SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University FNP Programs

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University offers 3 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • BSN-DNP
  • Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$22.5K in-state2 years (6 semesters)45
BSN-DNP$83.3K in-state3.4 years (10 semesters)76
Certificate$22.5K in-state2 years (6 semesters)45

Tuition estimates use Downstate’s published graduate and DNP per-credit rates plus its mandatory college, activity, technology, health, orientation, and transcript fees.

SUNY Downstate charges $471 per credit for the MSN and $1,068 per credit for the BSN-DNP, yet both tracks run the same 720-hour FNP clinical sequence. A New York resident can finish the MSN for about $22,500 all-in, and the doctorate adds roughly $61,000 for the degree itself, not for more FNP training.

Downstate is a campus program in Brooklyn with one August start, a single January deadline, a New York RN license required at application, and no deferrals. Nurses who need online coursework or a flexible start date will not find it here.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN, BSN-DNP, Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate
FormatCampus (Brooklyn); DNP format not clearly stated
Clinical Hours720 (MSN, certificate); 1,220 (BSN-DNP, including 500 project hours)
Clinical PlacementNot clearly stated
PopulationFamily, all ages; Brooklyn’s only academic medical center
Distinctive CourseworkStandalone Differentials course; dedicated OB/GYN primary care clinical course
ConcentrationsNone within FNP; Women’s Health NP offered separately
RN License RequirementsCurrent, unencumbered New York RN license at application
Tuition$471/credit MSN and certificate; $1,068/credit DNP (resident)
AccreditationCCNE (MS, DNP, post-graduate APRN certificate); Middle States
Start TermAugust only; January 15 deadline
Unusual PrerequisiteIn-person General Chemistry with lab, grade C or better (MSN, certificate)

Master of Science, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the MSN at SUNY Downstate is approximately $22,528 in-state (45 credits at $471/credit, plus fees). The Family Nurse Practitioner Program (MS) can generally be completed in about 2 years (6 semesters) of full-time study.

MSN Curriculum

Foundation year. The first two semesters are pure didactic work: theory, the advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment core, and a two-course research sequence. A 1-credit Differentials course runs alongside Health Assessment, which gives diagnostic reasoning its own graded course rather than folding it into assessment.

Clinical sequence. Clinicals start in the first summer and build in a fixed order: adult primary care I, adult primary care II, then pediatrics and OB/GYN in the same spring, then a 240-hour integration course. OB/GYN is a standalone 3-credit, 120-hour course rather than a unit inside a lifespan course. Downstate also runs a Women’s Health NP program, so this content has a home faculty behind it.

Term-locked sequence. Each clinical course sits in one term only. A student who falls out of sequence likely waits a full year to re-enter.

  • NRMS 5190 Advanced Pathophysiology (3)
  • NRMS 5110 Advanced Pharmacology (3)
  • NRMS 5180 Advanced Health Assessment (3) with NRMS 5112 Differentials (1)
  • NRMS 5850 and 5860 Research and Evidence Practice I and II (3 each)
  • CNNP 5230 Primary Prevention and Care Management of Adults I (4)
  • NFNP 5230 Primary Care Management of the Adult 2 (4)
  • NFNP 5130 Primary Care Management of the Pediatric Client (3)
  • NFNP 5131 Primary Care Management of OB/GYN Clients (3)
  • NFNP 5300 Integration and Professional Issues (3)
You Should Know
  • The MSN plan of study lists the final course as NWHP 5300, a Women’s Health course code. The certificate and DNP plans list the same course as NFNP 5300. This appears to be a typo in the MSN document.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • Total: 720 clinical hours, confirmed against per-course hours
  • CNNP 5230: 120 hours (summer, year 1)
  • NFNP 5230: 120 hours (fall, year 2)
  • NFNP 5130 and 5131: 120 hours each (spring, year 2)
  • NFNP 5300: 240 hours (summer, year 2)
  • Placement model: not clearly stated
  • Simulation: 8-bed Simulation Center on campus

720 hours is 220 above the 500-hour certification floor and above the 600 to 700 hour range common among FNP programs. The load is back-loaded: the last two semesters carry 480 hours, roughly 16 hours a week over a 15-week term, stacked on 9 credits in the spring. Downstate lists hospital employers such as Kings County, Maimonides, and its own University Hospital, but it does not say whether it arranges preceptors or expects students to find them.

You Should Know
  • Downstate does not publish its placement policy. Ask whether the college assigns sites or whether students must secure their own preceptors, and how early the search starts.

MSN Admissions

Admission is once a year for August, with a January 15 deadline, and qualified candidates may be interviewed.

