Nursing: Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner (M.S.)

Nursing: Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner (M.S.)
Master of Science in Nursing FNP at UNH

Our online Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN FNP) program is designed for nurses seeking a hands-on role in family-oriented care. Our state-of-the-art Health Sciences Simulation Center provides experience in a clinical setting with real equipment and technology.

  Credit Hours: 52   |     Program Length: 27 Months  |    Tuition Cost
 

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Why get a Master's degree in Nursing: Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner?

The master of science in nursing: primary care family nurse practitioner degree is designed for those who wish to advance their nursing career and provide comprehensive primary care for children and adults across the lifespan. You’ll learn a family-oriented approach that emphasizes health promotion, maintenance and restoration. You’ll combine theory, research and evidence-based practice to develop skills in advanced health assessment, illness and disease management, pathophysiology, pharmacology, epidemiology, and population health and risk reduction. You’ll complete your degree with a practicum in family primary care, and successful completion will qualify you to sit for the family nurse practitioner certification examination.

Why choose UNH's M.S. in Nursing: Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program?

At UNH you’ll be supported by a productive faculty and outstanding facilities as you advance your nursing career. Faculty members conduct research in family-based health issues such as women’s health, health promotion for children and adolescents, and nursing care for the elderly.

Potential Career Areas

  • Correctional facilities
  • Government health services
  • Home health agencies
  • Hospitals
  • Long-term care facilities
  • Military
  • Physicians’ offices
  • Primary care clinics
  • Schools
  • Workplace clinics

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Licensing Requirements

Applicants who intend to pursue licensure after completing UNH's online MSN FNP should become familiar with their state's licensure requirements. Students should contact their State Board of Nursing to confirm whether this program meets online program requirements for licensure in their state.

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Curriculum & Requirements

Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner

This program prepares family nurse practitioners (FNP) who are clinically competent and practice with cultural humility as advanced practiced registered nurse (APRN). FNPs provide patient centered health care to individuals, families, and communities across the life span.  Clinical practice includes health promotion, disease prevention, teaching, counseling, and acute and chronic disease management. At the completion of the program, students are eligible to sit for national certification as a family nurse practitioner. Upon licensure, FNPs may practice autonomously as well as in collaboration with other health professionals.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to have an unencumbered RN license in the United States, degree in nursing or outside nursing, and successful completion of undergraduate statistics and research to be eligible to apply to this program.

  1. Unencumbered, active RN license in the United States
  2. Baccalaureate degree in nursing or another field
  3. Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in associate and baccalaureate programs
  4. Minimum one year nursing experience preferred.
  5. Successful completion of undergraduate statistics course and undergraduate research course
  6. 3 letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted. References should be substantial with one academic, if available, and two current nursing professionals with graduate education background.
  7. Personal Statement. Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
    1. Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
    2. our specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.

Non-BSN Admission RequirementsRNs whose baccalaureate degree is in a discipline other than nursing may apply to the master of science degree in nursing (M.S.) program and will be considered for the track that is commensurate with their clinical experience based on faculty discretion.

Degree Requirements

Clinical Hours: 750*

Required Courses
NURS 818Foundations of Evidence Based Practice3
NURS 969Health Systems Policy, Economics & Financial Planning3
NURS 816Health Promotion Theory and Population Health3
NURS 915Leadership, Role & Collaboration3
NURS 910Genomics & Ethics3
NURS 917Biostats and Epidemiology3
NURS 820Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan3
NURS 812Advanced Pharmacology and Therapeutics3
NURS 814Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan3
NURS 911Diagnosis & Management - Diagnostic Reasoning3
NURS 920FNP Health Management I - Didactic3
NURS 921FNP Health Management I - Clinical4
NURS 922FNP Health Management II - Didactic3
NURS 923FNP Health Management II - Clinical4
NURS 924FNP Health Management III - Didactic3
NURS 940FNP Health Management III - Clinical4
Total Credits51
*

Clinical hours are completed through the following required courses: NURS 921, NURS 923, NURS 940.

The Family Nurse Practitioner builds upon the skills of the baccalaureate prepared generalist nurse.

At the completion of the Master's nursing program, the graduate student is prepared to:

  • Serve in a healthcare leadership and change agent role as part of a diverse, complex, and patient-centered health care system.
  • Act as a practice scholar to design, direct and evaluate system changes to promote safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient-centered care.
  • Use data analytic methods, information systems and technology to evaluate, integrate and apply knowledge that will improve programs of care, outcomes of care and care systems.
  • Use translational science and analytic methods to develop, identify, implement, and evaluate best practices to improve health care and health care systems.
  • Design and implement health promotion and clinical prevention strategies across the health/illness continuum to optimize health and disease management.
  • Systematically use improvement methods to monitor and evaluate care processes and outcomes and applies data for continuous improvement and safety
  • Advocate for social justice through policy, professional and political engagement.
  • Applies leadership principles that support inter-professional practice.

In addition to the Master's Outcomes above, the Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner graduate will:

  • Utilize advanced assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and evidence-based practice when partnering with individuals, families, and communities to optimize health
  • Judiciously prescribe treatment modalities to manage acute and chronic conditions within state and federal scope of practice regulations
  • Function as an independent practitioner to manage comprehensive primary care across the lifespan.

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Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

  • Fall: June 15
  • Spring: November 1
  • Summer: N/A

Application fee: $65

Campus: Online

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC. 

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.

If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

  • Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
  • Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.

Letters of recommendation: 3 required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

The professional statement must include a written essay responding to each of the following.

  1. Describe a clinical experience that demonstrates your critical thinking and readiness to enter doctoral study.
  2. Explain how you use a nursing theoretical/conceptual lens to improve care.
  3. Tell us about a U.S. policy or health issue you are passionate about and why.

Resume

A current resume is required with your submitted application.

Important Notes

All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.

International Applicants

Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.

Explore Program Details

Tuition & Fees:

The University of New Hampshire’s online graduate tuition and fees information is available on the UNH Business Services Website. Program costs and technology fees are subject to change.

Course Fees: Specific courses may have additional course fees. Visit the course schedule for more information. 

TUITION & FEES INFORMATION

Financial Aid:

Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loans are a form of federal financial aid available to Graduate Students. To apply, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION

Our program has five 8-week terms per academic calendar year. 
FULL-TIME SAMPLE SCHEDULE

PART-TIME SAMPLE SCHEDULE
 

The purpose of this handbook is to bring together important information and to tell you about other sources of information that are either essential or helpful. It is intended to complement, not replace, the rules and regulations as set forth in the University of New Hampshire Graduate Catalog

GRADUATE NURSING HANDBOOK

College of Health & Human Services

Our nursing department embraces scholarship, innovation, integrity, curiosity, openness, and sustainability. We offer the education you need for a leadership role to transform today's healthcare delivery.
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UNH Department of Nursing is nationally accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

CCNE Accredited

 

Faculty & Student Spotlights

  • Dayle Sharp headshot
    The Care Continuum
    “I enjoy building relationships with my patients in a partnership to achieve better health,” says Dayle Sharp, Clinical Associate Professor and Program Director of the UNH Online FNP program. “I identify patients by their names, not by their health conditions.” A nursing graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Sharp earned a Ph.D. and a DNP from the University of Texas-El Paso, a Master’s…
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