Monmouth University offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:
- MSN
- Post-Master’s Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $42.8K | 3 years (8 semesters) | 43 |
| Certificate | $21.9K-$30.8K | Not clearly stated | 22-31 |
Tuition estimates multiply program credits by Monmouth’s published master’s rate of $995 per credit.
Monmouth’s fully asynchronous format comes with a hard geographic limit. Coursework has no required live sessions or campus visits, but applicants must live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or New York, and every practicum hour must be completed in New Jersey.
The trade-off is access. The MSN admits one cohort of 24 students each fall, applicants must be working as RNs, and students arrange their own New Jersey preceptors with coordinator support. The payoff is 700 clinical hours, including a dedicated 100-hour pediatric practicum.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN; Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Format | Online (asynchronous; optional Zoom sessions and optional in-person skills workshops) |
| Clinical Hours | 700 (600 primary care plus 100 pediatrics) |
| Clinical Placement | Student secures preceptor with help from faculty and a placement coordinator |
| Enrollment Restriction | Must reside in NJ, PA, or NY; all practicums in New Jersey |
| Cohort and Start Term | MSN: 24 students, fall start only |
| Work Requirement | Must be currently employed as an RN |
| Distinctive Coursework | Data management and patient education courses; standalone pediatrics course with its own practicum |
| RN License Requirements | Current New Jersey or multistate compact RN license |
| Tuition | $995/credit plus $200-$400 comprehensive fee per semester |
| Accreditation | CCNE (MSN and post-graduate APRN certificate) |
MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track at Monmouth University is approximately $42,785 (43 credits at $995/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 3 years
(8 semesters), starting in fall and running year-round through two summers.
MSN Curriculum
Sequence. Monmouth’s fall-start chart spreads the MSN across eight semesters at 3 to 6 credits each, so students stay part-time throughout. The first four semesters mix graduate core courses with the APN concentration, which must be finished before any specialty course begins. The clinical phase then runs four consecutive terms: primary care (spring), pediatrics (summer), APN I (fall), and APN II (spring).
Because each specialty course runs in a single fixed term, the clinical spine is effectively an annual sequence. A failed or dropped practicum likely means waiting for that course’s next offering, not the next semester.
Course design. Two design choices stand out. First, every specialty course is split into a didactic course, a practicum, and a separate seminar, and students must pass all three to progress. Second, pediatrics has its own course and practicum rather than being folded into a lifespan course. That gives child health a protected block of hours instead of whatever pediatric patients appear in a family practice. The core also includes data management and patient education courses, which are less common in FNP cores than a standalone policy or leadership course.
- NU-508 Factors Affecting Healthcare (3 credits)
- NU-514 Data Management for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 credits)
- NU-518 Education and Motivation of Nursing Clients (3 credits)
- NU-521 Pathophysiology and Histology (3 credits)
- NU-541 Primary Care, with practicum and seminar (6 credits)
- NU-631 Advanced Practice Nursing I, with practicum and seminar (6 credits)
- NU-633 Advanced Practice Nursing II, with practicum and seminar (6 credits)
- NU-635 Advanced Practice Nursing Pediatrics, with practicum and seminar (4 credits)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- All letter-graded courses require a B or better. A course can be repeated once; two grades below B are grounds for dismissal.
