University of North Georgia FNP Programs

Department of Nursing • Dahlonega, GA • Campus • $296/credit

University of North Georgia offers 2 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • MSN
  • Post-Master’s Certificate

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
MSN$13.6K in-state 2–3 yrs46
CertificateVaries; up to $13.6K in-stateVariesUp to 46

UNG’s defining advantage is depth of clinical training at a low in-state price: 750 clinical hours — well above the 500-hour certification floor — delivered through a five-course rural primary care sequence, for roughly $13,600 in resident tuition. The trade-off is format: this is a campus-based program in Dahlonega with a single June start each year, not an online program.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesMSN (BSN entry); Post-Master’s Certificate
FormatCampus (Dahlonega); catalog lists some online delivery for the MSN — verify with the program
Clinical Hours750 across five clinical courses
Clinical PlacementStudent-arranged in collaboration with faculty; faculty approval required
PopulationFamily/lifespan, rural primary care emphasis
Distinctive CourseworkRural Primary Care Nursing I–V; two-course scholarly project
RN License RequirementsUnencumbered Georgia RN license
Start TermOne cohort per year, June summer session; apply by Feb 28
Certificate Financial AidNot eligible for federal financial aid
Tuition$296/credit in-state; $1,169/credit out-of-state; campus fees extra
AccreditationACEN (master’s/post-master’s programs); UNG is SACSCOC-accredited

MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

The estimated tuition for the MSN with a concentration in Family Nurse Practitioner at University of North Georgia is approximately $13,616 for Georgia residents (46 credits at $296/credit) or $53,774 for non-residents (46 credits at $1,169/credit).

The program can generally be completed in about 2 years, with a 3-year plan available for nurses who want to take one course at a time.

MSN Curriculum

The curriculum’s defining feature is its clinical sequence: all five clinical courses are titled Rural Primary Care Nursing I–V, and clinical placements must match each course’s rural primary care focus.

Few FNP programs organize the entire specialty sequence around rural practice; if you plan to work in a rural or underserved Georgia community, this is training aimed directly at that setting. If you want an urban or specialty-adjacent placement mix, this structure is more restrictive.

Structure. A 19-credit core (the 3 Ps, policy, research, and a two-course scholarly project) supports the 27-credit FNP concentration. Students complete a clinical primary care scholarly project and a comprehensive exam before graduation — a heavier culminating load than programs that end with a practicum alone.

Pacing. The two-year plan runs two courses per semester with clinicals beginning in the fall; the school itself notes this pace is intense for nurses working heavy schedules. The three-year plan takes one course at a time and delays clinicals by a year — a realistic option for full-time RNs.

  • NURS 6010 – Advanced Pharmacology Across the Lifespan
  • NURS 6020 – Advanced Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan
  • NURS 6031 – Health Assessment for Advanced Practice Nurses
  • NURS 7003 – Health Policy, Leadership, and Ethics
  • NURS 7130 – Advanced Nursing Research
  • NURS 7133 / 7221 – Scholarly Project I and II
  • NURS 6105–7207 – Rural Primary Care Nursing I through V (clinical sequence)

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinical Requirements

  • 750 total clinical hours, spread across the five Rural Primary Care Nursing courses.
  • The program page says most clinical courses require 130 hours; 750 across five courses averages 150, so at least one course carries a heavier load. Confirm the per-course breakdown with the program.
  • Placements are student-arranged in collaboration with faculty and require faculty approval; settings must match each course’s rural primary care focus (family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine).
  • Clinical hours may not be completed at your place of employment.
  • No more than two semesters at the same practice site without program coordinator approval.
  • Preceptors may be NPs, nurse midwives, physicians, or PAs.

At 750 hours, UNG sits well above the 500-hour certification floor and above the 600–700 hours common among FNP programs — more supervised practice before you sit for boards, at the cost of a heavier scheduling burden. The placement model is student-driven with faculty support, not a guaranteed-placement service, and the employment-site ban plus the two-semester site cap mean you should expect to line up several distinct rural primary care sites over the program.

MSN Admissions

Admissions run on one annual cycle — a February 28 deadline for the single June cohort — and some applicants are asked to come to Dahlonega for an interview or testing, so missing the window costs a full year.

  • BSN from an accredited institution with a nationally accredited nursing school; 3.0 cumulative GPA.
  • Current unencumbered Georgia RN license.
  • 1–2 years post-licensure U.S. clinical experience recommended (not required); UNG advertises 1 year as the norm.
  • Professional resume; $40 application fee; official transcripts.
  • Rolling review within the cycle — complete applications get decisions shortly after submission.
  • Provisional admission is possible for one semester but excludes clinical courses and federal financial aid.

