Indiana University’s School of Nursing offers four nurse practitioner population foci: family (FNP), psychiatric-mental health (PMHNP), adult-gerontology acute care (AGACNP), and pediatric primary care (PNP-PC). All four are offered as BSN-to-DNP tracks through IU Indianapolis. IU’s only NP master’s is a mostly online FNP MSN run separately by four regional campuses, and post-graduate certificates exist in three of the four specialties.
Three policies shape the decision more than any single specialty detail:
- The doctorate costs the same in every state. IU bills the DNP at $735 per credit for residents and nonresidents alike, so a 66-credit BSN-to-DNP runs about $48,500 either way. Residency only affects the certificates, where nonresidents pay $1,697 per credit.
- An Indiana or Compact RN license is required everywhere. Every track demands one, and clinicals run through central Indiana, so this is a regional program despite the online coursework.
- Required RN experience changes by specialty, and so does its deadline. All four tracks want 1,800 hours, but AGACNP wants adult ICU, ED, or PCU hours and PNP wants pediatric or NICU hours. DNP applicants may finish them after admission; certificate applicants must already have them.
Quick facts
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Nursing School | Indiana University School of Nursing |
| Location | Indianapolis, IN |
| NP Specialties | FNP, PMHNP, AGACNP, PNP-PC |
| Degree Options | BSN to DNP (four tracks); FNP MSN at four regional campuses; post-graduate certificate (FNP, AGACNP, PNP-PC) |
| Format | DNP and certificates hybrid, with Indianapolis labs; FNP MSN mostly online, with home-campus labs; cadence not published |
| Clinical Hours | 1,005 for BSN entry in every specialty, including 750 direct patient care hours |
| Clinical Placement | Cooperative between student and faculty; faculty-coordinated for AGACNP; faculty-assisted for the regional FNP MSN |
| RN Experience | 1,800 hours in all tracks, in a setting matched to the specialty |
| Tuition | $735 per credit for the DNP, all residencies; $466.34 resident and $1,356.23 nonresident for the FNP MSN; $650.25 resident and $1,697 nonresident for certificates |
| Accreditation | CCNE (bachelor’s, master’s, DNP); HLC |
Comparing IU’s NP programs
Every BSN-entry track runs 66 credits with 1,005 clinical hours, built on a 41-credit core shared by all four specialties plus a 25-credit specialty block. Certificate credits depend on prior graduate coursework, and IU sets each certificate student’s final plan through an individualized review before admission.
| Pathway | Credits | Clinical hours | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) | |||
| MSN (regional campuses) | 44 | 600–750 | BSN; 3.0 GPA; two years of RN practice preferred |
| BSN to DNP | 66 | 1,005 | BSN; any bedside RN experience |
| Post-MSN certificate | 22–32 | 780 | MSN or DNP in an APRN role |
| Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMHNP) | |||
| BSN to DNP | 66 | 1,005 | BSN; RN experience in an appropriate setting |
| Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) | |||
| BSN to DNP | 66 | 1,005 | BSN; adult ICU, ED, or PCU hours plus ACLS |
| Post-MSN certificate | 22–32 | 780 | APRN; experience required at application |
| Pediatric Primary Care (PNP-PC) | |||
| BSN to DNP | 66 | 1,005 | BSN; pediatric or NICU hours |
| Post-MSN certificate | 17–32 | 525–780 | APRN; pediatric experience at application |
IU offers no adult-gerontology primary care track and no pediatric acute care track. Nurses seeking AGPCNP in Indiana look to Purdue University or the University of Indianapolis; no Indiana school offers pediatric acute care at all.
What stands out about IU’s NP programs
- Residency-blind doctoral pricing. A nonresident pays the same $48,510 in DNP tuition as an Indiana resident. That is unusual among public universities, where distance students normally absorb a premium, and it makes IU competitive for Compact-state nurses within reach of Indianapolis.
- Published outcomes in three of four specialties. PMHNP reports a 98% three-year certification pass rate and 90% employed within six months. PNP reports 100% and 93%. FNP reports 95% and 88% within twelve months. Few schools publish pass, graduation, and employment figures per track.
- One core, four specialties. The 41-credit DNP core is identical across tracks, so the choice between populations is a question of the 25-credit specialty block and the clinical setting rather than a different degree.
