University of Tennessee, Knoxville FNP Programs

College of Nursing • Knoxville, TN • Mostly Online • $889/credit

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville offers 3 Family Nurse Practitioner Tracks:

  • BSN to DNP
  • Graduate Certificate
  • Post-Master’s DNP

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. Tuition (In/Out)Est. DurationCredit Hours
BSN to DNP$61.3K / $131.1K3 yrs (8 semesters)69
Certificate$24.9K / $53.2K~16 mos (4 semesters)28
Post-Master’s DNP$32K / $68.4K5 semesters36

UT Knoxville’s defining feature is that there is no master’s route to FNP practice. You either enter the 69-credit BSN-to-DNP or, if you already hold APRN certification in another population focus, take the 28-credit certificate — and both require 840 direct patient care hours completed in your own state of residence and licensure.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesBSN-DNP FNP concentration and post-graduate FNP certificate. No MSN-level FNP option.
FormatMostly Online — live synchronous online classes plus required on-campus intensives.
Clinical Hours840 direct patient care hours in both the BSN-DNP and the certificate.
Clinical PlacementStudent identifies sites and preceptors; concentration coordinator holds final approval.
Clinical Location RuleClinicals must be completed in your state of official residence and licensure.
Enrollment RestrictionsCannot admit residents of Alaska, Arizona, or California. Other states may be limited.
PopulationFamily and individual primary care across the lifespan.
Distinctive CourseworkTwo graded clinical intensives, three clinical simulation courses, DNP scholarly project.
RN Experience RequiredNo. UT states nursing experience is not required prior to enrolling.
Start TermsBSN-DNP starts fall only. Certificate starts spring only.
Admissions InterviewRequired for DNP applicants with the College of Nursing admissions committee.
Tuition$889/credit resident, $1,900/credit non-resident (derived; includes $250 nursing differential).
AccreditationCCNE, covering the DNP and post-graduate APRN certificate programs.

BSN to DNP — Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

The estimated tuition for the BSN to DNP Family Nurse Practitioner concentration at UT Knoxville is approximately $61,341 for Tennessee residents and $131,100 for non-residents (69 credits at $889 and $1,900 per credit respectively).

The program is designed to be completed in eight semesters, including summers, spread across three academic years of full-time study.

BSN to DNP Curriculum

This is a doctoral curriculum, not a master’s curriculum with a doctoral label attached. Roughly 28 credits go to DNP core work — population health, evidence appraisal, informatics, policy, leadership, and a multi-semester scholarly project — before the FNP specialty sequence even begins in the second spring. That ordering is deliberate: UT front-loads the research and systems content so the final eighteen months can be devoted almost entirely to clinical practice.

Foundation and DNP Core — The first three semesters are entirely non-clinical. Advanced pathophysiology arrives in the first spring, but advanced pharmacology waits until the second fall and advanced health assessment until the second spring, immediately before clinical work starts.

FNP Specialty Sequence — The specialty runs across five terms in a deliberate escalation. A clinical decision-making course paired with its own simulation lab comes first, then FNP I, II, and III, each attached to a progressively larger clinical practice course — 3, then 4, then 5 credits. Two of the specialty courses are graded on-campus clinical intensives scheduled in mini-terms.

Unique Coursework — The simulation courses are the structural standout. UT runs three separate clinical simulation courses (N531, N535, N538) alongside the didactic FNP sequence, plus two clinical intensive courses. Most FNP programs treat simulation as an ungraded lab component; here it carries its own credits and its own grade.

  • N649 Advanced Pathophysiology (3)
  • N648 Advanced Clinical Pharmacology (3)
  • N639 Advanced Health Assessment (3)
  • N530 Clinical Decision-Making: Family Nurse Practitioner (3)
  • N532 / N539 Clinical Intensive: FNP I and II (1 each)
  • N533 / N536 / N540 Family Nurse Practitioner I, II, III (3, 3, 2)
  • N534 / N537 / N542 Clinical Practice: FNP I, II, III (3, 4, 5)
  • N630, N633, N634 DNP Scholarly Project Proposal, Immersion, Dissemination (3, 4, 1)

The plan of study totals 69 credits by our own course-by-course sum, and the program page states 69. The university catalog states a minimum of 67 credits for the FNP concentration, and its required-course list omits N612 Health and Healthcare Policy, which the plan of study includes as a 3-credit course. Rebuilding the catalog list without N612 produces 66. Three figures are in circulation — 66, 67, and 69 — a spread worth about $2,667 in resident tuition. Confirm your credit total in writing before budgeting.