- An older registrar curriculum chart lists a 42-credit version without the pediatric seminar and with the pediatrics course inside the APN concentration. The current catalog lists 43 credits, which this profile uses.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- Total: 700 practicum hours (200 + 200 + 200 + 100), published in the graduate handbook
- NU-542P Primary Care Practicum: 200 hours
- NU-632P Advanced Practice Nursing Practicum I: 200 hours
- NU-634P Advanced Practice Nursing Practicum II: 200 hours
- NU-635P Pediatrics Practicum: 100 hours in a non-specialty pediatric practice seeing well and sick children
- At least 50 hours must cover women’s health
- Specialty hours outside primary care (ED, urgent care, cardiology) need faculty preapproval and are capped at 100 total; pediatric specialty hours are capped at 25
- Hours must start in week one and be spread weekly; frontloading and backloading are not allowed
- No more than two preceptors per semester; preceptors must be certified NPs, CNMs, or board-certified physicians with at least one year of experience
- Sequence: primary care practicum in spring of year two, pediatrics in the following summer, APN I and II in fall and spring of year three
- Placement model: student-secured, with support from course faculty and the Clinical Placement Coordinator
At 700 hours, Monmouth sits at the upper end of the 600 to 700 hour range common among FNP programs and well above the 500-hour certification floor. Each 200-hour practicum works out to roughly 13 to 14 hours per week across a typical 15-week semester, and the no-frontloading rule means that load is steady rather than flexible. The four practicums also run back to back, so students carry clinical hours for about 16 months straight. The placement model is support, not a guarantee: the student is ultimately responsible for finding a site, and a missing contract at the start of term means withdrawal from the practicum and its paired course.
You Should Know
- All nurse practitioner practicums must be completed in New Jersey, including for Pennsylvania and New York residents.
- The handbook gives two versions of the employer rule. One bars practicums in the student’s own department or unit; another bars any clinical hours at the place of employment. Confirm which applies before counting on an employer site.
- Clearance documents are due June 1 for fall practicums and October 1 for spring. Late paperwork can delay placement or lead to removal from the course. No deadline is published for the summer pediatrics practicum.
- Summer terms are usually shorter than fall and spring, so the 100 pediatric hours may run at a similar or higher weekly pace than the 200-hour practicums. Monmouth does not publish summer session length for this course.
- Students must carry student NP malpractice coverage (1M/3M) and meet annual health, TB, flu, background check, and drug screening requirements.
MSN Admissions
Admission is limited to one fall cohort of 24 students, and applicants must live in the tri-state area and be working as RNs.
- BSN from an accredited program with a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Current New Jersey RN license or multistate compact license
- Current employment as a registered nurse
- Residence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or New York
- Resume and a personal statement outlining professional goals
- $50 application fee
- Deadlines: priority April 15; late deadline July 1 on a space-available basis (annual fall cycle)
- Up to 12 transfer credits may be accepted after transcript review
You Should Know
- The 2026 deadlines have passed. The next opportunity is the following fall cycle, using the same April 15 and July 1 dates if unchanged.
- The catalog lists a New Jersey RN license only. The program page and handbook also accept a multistate compact license.
- The personal statement is one page on the program page and catalog, but one to two pages in the handbook.
- No minimum years of RN experience is listed. An older registrar chart required one year of RN experience plus letters of recommendation; the current program page does not.
Post-Master’s Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the Family Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate at Monmouth University is approximately $21,890 to $30,845 (22 to 31 credits at $995/credit). Monmouth does not publish a certificate timeline. Based on the MSN chart, the four-term clinical sequence alone takes about 16 months (4 semesters, derived), with the foundational courses adding time for students who cannot waive them.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the MSN minus the 12-credit graduate core. It keeps the three APN concentration courses and the full 22-credit family specialty, so certificate students complete the same practicums, seminars, and pediatrics block as MSN students. The APN concentration can be waived for students who completed equivalent graduate courses with a B or better, which drops the certificate to 22 credits.
- NU-521 Pathophysiology and Histology (3 credits, may be waived)
- NU-524 Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 credits, may be waived)
- NU-535 Advanced Health and Physical Assessment (3 credits, may be waived)
- NU-541 Primary Care, with practicum and seminar (6 credits)
- NU-631 and NU-633 Advanced Practice Nursing I and II, with practicums and seminars (12 credits)
- NU-635 Advanced Practice Nursing Pediatrics, with practicum and seminar (4 credits)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- The program page says up to 12 credits can transfer for pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment, but those three courses total 9 credits. The catalog treats them as waivable. Plan on 22 credits at minimum.
- Transferred or waived foundational courses must be five years old or less.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Total: 700 practicum hours (derived; the certificate uses the same four practicum courses as the MSN)
- Same rules as the MSN: New Jersey sites only, weekly hours with no frontloading, 50 women’s health hours, 100-hour specialty cap
- Practicing NPs in the certificate must carry NP malpractice coverage, not student coverage
The certificate does not credit prior NP clinical hours toward the family practicums, so a certified NP completes the full 700 hours. That is a heavy load for a second-specialty credential, but it also means the family and pediatric hours stand on their own.
