Program available in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico
Provide Care for Your Community as a Family Nurse Practitioner
The MSN Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program can prepare experienced professional nurses for advanced practice as primary care providers. The family nurse practitioner makes independent critical judgments in all levels of prevention, including health promotion, illness prevention, and diagnosis and management for individuals, families, communities and populations.
The FNP performs comprehensive health assessments, diagnoses illnesses and prescribes pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments to manage acute and chronic health problems to achieve quality, cost-effective outcomes in a culturally sensitive context.
Locations
Tuition Rate
Online: $740 per credit [More Info]
Transfer Credits
Up to 12 credits or 1/3 of the total program requirements in transfer (whichever is less)
Fill out the Lopes Eval to find out what will transfer
Admission Requirements
- Undergraduate Degree*
- 2.8+ GPA
- GMAT: 500
- GRE: 300 combined**
Or Passing Test Scores:
* Degree must be from an accredited college or program that has been approved by GCU.
** Combined verbal/quantitative, after August 2011 (1,000 combined verbal and quantitative, prior to August 2011).
Benefits of the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Program
Your preparation in the family nurse practitioner program includes a comprehensive curriculum that can help you provide primary healthcare to individuals of all ages and locales, including underserved urban and rural areas. You will also analyze case studies in accordance with the guidelines of evidence-based practice and current standards of care. Your MSN family nurse practitioner education can prepare you for professional roles including patient care, education, consulting and collaborating with other healthcare providers, and using research to make practice decisions and influencing professional and public policies.
Complete Your MSN FNP Program Online With GCU1
At GCU, you have the option to complete classes for your FNP program online.1 Online learning can provide you with the same comprehensive curriculum and in-depth knowledge as an in-person program. You will have access to various online learning resources and support that can help you as you pursue your program.
Study Transferrable Skills and Experience
The clinical practicum experience at GCU's nursing school allows you to collaborate with faculty members to select a local primary care or family care site. This portion of the family nurse practitioner program can provide you the opportunity to apply clinical decision-making skills and health management of primary problems for diverse clients across the human life span. In addition, you can interact with patients in the role of care provider and educator.
During your MSN family nurse practitioner program with GCU, you will participate in two on-campus experiences designed to provide collaboration with peers, hands-on skill development with patient actors and interdisciplinary faculty. The first on-campus experience is a three-day requirement in the FNP-630 course that provides opportunities to perform health assessments, suturing and wound care, casting and splinting, EKG, radiology, male and female exams, and newborn and obstetrics assessments.
A Post-Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate program is also available to nurses who already have an MSN degree.
Post-MSN: FNP CertificateStudy Advanced FNP Concepts and Nursing Case Studies to Elevate Your Standard of Care
MSN FNP classroom instruction includes radiologic interpretation, chronic disease management, coding and billing, public health and case study analysis. A two-day experience in the FNP-690 course provide family nurse practitioner students an in-depth certification exam practice with individual exam review and remediation planning, systems and topic reviews. This program is designed to support collaboration, discussion and hands-on skills.
The MSN FNP program includes 675 hours of directly supervised clinical practice with qualified preceptors and two separate on-campus experiences.
Primary Subjects Taught in MSN FNP Program
The family nurse practitioner program online curriculum focuses on teaching students to become well-rounded primary care providers through in-depth study of the following subject areas:1
- Performing comprehensive health assessments, including documentation and diagnosis
- Understanding the individual as the client, functional health patterns, community resources and the teaching-learning process
- Reviewing the research process and applying evidenced-based research to the practice setting
- Advancing physiology and pathophysiology principles, understanding normal function, and interpreting changes in normal function that result in symptoms and diagnostic markers indicative of illness
- Utilizing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and their practical implication in clinical practice
- Recognizing and applying ethical, moral leadership
- Integrating knowledge of population health into culturally relevant health promotion and intervention
- Evaluating the implications of and healthcare informatics in strategies for managing care resources and systems
MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Career Opportunities
MSN FNP graduates may choose to pursue a career in a variety of healthcare settings. Some of these options may include:
Additional opportunities for graduates may include education-based careers where they can apply their experience. This may include working in a college or classroom setting.
MSN FNP Professional Standards
The Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner program is built to meet standards set by recognized, reputable nursing organizations, including:
- National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty (NONPF)
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN): The Essentials of Master's Education in Nursing
- Inter-Professional Collaborative Practice (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
- American Nursing Association (ANA) Scope and Standards of Practice
For more information on the accreditation of nursing programs and other university approvals, please visit our University Accreditation and Regulations page.
Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner Program FAQs
If you strive to have a positive effect on the healthcare in your community by serving as an FNP, read some frequently asked questions below to learn more about earning your MSN.
Course List
Credit Summary
Major53 Credits
Degree Requirements53 Credits
Core Courses
NUR-513
4 Total Credits
Introduction to Advanced Registered Nursing
NUR-514
4 Total Credits
Organizational Leadership and Informatics
NUR-550
4 Total Credits
Translational Research and Population Health Management
NUR-590
4 Total Credits
Evidence-Based Practice Project
NUR-631
4 Total Credits
Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology
NUR-635
4 Total Credits
Advanced Pharmacology
NUR-634
4 Total Credits
Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning With Skills Lab
FNP-630
4 Total Credits
Health Promotion and On-Campus Experience I
FNP-630CE
0 Total Credits
FNP-630 On-Campus Experience I
FNP-652
7 Total Credits
Family Primary Care I
FNP-654
7 Total Credits
Family Primary Care II
FNP-690
7 Total Credits
Practicum and On-Campus Experience II
FNP-690CE
0 Total Credits
FNP-690 On-Campus Experience II
Make an Impact in the Lives of Families
If your goal is to become a family nurse practitioner, GCU can help you get there. Fill out the form on this page to learn more about our program and get in touch with a university counselor.