- Experience runway for BSN entrants. Nurses short of the 1,800-hour requirement can be admitted and accumulate hours during the didactic years, provided they finish before the clinical phase.
- Procedural training in simulation. AGACNP students practice endotracheal intubation, central line insertion, and thoracostomy tube placement at the Fairbanks Hall simulation center.
Which IU NP program fits your goal?
Family Nurse Practitioner
The broadest option and the only one where any bedside experience qualifies. The 66-credit BSN-DNP runs three years full-time or four part-time at about $48,510, with 1,005 clinical hours of which 750 are direct patient care and 255 support the DNP project. IU teaches FNP through narrative-centered learning, using family case stories and treating the whole family as the unit of care, and graduates work in federally qualified health centers, school clinics, urgent care, and correctional settings. A 22- to 32-credit post-MSN certificate carries 780 clinical hours, 30 more direct hours than DNP students log, because certificate students have no project absorbing part of the total.
FNP master’s (regional campuses). FNP is the only IU specialty with a master’s route, and it is run by IU’s regional nursing consortium rather than the Indianapolis School of Nursing. Students enroll through IU East, Kokomo, Northwest, or South Bend, take 44 credits of shared online coursework with synchronous sessions up to four times a semester, and complete labs and clinicals through their home campus. Resident tuition is about $20,500 at $466.34 per credit, but nonresidents pay $1,356.23, the reverse of the DNP’s residency-blind pricing. Clinical totals vary by campus, from 600 hours in IU Kokomo’s sample plan to 750 at IU South Bend, and most campuses admit one cohort each spring. IU South Bend also offers a post-master’s FNP certificate with 750 clinical hours.
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
IU’s strongest published outcomes sit here: a 98% three-year ANCC pass rate, 93% on-time graduation, and 90% of graduates working as a PMHNP within six months. The track prepares for lifespan certification and is the only one of the four with no certificate alternative, so a master’s-prepared APRN adding psychiatric practice cannot do it at IU. Placements span community mental health centers, ambulatory care, government agencies, private practice, and hospitals. Delivery format is the weak spot: IU does not state it plainly for this track, unlike the other three.
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
The most demanding entry requirements and the most hands-on training. Applicants need 1,800 hours in an adult ICU, ED, or PCU plus current ACLS, and three acute care management courses carry 525 of the clinical hours. This is also the only track where IU coordinates placements rather than sharing the work: faculty route rotations through central Indiana partners including Level I trauma centers, with possible rotations in cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, pulmonology, and transplant. A 22- to 32-credit certificate is available to APRNs who already hold the acute care experience.
Pediatric Primary Care
Primary care only, with no acute care or dual pediatric option. The BSN-DNP matches the other tracks at 66 credits and $48,510, and reports a 100% three-year certification pass rate with 93% of graduates employed as PNPs within six months. The certificate is the most flexible at IU, running 17 to 32 credits and 525 to 780 hours depending on how closely prior APRN training overlaps pediatrics, which also makes it the hardest to price before advising. An FNP with only adult or family experience does not qualify until logging a year in pediatrics or a NICU.
Doctor of Nursing Practice
All four NP specialties are offered as BSN-entry doctorates with no master’s exit point; the regional FNP MSN is a separate program, not a step within the DNP. A student who leaves before finishing does not earn an MSN on the published plan. The 66 credits divide into a 41-credit core shared across tracks and a 25-credit specialty block holding 12 didactic credits, 10 practicum credits, and a 3-credit transition-to-practice course.
The core front-loads doctoral work alongside the three Ps. Advanced physiology and pathophysiology, advanced physical assessment across the lifespan, and pharmacology for advanced practice run beside biostatistics and epidemiology, population health, informatics, performance improvement, and health policy. The DNP project runs as a synthesis sequence through planning, implementation, and evaluation, plus a 3-credit project practicum.
Full-time study takes three years; part-time takes four. Admission is fall only in every specialty.
Post-graduate certificates
Three specialties offer a post-MSN certificate through IU Indianapolis: FNP, AGACNP, and PNP-PC. IU South Bend runs a separate FNP certificate through the regional consortium. There is no PMHNP certificate. Eligibility is limited to nurses whose master’s or doctorate is in an APRN role, so a non-APRN master’s in education or leadership routes an applicant to the DNP instead.