NOTE: UT changed the FNP concentration course numbering in Spring 2026, retiring NURS 659–662 in favor of the NURS 530–542 sequence described above. Anything you read about this program dated before 2026 describes a curriculum that no longer runs.

More curriculum details are available here.

BSN to DNP Clinical Requirements

  • Minimum 840 hours of direct patient care, effective for students beginning Fall 2024 and later
  • UT converts 1 credit hour to 60 clinical or project hours; the five clinical courses total 14 credits (14 × 60 = 840)
  • An additional 4 credits of DNP scholarly project immersion adds roughly 240 project hours, bringing total supervised practice to about 1,080
  • Students identify potential clinical sites and preceptors; the concentration coordinator holds final approval on every placement
  • Clinicals may only be completed in the student’s state of official residence and licensure
  • Two clinical intensives on the Knoxville campus are graded courses that cannot be missed, made up, or substituted

At 840 hours, this program sits well above the 500-hour national certification floor and above the 600–700 hours common in FNP curricula. UT itself raised the requirement — earlier cohorts completed 600. More hours generally means more diagnostic reps before you practice independently, which is a real benefit, but it also means a longer runway and more preceptor time to secure.

That last point matters here, because the placement model is student-led. UT does not guarantee placement; it approves what you find. The residence-and-licensure rule tightens this further: you cannot solve a preceptor shortage by driving to the next state. If you live somewhere with a thin primary care preceptor market or heavy competition from other NP programs, 840 self-sourced hours is a demanding ask, and you should test your local options before you apply rather than after.

BSN to DNP Admissions

Two features set this apart from most doctoral FNP admissions. UT requires no prior RN work experience — the college states this plainly — but it does require an interview with the DNP admissions committee, which many online programs skip entirely.

  • BSN or MSN from a CCNE- or NLN-accredited program
  • Unencumbered RN license in your state of residence
  • Minimum 3.00 cumulative graduate GPA
  • Three College of Nursing Graduate Rating Forms; if you finished a program within two years, one must come from that program’s faculty
  • Essay responding to College of Nursing prompts
  • Interview with the DNP admissions committee
  • Fall start only; a refundable-status-unspecified seat fee holds your place once admitted
  • You may apply before finishing your BSN, but must complete it and pass the NCLEX before the program begins
  • Background check, drug screen, professional liability insurance, health insurance, and BLS certification required before enrollment

Two transfer-credit figures appear in UT’s materials: the graduate FAQ describes transferring up to 12 hours of doctoral-level credit subject to approval, while the catalog’s academic standards cap credits taken before acceptance at 6 hours. These likely address different situations, but if you are counting on transfer credit, get the number confirmed for your specific coursework.

The academic standards are stricter than most. A minimum final grade of 83 is required in all nursing DNP courses. One grade of 75–82 is permitted in eight named core courses; a second results in dismissal. The College of Nursing does not permit students to repeat graduate coursework.

Graduate Certificate — Family Nurse Practitioner

The estimated tuition for the Family Nurse Practitioner Graduate Certificate at UT Knoxville is approximately $24,892 for Tennessee residents and $53,200 for non-residents (28 credits at $889 and $1,900 per credit respectively). The program runs four semesters including a summer term, beginning in spring, and must be finished within two years.

Certificate Curriculum

The certificate is the DNP’s specialty sequence lifted out whole. Every one of the 28 credits — N530 through N542 — is a course the BSN-DNP students take, in the same order, with the same simulation and intensive requirements. What is stripped away is the DNP core: no policy, no leadership, no scholarly project. This is a clean design decision, and it means certificate students are not getting a lighter clinical education than the doctoral cohort.

  • N530 Clinical Decision-Making: Family Nurse Practitioner (3)
  • N531 Clinical Decision-Making Simulation (1)
  • N532 / N539 Clinical Intensive: FNP I and II (1 each)
  • N533 / N536 / N540 Family Nurse Practitioner I, II, III (3, 3, 2)
  • N534 / N537 / N542 Clinical Practice: FNP I, II, III (3, 4, 5)
  • N535 / N538 Clinical Simulation: FNP I and II (1 each)

NOTE: The published program of study totals 28 credits, which our course-by-course sum confirms. The catalog lists a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours and notes that totals vary by academic record. The 12-credit figure appears to be an administrative floor rather than a realistic path; UT also states that a gap analysis of your prior transcripts, syllabi, and documented clinical hours may add courses. Your actual total could exceed 28.

More curriculum details are available here.

