In this concentration, you will focus on providing care from newborns to senior citizens. Nurse practitioners are in a direct-care provider role, and use specialty skills and knowledge in providing care to clients of all ages and stages of development in primary care settings.
Graduates can be certified to work in outpatient clinics such as family practice, pediatrics, adolescent health, women’s health, internal medicine, and urgent care.
The program is led by Dr. Kara Schrader who has more than 30 years of experience as a registered nurse and more than 20 years as a family nurse practitioner.
BSN to MSN & BSN to DNP Admission Criteria
- Submit a university application and résumé/CV.
- Hold a BSN from an accredited institution.
- Maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA (based on the second half of the BSN program).
- Hold a current, unrestricted RN license (in Michigan or home jurisdiction)
- Michigan RN licensure is required before starting clinical courses.
- NP applicants licensed outside the U.S. or Michigan may be admitted provisionally but must obtain U.S. and Michigan licensure prior to clinical progression.
- Complete a 3-credit statistics course within five years
(minimum grade: 2.0 undergraduate or 3.0 graduate). - Submit a written essay outlining career objectives and motivation.
- Provide three professional letters of recommendation.
- Complete an admissions interview.
- Demonstrate English proficiency, if native language is not English.
MSN to DNP Admission Criteria
Admission is limited to advanced practice registered nurses who:
- Hold a master’s degree from a CCNE- or NLNAC-accredited program.
- Maintain current national certification in their specialty.
See the Post-Master’s DNP page for full requirements.
Out-of-State Applicants
Students who reside outside the state of Michigan who are considering an on-line nursing program should contact the appropriate board in their state of residency to confirm whether the course or program meets requirements for professional licensure in the student’s state of residence prior to beginning a course of study. MSU has an up-to-date, state-by-state summary available online.
Early deadline: December 1
Final deadline: April 1
Contact
CON.Admissions@msu.edu
MSN
54-56 Credits
The MSN nurse practitioner program starts a new cohort with each fall semester. Students can complete the MSN curriculum in two and a half years attending full-time and three and a half years part-time.
Core MSN courses are delivered online while courses with a clinical component are hybrid - combining online coursework and on campus attendance approximately 4-5 days per semester. On campus activities include lectures, seminars, simulation labs, group work, and examinations.
NUR 902: Scientific Foundations for the Advanced Practice Nurse
NUR 903: Healthcare Informatics
NUR 904: Health Policy and Advocacy
NUR 905: Patient Safety, Quality Improvement and Quality Management in Healthcare
NUR 907: Adv. Pathophysiology
NUR 908: Adv. Physical Assessment
NUR 909: Adv. Pharmacology
NUR 914: Biostatistics
Additional course requirements by concentration:
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
(Full-time Students Starting Fall 2026 or Earlier, Part-time Students Starting Fall 2025 or Earlier)
NUR 912: Health Promotion – Family
NUR 915: Clinical Diagnosis and Management I - Family
NUR 916: Clinical Diagnosis and Management II - Family
NUR 917: Clinical Diagnosis and Management III - Family
NUR 918: Clinical Diagnosis and Management IV – Family
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
(Full-time Students Starting Fall 2027 or Later, Part-time Students Starting Fall 2026 or Later)
NUR 912: Health Promotion and Population Health for the Primary Care NP
NUR 915: Clinical Diagnosis and Management I - Family
NUR 916: Clinical Diagnosis and Management II - Family
NUR 917: Clinical Diagnosis and Management III - Family
NUR 918: Clinical Diagnosis and Management IV – Family
NUR 941: Introduction to Diagnostic Reasoning for the Family Nurse Practitioner
NUR 943: Pediatric and Perinatal Concepts for the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
MSN FNP Curriculum Full-Time (Starting Fall 2026 or Earlier)
MSN FNP Curriculum Full-Time (Starting Fall 2027 or Later)
MSN FNP Curriculum Part-Time (Starting Fall 2025 or Earlier)
MSN FNP Curriculum Part-Time (Starting Fall 2026 or Later)
BSN-DNP
70-75 Credits
This program provides clinical, organizational and systems' leadership at the highest level. The program develops practitioners who design, implement and evaluate high quality and cost-effective health care services for diverse populations including the disadvantaged and underserved.
NUR 902: Scientific foundations for the advanced practice nurse
NUR 903: Healthcare informatics
NUR 904: Health policy and advocacy
NUR 905: Patient safety, quality improvement and quality management in healthcare
NUR 906: Leadership in complex health systems
NUR 907: Advanced pathophysiology for the advanced practice registered nurse
NUR 908: Advanced physical assessment for the advanced practice registered nurse
NUR 909: Advanced pharmacology for the advanced practice registered nurse
NUR 914: Biostatistics
NUR 995: Doctor of nursing practice project I
NUR 996: Doctor of nursing practice project II
NUR 997: Doctor of nursing practice project III
Additional required courses, by concentration:
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
(Full-time Students Starting Fall 2026 or Earlier, Part-time Students Starting Fall 2025 or Earlier)
NUR 912: Health promotion – Family
NUR 915: Clinical diagnosis and management I – Family
NUR 916: Clinical diagnosis and management II – Family
NUR 917: Clinical diagnosis and management III – Family
NUR 918: Clinical diagnosis and management IV – Family
NUR 919: Clinical diagnosis and management V – Clinical immersion - Family
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
(Full-time Students Starting Fall 2027 or Later, Part-time Students Starting Fall 2026 or Later)
NUR 912: Health Promotion and Population Health for the Primary Care NP
NUR 915: Clinical Diagnosis and Management I - Family
NUR 916: Diagnosis and Management for the Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
NUR 917: Clinical Diagnosis and Management III - Family
NUR 918: Clinical Diagnosis and Management IV – Family
NUR 919: DNP Role Development in Clinical and Community Settings for the Nurse Practitioner
NUR 941: Introduction to Diagnostic Reasoning for the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
NUR 943: Pediatric and Perinatal Concepts for the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
DNP FNP Curriculum Full-Time (Starting Fall 2026 or Earlier)
DNP FNP Curriculum Full-Time (Starting Fall 2027 or Later)
DNP FNP Curriculum Part-Time (Starting Fall 2025 or Earlier)
DNP FNP Curriculum Part-Time (Starting Fall 2026 or Later)
