Programs
Become a nurse practitioner with Herzing University
To become a nurse practitioner, you will be required to complete graduate-level nursing courses in a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program. Herzing University offers an online CCNE accredited1 MSN program with unique specializations focusing on several different types of nurse practitioner specialties:
Specialize in the adult population (ages 13 and above) in a critical care environment.
Become a crucial facilitator managing your adult patients’ long-term healthcare plan.
Focus your care in family practice and care for patients across the lifespan.
Specialize in the pediatric population (up to age 21) in a primary care role.
Deliver holistic psychiatric care as an NP specializing in mental health and wellness.
Choose an NP specialty dedicated to women's health across the lifespan.
The Herzing University Difference
At Herzing, we want to help you become the NP your community needs—and help you reach your career goals. That’s why we provide:
Online Classes
Convenient online education classes that let you work and study at the same time.
Mentorship
Mentorship and guidance from doctoral-prepared nursing faculty with extensive clinical experience
Clinical Experience
Access to a clinical placement coordinator and our clinical placement pledge.
Exam Prep
Certification exam preparation as part of your degree.
Classes Start September 4th
Learn More Today
Program Length
How long is NP school?
How long it takes to become a nurse practitioner depends on what education you’ve already earned and your chosen degree pathway.
I am not a nurse
3-5 yearsi
I am an RN with an ADN
2-3 yearsii
I am an RN with a BSN
As few as 20 monthsiii
i. The fastest path is first completing an Accelerated BSN program (as few as 20 months), then an MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner program (20 months).
ii. The fastest path is an Accelerated RN to MSN program (as few as 24 months). You may also choose to first earn a BSN in an online RN to BSN program (as few as 12 months), then pursue an MSN in our MSN program (20-24 months).
iii. The estimated length for our MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner concentration. Our other NP concentrations can take as few as 24 months (2 years) to complete.
Your clinical placement is our pledge.
We understand securing clinical placement as part of an NP program is one of the biggest concerns students face. At Herzing, we offer guidance and support through our step-by-step Clinical Guidance Process to ensure you can get the clinical practice experiences you need.
As a Herzing student, we’ll encourage you to find your own preceptor and clinical sites as there are many benefits to doing so. However, we provide extensive support should you find difficulty along the way. With Herzing, you are never on your own.
Because of our strong relationships with healthcare providers across the U.S. and our comprehensive Clinical Guidance Process, we are confident in our ability to help you find clinical placement. So much so that if you are unable to find a clinical site on your own, we pledge to step in and help you secure clinical placement.*
* Subject to terms and conditions outlined in the enrollment documents.
Classes Start September 4th
Waived Enrollment FeeScholarship Opportunity
You may be eligible for the Herzing University Nurses Circle of Achievement Scholarship.
Eligibility requirements include a minimum GPA earned in your undergraduate nursing program, and maintaining a minimum GPA throughout the MSN program.
You can potentially earn 10% tuition reduction!
Tuition & Cost
Our goal is your career advancement. That’s why we are always working to improve our curriculums and processes to make our nurse practitioner programs as affordable as possible while preparing you best for success in your work.
The cost of tuition for our nurse practitioner programs is $735 per credit. Overall cost can be reduced through transfer credit from prior college coursework, scholarships and grants, loans, VA and military benefits, and several additional options for financial aid.
With Herzing University, you are never alone, and we offer many options to help you invest in yourself, earn your master’s degree in nursing and become a nurse practitioner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It’s a career path with excellent pay, a very positive employment outlook, and full of potential to make a real impact in your community helping people heal.
Primary factors influencing nurse practitioner pay are experience, where you work, degree level, and the state in which you practice. Your specialty, and the demand for those services in your area, can also potentially impact how much you can make.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the highest paid nurse practitioners work in Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services industry, indicating nurse practitioners working in emergency care may demand the highest salaries on average. However, specialty is just one of many factors influencing pay, and it’s still possible to make a competitive salary in primary care, acute care, family practice, mental health or any other NP focus.
The highest degree you've earned can also make an impact. Earning a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) may increase your salary potential as a nurse practitioner. Medscape’s 2021 APRN Compensation Report states nurse practitioners with a doctorate make about 5% more than those with a master’s degree.1
The BLS reports nurse practitioners across all specialties earn an average annual salary of $128,490 per year ($61.78 per hour).* No matter the specialty, nurse practitioner represents a potentially lucrative career path with an average salary well above the national average across all occupations.
1. Hurt, A. (2021, December 3). Average income for advanced practice nurses continued to increase during pandemic: Survey. Medscape. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964081
If you have no experience in nursing, you have a long way to go before practicing as a nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioner represents a type of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) demanding extensive education and experience. You cannot become a nurse practitioner without a nursing degree.
To become a nurse practitioner you will need to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
We offer an MSN Direct Entry program for those with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree to provide a faster pathway to graduate-level study. You will then need to enroll in a post master’s certificate program to earn the specialty skills required to practice as an NP in the concentration of your choosing.
There are two types of general NPs: Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners (AGPCNPs) and Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP). Both NPs provide ongoing health counseling, prevention and management for their patients.
The primary difference is the patient population they care for: FNPs practice across the lifespan in family practice, including pediatric, adult, and geriatric care. AGNPs work only with adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients.
If you are open to working with children you may choose the FNP path, while those who prefer to work with adults only may choose the AGNP path.
Nurse practitioner represents an advanced practice role in nursing—it’s not an easy job, and our goal is to prepare you best for success! We strive to keep coursework manageable, but provide you with the knowledge, skills, and valuable clinical experiences to succeed as a nurse practitioner.
Our goal is to help you balance the challenge of an NP curriculum with everything else in your life, including your work, family and friends. You can take courses at the right pace for you, so you can get the most out of going back to school and be ready to practice as a nurse practitioner.
Here’s a selection of the most common types of nurse practitioners:
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
- Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP)
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
- Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP)
Each specialty has its own unique requirements in terms of job experience and certification.
No. To become a nurse practitioner, you will need to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.
Related Blog Posts & Career Articles
Accreditation & Disclosures
1. The master's degree program in nursing and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Herzing University - Madison are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).
Herzing University is approved to offer programs in an online learning modality through association with the main campus in Madison, Wisconsin.
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2023 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.