Master of Science (M.S.) in Nursing (FNP Specialization)

NIU offers a convenient online graduate program leading to a Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). The roles FNPs play in delivering high-quality health care are expanding, bringing nurses opportunities for increased responsibility and autonomy.

Our program prepares you for an advanced practice role as a family nurse practitioner, and eligibility to sit for national certification examinations. You may pursue our master's degree in nursing either full-time or part-time, and you have six years to complete the program from your original coursework start-date.

Once admitted to our program, you may transfer up to six semester hours of coursework (with the program director’s approval). You may also transfer nine semester hours of coursework completed as an NIU student-at-large.

The program is 50 credit hours delivered online, with hybrid learning experiences in health assessment, internships and skills courses. You have five skill courses to select from depending on your personal learning goals, which include suturing, orthopedic skills and office procedures, ECG interpretations, X-ray interpretations and billing and coding procedures. The program also includes three internships (adult, pediatrics and women’s health/specialty option) and we have a full-time internship coordinator to work with you to find clinical sites.

The master’s degree program in Nursing at Northern Illinois University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.