student builds with the program director.

The Post-Graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certificate is built from a gap analysis of your prior graduate coursework and how recent it is. Two students entering the same term can end up with materially different credit loads and bills.

Certificate Curriculum

How the plan is built. Loyola reviews your existing graduate nursing coursework and its recency, then constructs an individual plan. At minimum, every certificate student completes patient care management coursework and clinical practicum experiences for the family population focus. Coursework is drawn from the same catalog the DNP tracks use.

What this means for the 3 Ps. If your advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment coursework is recent enough to satisfy the gap analysis, you will not repeat it. If it is dated, you may. That single determination can swing the total by tens of thousands of dollars, and Loyola makes it after review rather than by published rule.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • Clinical practicum experiences relevant to the family population focus are required for all certificate students
  • Total clinical hours: not clearly stated
  • Placement model: not separately stated for the certificate

Certificate programs still have to satisfy the same national certification requirements as degree programs, which means a minimum of 500 supervised direct patient care hours in the family population focus. Loyola does not publish its certificate hour total, so the practical answer is that your plan of study determines it.

You Should Know
  • Loyola’s certificate landing page describes the programs as geared toward DNP-prepared nurses, while the official catalog describes eligibility more broadly as graduate-prepared registered nurses. These are different bars. Confirm which applies to you before assuming you qualify.
  • Because the total credit count is unpublished, you cannot compare this certificate on cost against a fixed-credit certificate at another school until you receive your individual plan of study. Request that plan before you accept an offer.
  • Whether the certificate’s faculty-secured placement model matches the DNP tracks is not separately stated.

Certificate Admissions

The certificate is the entry point for nurses the DNP tracks exclude, specifically those already certified in another NP or CNS role who want to add the family population focus.

  • Graduate-prepared registered nurse seeking an additional advanced practice role or population focus
  • Individual plan of study developed with the program director following a gap analysis
  • Application deadlines run on an annual cycle: July 1 for fall entry, December 1 for spring entry
You Should Know
  • Two intakes per year is more flexible than the single annual start some FNP certificates use, but the July 1 fall deadline still means planning roughly two months ahead of the term.
  • Verify with your state board of nursing that a post-graduate certificate is accepted for a population-focus change before you enroll. Most boards accept it; a few impose extra conditions.

Tuition

Loyola charges a single published rate of $1,240 per credit hour for graduate nursing, and the bursar schedule applies it uniformly across degree-seeking, certificate, and non-degree-seeking students. There is no separate certificate rate and no in-state or out-of-state distinction, since Loyola is a private university.

Loyola does not publish a package price for its FNP tracks, so the totals below are derived. Method: published credits multiplied by the published per-credit rate, plus the course-specific fees listed on the bursar schedule for the courses each track actually requires.

TrackCreditsTuition (derived)Course FeesTotal (derived)
DNP FNP72$89,280$570$89,850
DNP + Emergency (catalog)79$97,960$640$98,600
DNP + Emergency (program page)83$102,920$640$103,560
CertificateIndividualizedNot calculableVaries by planNot calculable

Confirmed costs:

  • $1,240 per credit hour, graduate nursing, all student categories
  • GNUR 425 Advanced Health Assessment course fee: $200
  • GNUR 543 Adult Primary Care NP Practicum course fee: $185
  • MCN 516 Pediatric Primary Care NP Practicum course fee: $80
  • GNUR 504 Emergency and Acute Care Procedures course fee: $75
  • MSN 433 Suturing and Acute Wound Management course fee: $50
  • GNUR 420 Leadership and Roles course fee: $35
  • GNUR 570 DNP Scholarly Project: Planning course fee: $20
  • GNUR 562 Emergency Health Care Practicum course fee: $45

Be aware that:

  • The $1,240 rate appears on Loyola’s bursar page, which lists several academic years side by side. The rate is not tied to a stated year in the source material. Confirm the current-year figure before budgeting.
  • The Emergency track’s 79-versus-83 credit conflict produces a $4,960 tuition swing. That is the single largest uncertainty on this page.
  • Certificate cost is genuinely unknowable in advance. A student whose prior coursework is recent may need only patient care management courses and practicums; a student with dated coursework may repeat the full role sequence.
  • The course fees above are the ones the bursar publishes for FNP-required courses. Loyola’s schedule may include university-wide mandatory fees that are not listed on the graduate nursing page.
  • These figures are tuition and course fees only. They exclude books, health insurance, transportation to Maywood, clinical compliance costs, and certification exam fees.
  • Multi-year programs are exposed to annual tuition increases. A four-to-five-year track will not be billed at today’s rate for its full duration.

The practical read: a Loyola FNP is a doctorate-priced commitment, roughly $90,000 for the standard track and closer to $100,000 with the Emergency specialty. You are paying for a DNP and, in the specialty track, for 1,050 clinical hours with faculty-arranged placements. Compare it against MSN-level FNP programs on total cost and against other DNP programs on hours and placement support, not against both at once.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who want emergency department preparation built into their FNP training, who want the school to secure their clinical placements, and who are committed to a doctorate rather than a master’s.

The emergency pathway is the reason to be here. A standard FNP credential does not include emergency training, yet a large share of FNPs end up working urgent care and ED shifts. Loyola’s specialty track addresses that directly with 525 dedicated emergency hours, a procedures course, and coursework in emergency care for adults and special populations. If that is your intended practice setting, this track is doing something most FNP programs do not attempt.

Faculty-secured placements remove the biggest logistical risk. Loyola designs the rotations and places the students, drawing on academic-practice partnerships across the Chicago metro. For a working nurse, this eliminates the months of cold outreach that derail timelines at programs where preceptor sourcing is the student’s job. The constraint is that you need to be in or near Chicago for it to work.

The honest trade-offs are cost, length, and the experience gate. There is no MSN FNP at Loyola, so the entry price is a doctorate at roughly $90,000 and up over four to five years. The 2,000-hour RN practice requirement before your first practicum rules out newer nurses who want to move quickly into advanced practice. And the standard track’s clinical hour total is not published, which is a gap you should close before signing.

Accreditation

Loyola states that the master’s degree program in nursing, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at Loyola University Chicago are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Loyola’s own accreditation register lists CCNE accreditation separately for undergraduate and graduate programs, the DNP, and the post-graduate APRN certificate programs, all effective March 2016. Both FNP tracks and the certificate fall within that scope.

CCNE accreditation is what national certifying bodies check when they verify that your program qualifies you to sit for boards. It also matters for federal loan eligibility in nursing-specific programs and for employers who verify credentials.

Loyola University Chicago holds institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, with accredited status effective June 2025. Institutional accreditation is separate from program accreditation and is what determines federal financial aid eligibility and how other universities evaluate your credits.

Graduates of the FNP tracks are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam through either the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Passing that exam is the prerequisite for APRN licensure in your state.

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