Saginaw Valley State University FNP Programs

Department of Nursing • University Center, MI • Hybrid • $800/credit

Saginaw Valley State University offers 4 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • MSN (Dual FNP/PMHNP)
  • BSN-DNP
  • Postgraduate Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$40.0K–$42.4K3 years (9 semesters)50–53
Dual FNP/PMHNP$57.6K–$61.6KNot clearly stated72–77
BSN-DNP$56.8KAbout 4 years (12 semesters)71
Certificate$32.0KAbout 2–2.5 years (6–7 semesters)40

Tuition estimates use SVSU’s 2026–27 graduate rate of $800 per credit, which is the same for Michigan and non-Michigan residents.

Saginaw Valley State lets a BSN-prepared nurse complete FNP and PMHNP preparation inside one MSN, and it runs the same FNP course spine and 600-hour clinical block through all four credentials. Every graduate nursing credit costs $800 regardless of residency, with no graduate program fees on the bursar schedule.

The trade-off is geography and paperwork. FNP coursework is hybrid, with in-person evening sessions at the University Center campus near Saginaw, so the program realistically serves nurses within driving distance. SVSU’s own pages also disagree on several credit totals, and none of them explain how the clinical placement team actually works.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN, dual FNP/PMHNP MSN, BSN-DNP, post-graduate certificate
FormatHybrid: online coursework plus in-person evening class sessions on campus
Clinical Hours600 FNP hours; 1,020 total in BSN-DNP; about 1,140 in dual track (derived)
Clinical PlacementDedicated clinical placement team; placement model not clearly stated
PopulationFamily/individual across the lifespan
Distinctive CourseworkClinical Office Procedures; Primary Care III covering gender and mental health
ConcentrationsOptional dual FNP/PMHNP within the MSN
RN License RequirementsUnencumbered RN license; out-of-state applicants reviewed state by state
Tuition$800/credit for all residencies, 2025–26 and 2026–27
AccreditationCCNE (master’s, DNP, post-graduate APRN certificate)
Start TermFull-time MSN starts fall only; BSN-DNP starts fall

Master of Science in Nursing, Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the MSN at Saginaw Valley State University is approximately $40,000 to $42,400 (50–53 credits at $800/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 3 years on SVSU’s part-time plan, with the MSN awarded at the end of year three.

The official program page is the Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner.

MSN Curriculum

Structure. Students complete a 19-credit MSN core (research, policy, informatics, epidemiology, health promotion) and a 34-credit FNP concentration. The concentration opens with the advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment sequence, then moves into four Primary Care courses.

FNP specialty sequence. Primary Care I through IV are organized by clinical problem rather than by body system: chronic illness, pediatrics, gender and mental health, then acute care and transitions. Clinical practicum credits run alongside Primary Care II, III, and IV, so patient-care hours begin only after the chronic-care course is finished.

Unusual coursework. A dedicated one-credit Clinical Office Procedures course sits alongside the Primary Care series, a skills component many FNP programs fold into other courses. Primary Care III pairs gender-specific care with mental health, which gives FNP students more psychiatric content than a typical adult-and-child split.

  • NURS 610 Advanced Pathophysiology for APRN (3 cr)
  • NURS 612 Advanced Pharmacology for APRN (3 cr)
  • NURS 615 Advanced Health Assessment (4 cr)
  • NURS 636 Differential Diagnosis (1 cr)
  • NURS 641 Primary Care I: Chronicity (3 cr)
  • NURS 643 Primary Care II: Pediatrics (3 cr)
  • NURS 645 Primary Care III: Gender/Mental Health (3 cr)
  • NURS 647 Primary Care IV: Acute/Transition (3 cr)
  • NURS 651 Clinical Office Procedures (1 cr)
  • NURS 674A–D FNP Clinical (10 cr total)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • The catalog and program page state the MSN FNP totals 50 credits (16-credit core plus 34). The core course list printed directly beneath that statement sums to 19 credits, which makes the course-level total 53. The catalog also labels the core “19 cr” in its heading. SVSU does not say which 3 credits drop out.
  • The plan of study labeled “Family Nurse Practitioner, Fall Semester Start (Part-Time)” on the MSN curriculum page is actually a PMHNP sequence (psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, addictions, and PMHNP clinicals). No FNP-specific plan of study is published, so the 9-semester duration is derived from SVSU’s three-year statement and its fall/winter/spring-summer calendar.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • 600 clinical hours across NURS 674A–D (10 credits at 60 hours per credit)
  • Clinical credits are taken in 1–5 credit increments concurrently with Primary Care II, III, and IV
  • Per-course ranges: 674A 120–300 hours; 674B, 674C, and 674D 120–240 hours each
  • SVSU advertises a “dedicated clinical placement team” for the MSN
  • Criminal background check, immunizations, physical exam, CPR, liability insurance, and drug testing required before clinical courses