  • BSN from a regionally accredited institution
  • Current, unencumbered New York RN license
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • General Chemistry with lab, taken in person, grade C or better
  • AHA BLS for Healthcare Provider or ACLS
  • Two recommendation letters, one from a supervisor within the past 3 years
  • One year of post-BSN clinical experience preferred, not required
  • Resume, four essay questions, and a $75 application fee
  • Deadline for August 2027 entry: January 15, 2027
You Should Know
  • Downstate’s application instructions PDF tells post-baccalaureate APRN applicants that FNP is “DNP only.” The 2026–2027 deadlines page still lists the FNP Masters for August 2027. Confirm the MSN is accepting new students before applying.
  • The program page describes a 3-year (9-semester) part-time option. The same application instructions state that part-time study is not available for any College of Nursing program. Plan on full-time unless Downstate confirms otherwise in writing.
  • The chemistry prerequisite must be in person with a lab, and credit by exam is not accepted for lab sciences. Nurses whose chemistry was online or long ago should check this first.
  • Downstate does not grant deferrals, and admission decisions cannot be appealed.
  • Admissions priority goes to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and New York residents.

BSN to DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP at SUNY Downstate is approximately $83,349 in-state (76 credits at $1,068/credit, plus fees). The Doctor of Nursing Practice Program (FNP concentration) can generally be completed in about 3.4 years (10 semesters), a duration derived from the published 10-semester plan of study.

BSN-DNP Curriculum

Same FNP spine as the MSN. The DNP shares 11 courses (33 credits) with the MSN, including every FNP clinical course. It swaps the MSN’s population health, second research course, informatics, and leadership courses for doctoral versions and adds biostatistics, epidemiology, policy, finance, and quality improvement.

Boards in the middle, project at the end. The FNP clinical sequence finishes in summer of year 2, and Downstate’s plan of study tells students to take the FNP board exam immediately after NFNP 5300. The last four semesters are doctoral coursework plus a three-part evidence-based project. In practice, that can mean certification about 16 months before the DNP is conferred.

  • NDNP 7000 DNP Role Development for Advanced Doctoral Practice (3)
  • NDNP 7004 Intermediate Biostatistics (3)
  • NDNP 7006 Epidemiology (3)
  • NDNP 7101 Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (3)
  • NDNP 7200 Systems Leadership (3)
  • NDNP 7005 Finance and Economics of Healthcare (3)
  • NDNP 7102, 7104, 7201 Evidence-Based Project 1 to 3 (3 each)
  • All FNP clinical courses listed under the MSN
You Should Know
  • The DNP page describes the program as 10 or 13 semesters, which implies a slower option. The application instructions state that part-time study is not offered. Ask which schedule is actually available.
  • The second page of the current plan of study is labeled 2024–2025 while the first is labeled 2025–2026. Confirm the later semesters are current.
  • Downstate’s plan says to sit for boards after NFNP 5300, but it does not explain how certification eligibility is documented before the DNP is conferred. Confirm this with the program and with AANP or ANCC.
  • Downstate does not state the DNP’s delivery format. Because the FNP courses are shared with the classroom-based MSN, plan for campus attendance.

BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Total: 1,220 clinical hours, confirmed against per-course hours
  • FNP clinical courses: 720 hours, identical to the MSN
  • Evidence-Based Project courses: 167 + 167 + 166 = 500 hours
  • Placement model: not clearly stated

The FNP portion matches the MSN hour for hour. The extra 500 hours are project hours tied to a quality or practice-change initiative, not additional patient-care rotations. Nurses choosing the DNP for more clinical training will not get it here; they get the doctorate and the project.

BSN-DNP Admissions

The DNP uses the same August start and January 15 deadline, with a higher preferred GPA than the MSN.

  • BSN from a regionally accredited institution
  • Current, unencumbered New York RN license
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.5 preferred (no stated minimum)
  • AHA BLS for Healthcare Provider or ACLS
  • Two recommendation letters, one from a supervisor within the past 3 years
  • One year of post-BSN clinical experience preferred
  • Curriculum vitae or resume
You Should Know
  • The DNP requirements list does not include the in-person chemistry prerequisite that the MSN requires. Confirm whether it applies before assuming it does not.
  • The DNP “Before You Apply” page says graduate nursing applicants submit one letter, while the requirements page says two. Submit two.
  • Nurses who already hold a New York FNP license can enter a separate post-master’s DNP (46 credits, 7 semesters). That route does not prepare for FNP certification and is not profiled here.

Advanced Certificate, Family Nurse Practitioner (Post-Master’s)

The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate at SUNY Downstate is approximately $22,528 in-state (45 credits at $471/credit, plus fees). The Advanced Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner can generally be completed in about 2 years (6 semesters), per the published plan of study.

Certificate Curriculum

The published certificate plan is course for course identical to the MSN: 45 credits, the same six semesters, and the same didactic core. For a nurse who already holds an APRN master’s degree, that includes repeating pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment, research, informatics, and leadership. Downstate does not publish a gap analysis or credit reduction for prior graduate work.

