Notre Dame of Maryland University offers an MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $44.6K | 2.3 years (7 semesters) | 47 |
Tuition estimate uses NDMU’s 2026–27 nurse practitioner rate of $920 per credit plus the $199 per-semester registration/technology fee.
This is a part-time, in-person FNP program built for nurses already working in the Baltimore area. NDMU will not consider applicants who are not currently employed as RNs, and classes have met two evenings a week so students can keep their jobs.
The trade-off is flexibility. There is no online option, only one fall start, and NDMU does not publish how clinical placements are arranged. Very small cohorts (four or five FNP graduates per year) mean close faculty contact but little room to defer or switch schedules.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN (BSN entry) |
| Format | Campus; part-time evening classes in Baltimore |
| Clinical Hours | 750 practicum hours plus 30 clinical conference hours |
| Clinical Placement | Not clearly stated |
| Population | Family/individual across the lifespan |
| Distinctive Coursework | Family Theory and Dynamics; caring-science scholarship sequence; wellness coaching emphasis |
| RN License Requirements | Active, unencumbered Maryland or compact-state RN license |
| Employment Requirement | Must be currently employed as an RN to be considered |
| Start Term | Fall only (cohort model; rolling applications) |
| Tuition | $920/credit; about $44.6K with registration/technology fees |
| Accreditation | CCNE (master’s program, through December 2032) |
Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner at Notre Dame of Maryland University is approximately $43,240 (47 credits at $920/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 2.3 years (7 semesters), starting in fall and finishing in December of the third year.
MSN Curriculum
Year one is all foundation. The first three semesters (fall, spring, summer) carry no clinical work. Students take the advanced pathophysiology, health assessment, and pharmacology courses alongside NDMU’s caring-science core and a 2-credit Family Theory and Dynamics course that most FNP curricula do not include as a standalone requirement.
Clinical work runs four straight semesters. Primary Care Practicum I through IV start in the second fall and continue without a break through the third fall, including summer. Didactic primary care moves from adults (fall) to adolescents through older adults (spring) to infants and children (summer).
FNP and AGPCNP share almost everything. Both tracks take the same core, Primary Care I and II, and the same four practicum courses. FNP students take NUR-633 (infants and children), while AGPCNP students take a frail-elderly course instead. Practicum sites differ by population. Switching tracks requires notifying the program and reapplying, and must be completed before NUR-637 and the population course in the second summer.
Loads stay between 5 and 8 credits per semester, usually two courses. Some courses run in shorter Term A or Term B sessions inside the semester.
- NUR-545 Family Theory and Dynamics (2)
- NUR-546 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning (3)
- NUR-547 Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice (3)
- NUR-548 Pharmacotherapeutics for Advanced Practice (3)
- NUR-549 Population Health for Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
- NUR-630 Primary Care I: Adults in the Community (3)
- NUR-631 Primary Care II: Adolescents to Adult-Gerontology (3)
- NUR-633 Advanced Primary Care of Infants and Children (2)
- NUR-635 to NUR-638 Primary Care Practicum I–IV (12 total)
- NUR-632 Role Transition for the Advanced Practice Nurse (2)
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- The catalog’s course list totals 44 credits because it omits NUR-631 from the FNP specialty block. The Fall 2026 plan of study includes it and totals 47.
- Course titles differ between sources: NUR-548 is “Advanced Clinical Pharmacology” in the catalog, NUR-510 is “Contemporary Leadership in Nursing” versus “Caring Nursing Leadership” in the plan, and NUR-632 drops “Role” in the catalog. Credits match.
- Pediatric didactic content is a single 2-credit course, placed late in the sequence (second summer), after two semesters of adult-focused primary care.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- Total: 750 practicum hours plus 30 clinical conference hours (780 contact hours)
- Practicum I: 122 hours + 8 conference hours (2 credits)
- Practicum II: 187 hours + 8 conference hours (3 credits)
- Practicum III: 188 hours + 7 conference hours (3 credits, summer)
- Practicum IV: 253 hours + 7 conference hours (4 credits)
- Ratio: 65 contact hours per practicum credit, applied consistently
- Placement model: Not clearly stated
At 750 hours, NDMU sits above the 600 to 700 hour range common among FNP programs and well above the 500-hour certification floor. The hours ramp from roughly 9 per week in the first practicum semester to about 18 per week in the last (assuming a 14-week term). For a nurse who must stay employed to remain eligible, the final fall is the heaviest stretch and usually requires daytime availability in addition to evening classes.