600 hours clears the 500-hour certification floor and sits at the low end of the 600 to 700 hour range common among FNP programs. Spread over the three terms that carry clinical credit, it averages about 200 hours per term, or roughly 13 to 17 hours a week depending on term length. That is one long clinic day a week for most students, which matches SVSU’s claim that the program can be completed while working full time.

You Should Know
  • SVSU does not state whether the placement team assigns preceptors or only helps students find them, whether clinical sites must be in Michigan, or how far in advance the search begins.
  • The 674A range starts at 120 hours for 1 credit, which does not match the 60-hours-per-credit ratio used elsewhere. The 600-hour total at 10 credits is the governing figure.

MSN Admissions

Admission is rolling with no formal domestic deadline, but seats fill and the full-time FNP plan starts only in fall.

  • BSN with a 3.00 cumulative GPA in nursing and prerequisite coursework
  • College statistics with a C or higher
  • Current unencumbered RN license
  • Resume and a one-page essay on academic and professional goals
  • Discussion with the graduate nursing coordinator
  • Recommended timing: apply by March for a fall start, by September for a winter start
  • Admission remains valid for one calendar year
  • Up to 9 graduate credits earned in an SVSU undergraduate program may count toward the MSN; 7-year completion limit
You Should Know
  • The FNP major requires a BSN. SVSU’s RN-to-MSN route does not apply to FNP.
  • An older SVSU admissions page required FNP applicants to have a three-credit college chemistry course with a C or higher. The current requirements list omits it, but the FNP page still calls chemistry background important. Confirm before applying.
  • Applicants living outside Michigan are “considered on a state-by-state basis.” SVSU does not publish a list of approved or excluded states.
  • An older SVSU FAQ states the part-time FNP plan can start in fall or winter, while the full-time plan starts only in fall.

MSN, Dual Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner/Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the dual FNP/PMHNP MSN at Saginaw Valley State University is approximately $57,600 to $61,600 (72–77 credits at $800/credit). SVSU does not publish a completion timeline for the dual track.

The track is listed in the SVSU graduate catalog and on the MSN curriculum page.

Dual Curriculum

The dual track stacks the full FNP concentration on top of the PMHNP specialty courses and clinicals. Pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment are taken once and count for both roles, which is where the savings come from compared with earning one MSN and then a post-graduate certificate in the other specialty.

  • Full FNP concentration (NURS 610–674, 34 credits)
  • NURS 710 Advanced Psychopharmacology and Neurobiology (2 cr)
  • NURS 712 Psychotherapeutic Foundations (2 cr)
  • NURS 716 Differential Diagnosis of Mental Health (2 cr)
  • NURS 731 Psychiatric Mental Health Care of Adults (3 cr)
  • NURS 733 Psychiatric Mental Health Care of Children (3 cr)
  • NURS 735 Addictions Care in Integrated Settings (3 cr)
  • NURS 741–743 PMHNP Clinicals: adult/gero, child and family, addictions/integrated (9 cr)

Dual Clinical Requirements

  • 600 FNP clinical hours (NURS 674A–D)
  • 9 PMHNP clinical credits; at SVSU’s 60-hours-per-credit ratio, about 540 hours (derived)
  • Combined total of about 1,140 clinical hours (derived)

Two full clinical sequences mean two sets of preceptors, one in primary care and one in psychiatric settings. The derived total is nearly double a single-specialty FNP, and the PMHNP side includes a dedicated addictions rotation, which fits SVSU’s stated emphasis on substance use and rural mental health needs.