Certificate Admissions
The certificate carries the same residency and employment gates as the MSN.
- MSN from an accredited program with a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Current New Jersey RN license or multistate compact license
- Current employment as a registered nurse
- Residence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or New York
- Resume and a personal statement outlining professional goals
You Should Know
- The catalog’s certificate notes list a BSN with a 3.0 GPA, which appears copied from the MSN page. The program page and handbook require an MSN.
- Certificate cohort size and start term are not clearly stated.
- Monmouth has determined that its programs meet New Jersey licensure requirements only. State boards set their own rules for adding a second APRN population focus, so confirm with your board before enrolling.
Tuition
Monmouth charges $995 per credit for master’s-level study. This profile applies the same rate to the certificate, since no separate certificate rate is published. The rate is tuition only; a comprehensive fee is billed separately each semester.
| Track | Credits | Rate | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | 43 | $995 | $42,785 |
| Certificate (full) | 31 | $995 | $30,845 |
| Certificate (APN courses waived) | 22 | $995 | $21,890 |
Confirmed costs:
- Tuition: $995 per credit
- Comprehensive fee: $200 per semester below 9 credits; $400 per semester at 9 or more credits
- MSN comprehensive fees: $1,600 (8 semesters at $200, derived; no semester in the sample chart reaches 9 credits)
- MSN tuition plus comprehensive fees: $44,385 (derived)
- Application fee: $50
Full rate details are on Monmouth’s graduate tuition page.
Be aware that:
- Certificate comprehensive fees depend on the number of semesters, which Monmouth does not publish. A certificate with waived foundational courses would add about $800 (4 semesters at $200, derived).
- Taking extra courses to finish faster could push a semester to 9 credits, which doubles that term’s fee to $400.
- Student NP malpractice insurance, background checks, drug screening, and health clearances are student-paid. Applicants who have ever lived in New York pay an extra $98 background check fee.
- Transfer credits (up to 12 for the MSN) and certificate waivers lower tuition by $995 per credit.
The MSN’s all-in cost of about $44,400 is close to the tuition figure. The comprehensive fee adds under 4 percent, and there are no program fees stacked on the per-credit rate. The real cost variable is the clinical phase: 13 to 14 weekly practicum hours that cannot be done at your own unit may require reduced work hours.
Why Choose This FNP Program?
Best suited for working RNs in the New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and New York area who want full control of their study schedule and can build a local preceptor network.
Schedule control. Coursework is asynchronous with only optional Zoom check-ins and optional skills workshops. No semester exceeds 6 credits, and there are no required campus days. That suits nurses on rotating or night shifts who cannot commit to a set class time.
Clinical depth. Seven hundred hours, with a protected 100-hour pediatric practicum and a 50-hour women’s health minimum, gives graduates documented experience across the full family population. The steady weekly schedule also mirrors real practice rather than a compressed block.
Trade-offs. The single 24-seat fall cohort makes timing matter; missing the July 1 late deadline means waiting a year. Placement is student-driven, and hours cannot be logged at your own workplace unit.
Geographic verdict. This is an online program with a regional footprint. It works well for nurses who already live and practice within reach of New Jersey clinics. Pennsylvania and New York residents can enroll, but they should map out New Jersey preceptors before applying. Nurses outside those three states are not eligible.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing and the post-graduate APRN certificate programs at Monmouth University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). That scope covers both the MSN and the Post-Master’s Certificate. CCNE also accredits Monmouth’s BSN and DNP programs.
Monmouth University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), which reaffirmed its accreditation in 2025 for an eight-year term. Institutional accreditation supports federal financial aid eligibility and the recognition of credits by other schools and employers.
Graduates of both tracks are prepared to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC). Monmouth notes that ANCC requires a completed clinical log with hours, sites, and signed preceptor confirmation, so students should keep their practicum records complete throughout the program.
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