Certificate Clinical Requirements

  • Minimum 840 hours of direct patient care for students beginning Spring 2026 and later
  • Same five clinical courses as the BSN-DNP: 14 clinical credits at 60 hours each
  • Mandatory on-site sessions consisting of full-day clinical labs or simulations
  • Campus intensives two to three times per semester while enrolled in clinical courses
  • These days cannot be missed, made up, or replaced with alternate assignments
  • Student-identified sites with coordinator approval; Knoxville-area students are offered verified placements directly
  • Clinicals restricted to the student’s state of residence and licensure

An 840-hour post-graduate certificate is unusual. Many FNP certificates for already-certified APRNs run 500–750 hours on the reasoning that these students arrive with advanced practice experience. UT grants no such reduction — you complete the identical clinical load as a BSN-entry doctoral student. Whether that is thorough or redundant depends on how transferable your current population focus is; a PMHNP crossing into family practice will use every hour, while an adult-gerontology NP may find early rotations repetitive.

UT is also candid about a limit worth reading twice: the college states it makes every effort to support out-of-state placement but may be unable to accommodate it due to regulatory requirements or preceptor availability. Knoxville-area students get placements arranged for them; everyone else gets best efforts.

Certificate Admissions

This certificate is narrower than most. It is not open to any master’s-prepared nurse — you must already hold APRN licensure and current national certification in another population focus, which rules out MSN graduates in education, administration, or informatics.

  • MSN, MS, or DNP in nursing from a CCNE- or NLN CNEA-accredited program
  • Unencumbered RN license and APRN license in your state of residence and clinical placement
  • Current national certification in a specified APRN population focus
  • Advanced health assessment, advanced pharmacology, and advanced pathophysiology completed within the past five years
  • Two references from nursing faculty, supervisors, or providers holding a master’s degree or higher
  • Essay responding to College of Nursing prompts
  • Spring start only

The five-year prerequisite rule applies regardless of how long you have been practicing.

UT states explicitly that actively practicing APRNs must still retake the three P’s if their coursework falls outside the window. If yours does, you will need a separate non-degree application cycle at UT or an equivalent elsewhere before you can start — add a semester and additional tuition to your planning.

Post-Master’s DNP — Doctoral Completion for Certified APRNs

The estimated tuition for the post-master’s DNP at UT Knoxville is approximately $32,004 for Tennessee residents and $68,400 for non-residents (36 credits at $889 and $1,900 per credit respectively). The program runs five full-time semesters including one summer, with a fall start only.

Post-Master’s DNP Curriculum

This track does not prepare you to become an FNP — it is listed here because it is the route already-certified family nurse practitioners use to add the doctorate. Post-master’s students choose no concentration; they complete the DNP core, an individualized practice immersion, and a scholarly project. If you need FNP certification, the certificate above is your route; if you already have it, this one is.

  • N557 Introduction to Healthcare Informatics
  • N604 Principles of Population Health
  • N612 Health and Healthcare Policy
  • N613 Nursing Leadership in Complex Systems
  • N622 / N624 Evidence-based Practice Improvement I and II
  • N628 Evidence Acquisition, Appraisal and Synthesis
  • N632 Enhanced Professional Practice for the APRN
  • N630, N633, N634 DNP Scholarly Project Proposal, Immersion, Dissemination

Post-Master’s DNP Clinical Requirements

  • No traditional precepted clinical hours or direct patient care requirement
  • 300 clock hours of enhanced professional practice immersion across three semesters
  • Immersion activities are individualized with program faculty and may include interdisciplinary mentorship
  • Mandatory three-day on-campus doctoral intensives twice each semester during fall year 1, spring year 1, and fall year 2
  • Master’s coursework worth at least 12 credit hours is listed on the candidacy form toward the degree

The immersion model reflects a reasonable assumption — you are already a practicing APRN and do not need supervised patient care hours to prove competence. The travel commitment is the real cost: six separate three-day campus visits over two years, or roughly eighteen days in Knoxville, which is heavier than the BSN-DNP’s first-year cadence.

Post-Master’s DNP Admissions

  • MSN or MS in nursing from a CCNE- or NLN-accredited program with an APRN concentration (NP, CRNA, CNM, or CNS)
  • Master’s coursework must have included supervised clinical practice in a population focus plus the three P’s
  • Current national certification in a specified APRN population focus; you may apply pending certification if awarded before your term
  • Three rating forms from graduate faculty, administrators, or supervising colleagues
  • Fall start only

Tuition

UT Knoxville does not publish a single FNP program price. The per-credit cost is derived from the university’s Fall 2026 graduate rate schedule plus the College of Nursing differential: $889 per credit hour for Tennessee residents ($639 maintenance fee + $250 nursing differential) and $1,900 per credit hour for non-residents ($639 maintenance + $1,011 out-of-state tuition + $250 differential). Applied to each track, that yields the following estimates.

