Prepare to deliver compassionate, high-quality primary care across the life span.
Diversify Your Skills
Learn to implement and facilitate disease prevention, health promotion, health maintenance, and restorative care interventions.
Advocate for Women’s Health
Promote wellness in female patients through education, diagnosis, and treatment. Learn to screen for gynecological disorders.
Learn From Active NPs
Our program is developed and taught by active FNPs—offering a curriculum that covers the skills you need to succeed in the field.
Walden Grand Rounds
Meet virtually with faculty and classmates to critically examine real-life scenarios you’ll encounter in your specialty.
Practicum Advantage
Get the support you need for a successful experience at all stages of your nursing practicum.
BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
Find mentors and inspiration through our dynamic community of more than 36,500 College of Nursing alumni.
Take Advantage of Transfer-of-Credit Opportunities
Do you already have your MSN—or are you already an NP? You may be eligible to transfer credit from your previous coursework to reduce the number of courses you will need to complete the post-master’s FNP certificate program. Contact an Enrollment Specialist to learn more.
Program Details
Curriculum
Minimum Degree Requirements
- 38 quarter credits
- Core courses (3 cr.)
- Specialization courses (35 cr. includes the required 640 practicum hours*)
Start dates are offered each quarter so you can begin your program when it is convenient for you. Enrollment in this nurse practitioner post-master’s certificate program is currently open to new students. Due to high demand, this certificate program has an enrollment cap in place for each start date. Please contact an Enrollment Specialist to find out more about available start dates.
View the COMPLETE CURRICULUM PLAN.
For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 855-646-5286.
Admissions Requirements
To be considered for this certificate program, you must have a current, active RN license, a Master of Science in Nursing or equivalent from an accredited school, and meet the general admission requirements. All applicants must submit a completed online application and transcripts. Depending on program specialization, additional requirements may apply. More information for international applicants.
Personalized Practicum Support
We know how valuable practicums are to your learning experience and career goals. That’s why we are committed to Practicum Advantage™—a collaborative process of coaching, resources, and self-help tools to help you identify local sites that match your needs.
Tuition and Fees
| Curriculum Component | Requirements | Cost | amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | 38 quarter credit hours | $750 per quarter hour | $28,500 |
| Technology Fee | Per quarter | $170 | $1,020 |
|
Clinical Course Fee |
4 courses (PRAC) |
$160 | $640 |
| $30,160‡* |
*Tuition reflects the minimum time to completion. Time to completion varies by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred, if applicable. Tuition and time to complete may be reduced if transfer credits are accepted, or if you receive grants, scholarships, or other tuition reductions. Walden may accept up to 20 transfer credits for non-alumni. Walden MSN alumni may be eligible to transfer more credits. For a personalized estimate of the number of your transfer credits that Walden would accept, call an Enrollment Specialist at 844-768-0109.
Tuition and fees are subject to change. Books and materials are not included and may cost between $1,500 to $2,000. Students may also incur additional costs related to practicum, including but not limited to costs of travel to their practicum site, practicum onboarding fees, per quarter practicum fees, and liability insurance costs.
Program Savings
Want to quickly build new skills and knowledge? We want to put your goals within reach. Receive up to a $2,000 grant if you start this program on August 28, 2023. Contact one of our Enrollment Specialists to learn more.
Explore Real-Life Clinical Scenarios With Walden Grand Rounds
As a nurse practitioner student at Walden, you can take part in Walden Grand Rounds several times throughout the quarter. Meet virtually with faculty and classmates to review clinical patient scenarios that are focused on assessing, differentiating, and treating pathological conditions. This is a unique opportunity to connect what you’ve learned in class with real-life situations and challenges you’ll encounter in the field as an NP.
Build Your Advanced-Practice Nursing Skill Set
With our post-master’s FNP certificate online program, you’ll be empowered to reach your potential as a clinician and make a positive impact in your community. Gain the advanced health assessment training and skills to provide full-spectrum, evidence-based care from birth to end of life. Deepen your knowledge and improve your clinical judgment so that you can effectively diagnose and treat illness, advocate for your patients, and empower them to live healthier lives.