FNP Post-Master’s Certificate

The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner at University of North Georgia is up to approximately $13,616 for Georgia residents (up to 46 credits at $296/credit), depending on how much prior graduate coursework transfers in.

Program length varies with the individualized plan of study, and every student must complete at least 27 credits at UNG.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is gap-based: the coordinator reviews your MSN transcript and builds a plan from the same course list as the MSN-FNP — the full Rural Primary Care Nursing I–V clinical sequence plus any core courses (patho, pharm, assessment, policy, research, scholarly project) not already satisfied at the graduate level.

All clinical courses are required regardless of background, so the 27-credit residency minimum is effectively the floor even for nurses with strong MSN coursework. That makes this one of the heavier post-master’s FNP certificates: many schools waive more and require fewer clinical courses.

  • NURS 6010 – Advanced Pharmacology Across the Lifespan (if not previously taken)
  • NURS 6020 – Advanced Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan (if not previously taken)
  • NURS 6031 – Health Assessment for Advanced Practice Nurses (if not previously taken)
  • NURS 6105–7207 – Rural Primary Care Nursing I through V (required)
  • NURS 7133 / 7221 – Scholarly Project I and II

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • All five Rural Primary Care Nursing clinical courses are required; total clinical hours are not separately stated for the certificate.
  • Delivery is listed as in person at Dahlonega.
  • Same academic progression rules as the MSN: minimum B in every course, satisfactory preceptorship performance, 75+ exam average.

Because the full clinical sequence carries over from the MSN, certificate students should plan for a clinical commitment comparable to the degree program’s 750 hours — confirm the exact requirement with the program before enrolling, since it isn’t published on the certificate pages.

Certificate Admissions

The biggest admissions caveat isn’t academic: certificate-only students are not eligible for federal financial aid, so plan for out-of-pocket or private funding.

  • MSN from an accredited institution with a nationally accredited nursing school.
  • Current unencumbered Georgia RN license.
  • One year of post-licensure U.S. clinical experience preferred.
  • Same annual cycle as the MSN: February 28 deadline, June summer start, possible Dahlonega interview or testing.
  • Professional resume; $40 application fee; official transcripts.

Tuition

UNG charges $296 per credit for Georgia residents and $1,169 per credit for non-residents at the graduate level on the Dahlonega campus. At 46 credits, that puts the MSN-FNP at approximately $13,616 in-state or $53,774 out-of-state before fees; certificate cost scales with the individualized plan, up to the same totals. See the UNG tuition and fee estimator for current rates.

  • Mandatory campus fees are charged per semester on top of tuition: about $295 at 1–4 credits, $442.50 at 5–6 credits, and $590 at 7+ credits (activity, athletic, health, technology, transportation, and wellness fees).
  • Estimated fee total over the program: roughly $2,300–$3,500 depending on plan of study and semester count (derived estimate).
  • In-state classification requires validation of Georgia residency and lawful presence under Board of Regents policy.
  • Certificate students are not eligible for federal financial aid; provisional and non-degree students are also aid-ineligible.

The practical read: because these are campus fees rather than online-program fees, the true in-state all-in cost lands around $16,000–$17,000 — still low for a 46-credit, 750-hour FNP program. The out-of-state rate is nearly four times the resident rate, and since a Georgia RN license is required anyway, this program only makes financial sense for Georgia residents.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

This program fits nurses who plan to practice primary care in rural Georgia and want maximum clinical preparation at minimum cost.

The rural emphasis is structural, built into every clinical course rather than offered as an elective theme. Combined with 750 clinical hours — above what most FNP programs require — graduates enter practice with unusually deep supervised experience in exactly the settings where Georgia’s NP shortage is most acute. UNG reports a 100% first-time certification pass rate and 100% job placement, though both figures come from alumni survey responses, so treat them as encouraging rather than audited.

The trade-offs are real. This is a campus-based program in Dahlonega with one intake per year and a February deadline — nurses outside commuting range of North Georgia, or those who need asynchronous online flexibility, should look elsewhere. Clinical placement is student-arranged with faculty support, you can’t train at your own workplace, and site rules will push you across multiple practices. The post-master’s certificate is similarly demanding: the full clinical sequence is required and federal aid isn’t available. For the nurse the program is designed for — a Georgia RN within reach of Dahlonega, committed to rural primary care — the combination of cost, clinical depth, and outcomes is hard to argue with.

Accreditation

The master’s and post-master’s nursing programs at the University of North Georgia, Dahlonega campus, are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), as verified from UNG’s own program pages. This is worth noting only because most FNP programs carry CCNE accreditation instead; ACEN is equally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and graduates of ACEN-accredited FNP programs qualify for national certification. The university itself holds institutional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). UNG states the FNP program prepares graduates to sit for national certification as a family nurse practitioner; it does not specify AANP or ANCC, and most FNP graduates are eligible for either exam.

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