  • BSN to DNP, 69 credits — about $61,341 resident, $131,100 non-resident
  • Graduate Certificate, 28 credits — about $24,892 resident, $53,200 non-resident
  • Post-Master’s DNP, 36 credits — about $32,004 resident, $68,400 non-resident
  • A $250 per-semester-hour nursing differential applies to every nursing course and is already included above
  • Graduate application fee: $60. Doctoral graduation fee: $75
  • Books, course materials, and supplies are estimated by the university at $1,880 per academic year

Be aware that:

  • UT charges distance education students a $100 per-credit-hour Online Support Fee in place of the standard campus fee package. If it applies to these programs, add roughly $6,900 to the BSN-DNP, $2,800 to the certificate, and $3,600 to the post-master’s DNP. UT’s published online graduate rate sheet for Fall 2026 is identical to the on-campus sheet and does not show this fee, so which schedule governs nursing distance students is unresolved
  • Graduate maintenance fees cap at $5,734 per fall or spring semester at nine or more credit hours, and out-of-state tuition caps at $9,094. Several BSN-DNP semesters exceed nine credits, which would lower the resident estimate to roughly $60,000 and the non-resident estimate to roughly $127,700 if caps apply to distance students
  • The credit total itself is unsettled for the BSN-DNP: 66, 67, and 69 all appear in UT’s own materials
  • Stand-alone graduate certificates do not qualify for federal financial aid, which changes the certificate’s real cost far more than any per-credit difference
  • Non-residency is expensive here. The out-of-state premium is $1,011 per credit, meaning a non-resident BSN-DNP student pays roughly $69,800 more than a Tennessee resident for the identical degree
  • Rates are set by the UT Board of Trustees each June or July and are subject to change during a three-year program

The honest read: for a Tennessee resident this is competitive doctoral pricing, and the certificate is genuinely affordable if you can self-fund. For a non-resident, the out-of-state premium turns a reasonable public-university doctorate into a six-figure commitment.

Verify current rates on the College of Nursing tuition page.

Why Choose This FNP Program?

Best suited for nurses who want a doctorate rather than a master’s, can travel to Knoxville several times a semester, and hold licensure in a state where UT is authorized and preceptors are findable.

The clearest reason to choose UT Knoxville is that it removes a decision most applicants agonize over. There is no MSN option, so there is no MSN-versus-DNP calculation and no later bridge program to pay for. You commit to eight semesters and finish with the terminal practice degree. For a new BSN graduate — and UT accepts them, requiring no prior RN work experience — that is an efficient path that many programs do not offer without an experience gate first.

The clinical education is the second reason. At 840 direct patient care hours with three graded simulation courses and two graded campus intensives, this is a heavier clinical build than most online FNP programs, and the certificate track carries the identical load rather than a discounted version. The simulation-as-graded-coursework design gives faculty real visibility into your clinical reasoning — something distance programs often lose.

The trade-offs are geographic and financial, and they compound. Clinicals must happen in your state of residence and licensure, placement is student-sourced with faculty approval rather than guaranteed, and UT cannot admit residents of Alaska, Arizona, or California at all, with other states restricted case by case. Layer on out-of-state tuition at $1,900 per credit and the honest conclusion is that this program is built primarily for Tennessee and surrounding-region nurses. Classes meet live over Zoom on a set schedule, so a rigid night-shift rotation is a genuine obstacle, and UT discourages full-time work once clinical courses begin.

Three questions settle it. Is UT authorized in your state, and can you name two plausible primary care preceptors within it? Can you reach Knoxville for graded intensives that cannot be rescheduled? And if you are a non-resident, is the doctorate worth roughly $70,000 more than a Tennessee nurse pays for the same credential? Three yeses make this a strong choice. One no makes it the wrong one.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), verified from the university’s own accreditation page.

The university is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). UT states that the FNP graduate certificate prepares graduates for certification through either the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) — dual eligibility, which is standard for FNP graduates. The DNP concentration page does not restate this, but the certificate and the DNP concentration share an identical specialty course sequence.

One licensure caution applies regardless of accreditation: UT states it cannot guarantee that its distance education nursing programs meet licensure requirements in any particular state. Confirm with your own board of nursing before enrolling.

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