Walden field experience coordinators are available to assist you in meeting your practicum requirements and you can view this FAQ document for answers to some of the most common questions.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this post-master’s FNP certificate online program, you will be academically prepared to:
- Synthesize organizational/systems leadership for cost-effective specialist nursing practice that contributes to high-quality healthcare delivery, advancement of the nursing profession, and social change.
- Critique evidence-based literature drawing from diverse theoretical perspectives and pertinent research to guide decision making that demonstrates best practices for specialist nursing practice in a global society.
- Integratively assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate cost-effective healthcare strategies that reduce health disparities by patient/population advocacy for access to specialist nursing care.
- Demonstrate ability to effectively communicate using audience-specific oral, written, and information technology for professional delivery of specialist nursing care.
- Evaluate health needs of diverse populations for necessary teaching/coaching functions based on specialist nursing knowledge to restore/promote health and prevent illness/injury.
- Exhibit ongoing commitment to professional development and value of nursing theories/ethical principles (altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, social justice) in accordance with ethically responsible, legally accountable, specialist nursing practice.
- Implement specialist nursing roles to promote quality improvement of patient-centered care in accordance with professional practice standards that transform health outcomes for diverse populations.
Career Outlook
The demand for healthcare services in the U.S. is growing, due to a large population of older adults and more emphasis on preventive care. This trend has translated into a greater need for nurse practitioners. In fact, employment of NPs is forecasted to increase by 52% through 2030—a rate much faster than average for all occupations.2
With a Post-Master’s Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner, you’ll be ready for the challenge and reward of diagnosing, treating, and overseeing your own group of patients. Improve your career mobility and contribute to accessible, high-quality healthcare for people of all ages.
A post-master’s FNP certificate online can academically prepare you to work in settings such as:
- Family practice/primary care
- Retail clinics
- Internal medicine
- Women's health
- Nephrology
- Oncology
1Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS database. Based on the most recent year’s completions survey data, using CIP code family 51.38 “Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research, and Clinical Nursing” for Master’s (Award level 7) and Doctoral (Award level 17) degrees. Available at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data (Retrieved January 2021; may consist of or include provisional release data).
2Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners, SOC Code 29-1171. Retrieved September 2021. National job growth projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, do not guarantee job growth, and are subject to change.
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing (BSN), master’s degree program in nursing (MSN), post-graduate APRN certificate program, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at Walden University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (www.ccneaccreditation.org).
Note on licensure: The Post-Master's Nurse Practitioner certificate programs are designed to prepare graduates with an active registered nurse (RN) license or APRN license to practice in the U.S. as nurse practitioners in their program specialty area. However, each state has its own academic preparation and authority to practice requirements and issues its own credential practice as a nurse practitioner in that state. No graduate program can guarantee that graduates will be permitted to practice as a nurse practitioner in their program specialty area upon graduation. We encourage students to consult the appropriate Board of Nursing or regulatory authority in the states or jurisdictions in which they reside or intend to seek licensure to determine specific requirements.
The Post-Master's Nurse Practitioner certificate programs are designed to prepare graduates to qualify to sit for national nurse practitioner certification exams, which are required for practice as a nurse practitioner in most states. Walden Enrollment Specialists can provide general information relating to national certification exams; however, it remains the individual’s responsibility to understand, evaluate, and comply with all requirements relating to national certification exams for the state in which he or she intends to practice as requirements vary widely. Learn more about professional licensure. Walden makes no representations or guarantee that completion of Walden coursework or programs will permit an individual to obtain national certification. For more information about nurse practitioner certification exams, students should visit the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board at www.aanpcert.org, the American Nurses Credentialing Center at www.nursingworld.org/ancc, or other nurse practitioner certification websites.
Enrollment Restrictions by State Please contact an Enrollment Specialist at 855-646-5286 to determine enrollment restrictions in your state.
Note on Field Experience and Relocating Students who are considering relocating are advised to contact their Student Success Advisor prior to any decision to relocate in order to determine how relocation may impact progress in their program. Advisors can provide information and guidance on how relocating may result in possible changes, restrictions, and/or additional requirements affecting field experience. Each Board of Nursing and Higher Education Authority governs the field experience rules and regulations in their respective states, and students may be unable to complete field experience in the state in which they plan to relocate. While Walden is committed to working collaboratively with students to secure field sites across the United States, it is imperative that students contact their Student Success Advisor immediately when considering relocating.