You Should Know
- NDMU does not say whether it secures preceptors or students find their own. Ask before applying, since this decides how much of the search falls on you.
- Practicum III runs in summer. If the summer term is shorter than 14 weeks, the weekly load in that semester will be higher than the estimate above.
MSN Admissions
Current RN employment is a hard gate, and the program admits one cohort per year in the fall.
- BSN from an accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
- College-level statistics with a grade of C (70%) or higher
- Active, unencumbered RN license from Maryland or a compact state
- Current employment as a registered nurse (documented in the application’s work experience section)
- Current CV or resume
- Official transcripts from all prior institutions (course-by-course evaluation for foreign degrees)
- 500 to 700 word essay on NDMU’s “transform the world” mission and your leadership characteristics (APA preferred)
- Rolling applications; fall-only cohort start
You Should Know
- No minimum years of RN experience are stated, but applicants who are not currently working as RNs will not be considered.
- NDMU states its licensure programs are designed to meet Maryland requirements. Its professional licensure page does not yet list the NP programs, so out-of-state licensure fit has not been determined. Check with your state board if you plan to practice outside Maryland.
Tuition
NDMU charges $920 per credit for its FNP and AGPCNP master’s tracks in 2026–27, unchanged from 2025–26. The rate applies regardless of residency.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | 47 credits × $920 | $43,240 |
| Registration/technology fee | 7 semesters × $199 | $1,393 |
| Estimated total (derived) | $44,633 |
This works out to about $950 per credit once the per-semester fee is included. Totals are derived from NDMU’s 2026–27 tuition and fees schedule; NDMU does not publish a program total.
- Tuition: $920 per credit (2026–27)
- Registration/technology fee: $199 per semester, non-refundable
- Graduation fee: $395
Be aware that:
- NDMU’s tuition page notes additional fees for nurse practitioner-specific resources that vary by semester. Amounts are not published and are not included above.
- Card payments carry a processing fee (3% in 2026–27).
- The estimate assumes the $920 rate holds for all seven semesters. NDMU does not state a cohort rate lock.
- An older NDMU program page referenced ANEW grant tuition support for FNP students interested in vulnerable or underserved populations. Current availability is not confirmed.
With the graduation fee, the confirmed all-in cost is about $45,000 before the unpublished NP resource fees. Because loads stay at 5 to 8 credits, bills run roughly $4,800 to $7,600 per semester, which is manageable alongside full-time RN pay or employer tuition remission (NDMU offers a deferred employer payment plan).
Why Choose This FNP Program?
Best suited for Baltimore-area nurses who plan to keep working full time and want an in-person classroom with a small cohort.
Designed around a working schedule. Requiring current RN employment is unusual, and the whole structure follows from it: two courses per semester, evening class meetings, and a full first year with no clinical hours. That makes year one realistic alongside a full-time job.
The workload shifts in year two. Four consecutive practicum semesters, including summer, add about 9 to 18 clinical hours per week on top of work and evening classes. The 750-hour total gives strong clinical exposure, but nurses on fixed day shifts will need an employer willing to flex schedules, especially in the final fall.
Honest drawbacks. There is no online or hybrid option, no spring entry, and no published placement policy. Pediatric content is limited to one late 2-credit course. Graduating cohorts have been small (five FNP graduates in December 2024, four in December 2025), which supports close mentoring but offers little peer data to judge outcomes by.
Accreditation
The Master of Science in Nursing program at Notre Dame of Maryland University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). CCNE granted the BSN and MSN programs a 10-year accreditation term extending to December 31, 2032. The FNP track sits within this accredited MSN.
NDMU is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Regional accreditation supports federal financial aid eligibility and transfer of graduate credit.
Graduates are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC). NDMU reports a 100% first-time pass rate for its December 2024 and December 2025 NP graduates (FNP and AGNP combined).
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