You Should Know
  • The catalog lists the dual track at 72 credits and the concentration at 56. The dual course list sums to 58 credits, and with the 19-credit core the course-level total is 77.
  • SVSU publishes no hours for NURS 741–743. The 540-hour PMHNP figure assumes the same ratio SVSU uses for FNP clinicals.
  • The MSN marketing page lists Educator, Administrator, FNP, and Dual Educator/Administrator but not the dual FNP/PMHNP. The track appears only in the catalog and curriculum listings. Confirm it is accepting students.
  • SVSU’s catalog titles the track “Dual Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner/Psychiatric Mental Health Family Nurse Practitioner.” The PMHNP role is not a family nurse practitioner role; the title appears to be a catalog error.

BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice, Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP at Saginaw Valley State University is approximately $56,800 (71 credits at $800/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 4 years (derived), within SVSU’s 7-year doctoral time limit.

The official program page is the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

BSN-DNP Curriculum

The BSN-DNP uses the same FNP concentration as the MSN, then replaces three master’s core courses (informatics and QI, health promotion, application of research) with doctoral coursework: epidemiology, informatics, quality improvement and patient safety, organizational leadership, financial data, and translational scholarship. SVSU frames the doctorate around a practice project rather than a dissertation.

  • Full FNP concentration (NURS 610–674)
  • NURS 776 QI/Patient Safety for ANP (3 cr)
  • NURS 778 Interprofessional and Organizational Leadership (3 cr)
  • NURS 814 Translational Scholarship for ANP (2 cr)
  • NURS 824 Analytic Methods of Quality Improvement (3 cr)
  • NURS 830 Financial Data for Practice Change (3 cr)
  • NURS 850A–F DNP Project/Immersion (minimum 3 credits over 3 semesters; repeatable)

More curriculum details are available here.

You Should Know
  • The catalog introduction says the BSN-DNP requires a minimum of 74 credits. The BSN-DNP curriculum section of the same record says 71. The course list reconciles with 71 and the published 1,020 practice hours (see below), so 71 is used here. At 74 credits, tuition would be $59,200.
  • SVSU’s current DNP landing page markets only the MSN-to-DNP. The BSN-DNP appears in the catalog and on SVSU’s nursing department overview. Confirm current enrollment status with the coordinator.
  • No BSN-DNP plan of study is published. The 4-year estimate adds the doctoral block to SVSU’s three-year FNP sequence.

BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Minimum 1,020 clinical and DNP practice hours
  • 600 FNP clinical hours (NURS 674A–D)
  • DNP project/immersion at 60 hours per credit; the 7 credits left in the 71-credit total yield 420 hours (derived)
  • 600 + 420 = 1,020, matching the published minimum
  • SVSU advertises a BSN-to-DNP clinical placement team

The FNP clinical load is identical to the MSN. The additional 420 hours are project and practice hours, usually tied to a quality improvement initiative, and they fall on top of the FNP rotations rather than replacing any of them.

BSN-DNP Admissions

The DNP starts in fall only and asks for a longer, referenced essay than the MSN.

  • Accredited BSN with a 3.0 GPA in nursing and prerequisite coursework
  • Unencumbered RN license
  • Curriculum vitae or resume
  • College statistics with a C or higher
  • 1,000–1,250 word goal statement in APA format with four scholarly references, covering career goals, possible DNP project areas, and your understanding of the practice doctorate
  • Discussion with the graduate nursing coordinator
  • Letters of recommendation not required but may be requested

Post-Graduate Certificate, Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate Certificate at Saginaw Valley State University is approximately $32,000 (40 credits at $800/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 2 to 2.5 years (derived), depending on how the gap analysis credits prior coursework.

The certificate is listed in the SVSU graduate catalog.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is the FNP concentration plus the MSN’s health promotion and role course, delivered in hybrid format for non-clinical courses. A gap analysis on admission can remove courses a student already completed, which matters most for PMHNPs and other APRNs who already hold the advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and assessment courses.