You Should Know
  • A post-master’s certificate that matches the full MSN in credits, cost, and length is unusual. Ask whether prior APRN coursework can shorten the plan before enrolling.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • Total: 720 clinical hours, the same sequence as the MSN
  • Placement model: not clearly stated

A practicing NP adding a family focus completes the full 720 hours. Downstate does not state whether prior clinical hours count toward the total.

Certificate Admissions

This track is for nurses who already hold a graduate degree and a New York APRN license.

  • Master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution
  • Current, unencumbered New York RN license
  • Current, unencumbered New York APRN license
  • General Chemistry with lab, grade C or better
  • AHA BLS for Healthcare Provider or ACLS
  • Two recommendation letters
  • GPA of 3.0 preferred; one year of post-BSN experience preferred
  • Deadline for August 2027 entry: January 15, 2027
You Should Know
  • The certificate overview says students must hold APRN certification “with the specialty in FNP,” which would make the program redundant. The requirements page asks only for a New York APRN license. Read it as open to NPs in other specialties, and confirm.
  • State boards set their own rules for recognizing a second APRN population focus. Confirm with your board that this certificate meets its requirements.

Tuition

The cost per credit for SUNY Downstate’s FNP programs is $471 for New York residents and $1,052 for non-residents in the MSN and certificate, and $1,068 resident and $1,281 non-resident in the DNP. These are published rates on Downstate’s College of Nursing tuition and fees page. The rates do not include fees.

ComponentMSN / CertificateBSN-DNP
Resident tuition45 × $471 = $21,195$12,810 flat (12-credit fall) + 64 × $1,068 = $81,162
Non-resident tuition45 × $1,052 = $47,340$15,370 flat + 64 × $1,281 = $97,354
Per-credit fees ($21.78/credit)$980$1,394 (plus $336 full-time fees in fall 1)
Activity fees (by term load)$298$403
Orientation and transcript fees$55$55
Resident total$22,528$83,349
Non-resident total$48,673$99,541

All totals are derived from the published rates and each track’s plan of study.

  • Graduate tuition: $471/credit resident, $1,052/credit non-resident
  • DNP tuition: $1,068/credit resident, $1,281/credit non-resident
  • Full-time flat rates ($5,655 graduate, $12,810 DNP, resident) apply only at 12+ credits
  • College fee $1.70, technology fee $13.29, and student health fee $6.79 per credit below 12 credits
  • Activity fee: $17.50, $35, or $70 per term depending on load
  • Orientation fee: $50, first semester only
  • Application fee: $75

Be aware that:

  • No MSN semester reaches 12 credits, so the flat full-time rate never applies. The estimate uses per-credit billing for every term.
  • The estimate assumes DNP students pay the DNP rate on all 76 credits, including the 33 credits of shared FNP coursework. At the graduate rate, those 33 credits would cost $15,543 instead of $35,244. Confirm how Downstate bills them.
  • The $5 transcript fee is listed as a flat charge without saying whether it recurs. The estimate counts it once.
  • The bursar page does not show an academic year for these rates. SUNY tuition is set annually, so expect increases over a multi-year program.
  • The DNP non-resident rate carries a note referencing distance learning students that the page does not explain.

For a New York resident, the MSN works out to about $500 per credit all-in, and the tuition line barely moves above the published rate. The real cost decision is between credentials: the DNP costs about $60,800 more for the same FNP clinical training, so its value rests entirely on whether the doctorate matters for your career plans. Non-residents pay more than double for the MSN, which weakens the cost case for anyone who cannot establish New York residency.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for New York-licensed nurses in Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs who want a low-cost public MSN, can attend on campus full time, and want training tied to an academic medical center.

Cost for residents. About $22,500 for a 45-credit, 720-hour FNP master’s is a strong price for a CCNE-accredited program with clinical volume at the upper end of the common range. The certificate costs the same, which helps NPs in other specialties only if they accept the full 45-credit plan.

MSN versus DNP. Downstate makes the credential choice unusually clear. Both tracks share every FNP clinical course and hour. The DNP adds doctoral coursework, 500 project hours, four more semesters, and about $60,800. Nurses who want a DNP for leadership or academic roles get a path where they can certify mid-program; nurses who only want to practice as FNPs have little reason to pay the difference.

Honest drawbacks. The format is campus-based, with one August intake and a hard January 15 deadline. Clinical placement policy is unpublished, part-time study conflicts across Downstate’s own documents, and the MSN’s status for new post-baccalaureate applicants needs confirmation. Out-of-state applicants face double the MSN tuition and must hold a New York RN license before applying.

Accreditation

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredits Downstate’s master’s program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post-graduate APRN certificate program. That covers all three FNP tracks on this page.

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Institutional accreditation supports federal financial aid eligibility and the transfer of graduate credit to other schools.

All College of Nursing programs are registered with the New York State Education Department’s Office of the Professions, which matters for New York nurse practitioner licensure.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the national FNP certification exam (AANP or ANCC) and to apply for Nurse Practitioner licensure in New York State.

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