  • NURS 610, 612, 615 (advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment)
  • NURS 620 Health Promotion and Role (3 cr)
  • NURS 636 Differential Diagnosis (1 cr)
  • NURS 641–647 Primary Care I–IV (12 cr)
  • NURS 651 Clinical Office Procedures (1 cr)
  • NURS 674A–C FNP Clinical
You Should Know
  • The 40-credit total only reconciles if NURS 674A–C are taken at their maximums (5 + 4 + 4 = 13 credits). At the MSN’s 10-credit, 600-hour clinical load, the list totals 37 credits ($29,600). SVSU does not say which applies.
  • The duration estimate is derived from the foundation-then-Primary-Care sequence in the MSN. No certificate plan of study is published.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • FNP clinical courses NURS 674A–C
  • 600 hours if the MSN’s 10-credit clinical rule applies; up to 780 hours at the listed credit maximums (derived)

Either figure clears the 500-hour floor. Nurses who hold an APRN credential in another population should ask the coordinator in writing how many hours their plan will require, since the catalog does not settle it.

Certificate Admissions

  • MSN or DNP from an accredited program
  • Current unencumbered RN license
  • Out-of-state applicants considered state by state
You Should Know
  • State boards set their own rules for adding a second APRN population focus. Nurses licensed outside Michigan should confirm their board will recognize a post-graduate certificate before enrolling.

Tuition

SVSU charges a published $800 per credit for all graduate and doctoral nursing courses, for both Michigan and non-Michigan residents. The rate is the same in 2025–26 and 2026–27.

TrackCreditsTuition (derived)
MSN50–53$40,000–$42,400
Dual FNP/PMHNP72–77$57,600–$61,600
BSN-DNP71$56,800
Certificate40$32,000
  • $800 per credit, graduate and DNP courses, all residencies
  • No graduate program, technology, or registration fee on SVSU’s bursar schedule
  • Graduate Payment Plan: two or five interest-free installments; $50 enrollment fee in fall/winter, $25 in spring/summer
  • Late payment fee: $100

Official rates are on SVSU’s Tuition and Fees page.

Be aware that:

  • MSN and dual-track ranges reflect SVSU’s conflicting credit totals, not optional coursework. The lower figure matches the published total; the higher matches the course list.
  • The $50-per-credit Professional Fee on the bursar page applies to undergraduate juniors and seniors in health programs, not to graduate students.
  • The program page says “depending upon your program, there may be additional fees” and lists a per-course “Digital Course Material Fee” that varies by course. Neither is quantified.
  • Liability insurance, background checks, drug testing, and immunizations required before clinicals are student costs not itemized by SVSU.
  • Travel to University Center for in-person class sessions is a real cost for students outside the Great Lakes Bay region.
  • Part-time clinical faculty positions are sometimes open to MSN students and can offset cost.

Because there is no residency premium and no graduate fee layer, the per-credit rate is close to the true all-in cost. A non-resident pays exactly what a Michigan resident pays, though the hybrid campus sessions limit how many out-of-state nurses can use that advantage in practice.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses in mid-Michigan who want FNP preparation at a single flat price, can reach the University Center campus for evening sessions, and may want psychiatric credentials alongside primary care.

Dual-role preparation in one degree. The dual FNP/PMHNP MSN lets a nurse sit for both national exams from one program, sharing the pathophysiology, pharmacology, and assessment foundation. For nurses heading into rural or integrated primary care practices where behavioral health demand is high, that pairing is more useful than either specialty alone. The FNP-only student still gets more mental health content than usual through Primary Care III.

One price for everyone. The $800 rate applies to residents and non-residents alike, and SVSU lists no graduate fees on top. A Michigan nurse can price the MSN at $40,000 to $42,400 and the BSN-DNP at $56,800 with few surprises, and the matching rate means the DNP costs exactly the extra credits and nothing more.

Built for the local working nurse. Evening in-person sessions, a three-year part-time MSN, and a single long clinic day per week make this workable alongside a full-time hospital job. The same hybrid design is the main limitation: it is a regional program, not a national online one.

Honest drawbacks. SVSU’s own pages disagree on MSN, dual, BSN-DNP, and certificate credit totals, mislabel a PMHNP plan as the FNP plan, and never describe how the placement team works. Ask for a written plan of study and placement policy before committing.

Accreditation

The master’s degree program, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at Saginaw Valley State University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). That scope covers the MSN, dual FNP/PMHNP MSN, BSN-DNP, and post-graduate FNP certificate.

SVSU’s nursing programs are also approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing. SVSU has offered the FNP track since 1996 and the DNP since the Board of Control approved it in 2012.

The university is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accreditor for Michigan public universities. Institutional accreditation governs federal financial aid eligibility and credit transfer.

Graduates of the FNP tracks are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC).

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