Credits are set individually against prior graduate coursework, documented clinical hours, and current certification, which is why IU urges applicants to get a draft plan of study from a graduate advisor before applying rather than after. Two features matter more than the credit count. Certificates are not eligible for federal student loans, leaving School of Nursing scholarships, assistantships, and private loans. And certificates carry a nonresident premium the DNP does not, so an out-of-state nurse on a long plan can pay more for a certificate than an Indiana resident pays for the entire doctorate.
Clinical placement
Placement is cooperative in FNP, PMHNP, and PNP: faculty work with students to identify and secure sites, but the wording stops short of a guarantee and students should expect to help find preceptors. AGACNP is the exception, with faculty coordinating rotations through established central Indiana partners. In the regional FNP MSN, labs and clinicals are handled by the home campus, and IU South Bend states that faculty assist students with finding placements.
The Indiana or Compact license requirement effectively bounds where clinicals happen. IU does not publish which states distance students may be placed in, and its own materials describe out-of-state students admitted under NC-SARA reciprocity as still completing clinicals in Indiana. Nurses planning to stay in their home state should resolve that in writing before applying.
Format and campus requirements
IU describes the FNP, AGACNP, and PNP tracks as hybrid: coursework online, with labs and high-fidelity simulation at The Simulation Center in Fairbanks Hall on the IU Indianapolis campus. What IU does not publish anywhere is how often students need to be there. No track states a number of campus days or a visit schedule, which makes travel and lodging impossible to budget in advance. The PMHNP track does not state a delivery format at all. The regional FNP MSN is mostly online, with synchronous sessions up to four times a semester and labs at the student’s home campus.
Admissions
- Degree and GPA: BSN from a CCNE- or ACEN-accredited program with a 3.0 GPA for the DNP; an MSN or DNP in an APRN role with a 3.0 for certificates.
- License: active, unencumbered Indiana or Compact RN license, which effectively limits applicants from non-Compact states unless they hold an Indiana license.
- Experience: one year of full-time RN practice, or 1,800 hours, in a setting matched to the specialty. DNP applicants may complete it before the clinical phase; certificate applicants must hold it at application.
- Documents: resume listing units and dates, a screenshot of the RN license from the state board site, and two professional references. Peers, friends, and relatives are not accepted.
- Cycles: fall entry only, with three application windows running July 15 to October 15, October 16 to January 15, and January 16 to March 15. IU fills seats as cycles close and waitlists later applicants, so the first window carries the best odds.
- Fee: $70, waived for IU School of Nursing alumni.
Tuition
IU’s approved 2025–27 schedule holds the DNP at $735 per credit for all residencies, putting a 66-credit track at $48,510 in tuition. Certificates bill at the graduate nursing rate instead: $650.25 per credit for residents and $1,697 for nonresidents. The regional FNP MSN bills at the regional campuses’ graduate nursing rate: $466.34 per credit for residents and $1,356.23 for nonresidents, plus a $6.63 per-credit program fee.
| Pathway | Credits | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP MSN (regional campuses) | 44 | $20,519 | $59,674 |
| BSN to DNP (any specialty) | 66 | $48,510 | $48,510 |
| Certificate, FNP or AGACNP | 22–32 | $14,306–$20,808 | $37,334–$54,304 |
| Certificate, PNP-PC | 17–32 | $11,054–$20,808 | $28,849–$54,304 |
Totals are calculated from published per-credit rates and credit requirements; IU publishes no program total. Budget separately for the combined mandatory fee of $1,243.84 a year, roughly $3,700 across a three-year doctorate, and the $70 application fee. IU’s schedule also lists per-credit nursing differentials of $55.21 for graduate and $36.39 for professional programs without saying which applies to DNP students; if one does, the effective rate rises to roughly $771 to $790 per credit. The tuition estimator gives the billed figure.
The School of Nursing awards nearly $1 million in scholarships each year, typically $1,000 to $2,500 per student, with applications open October 15 to January 15.
Accreditation and certification
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredits IU School of Nursing’s bachelor’s, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, with the current DNP term running through December 31, 2030 and the next review set for spring 2030. The accreditation statement does not name post-graduate APRN certificates separately, which matters because certifying bodies require the certificate program itself to be accredited for eligibility. Certificate applicants should confirm that scope directly.
Indiana University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and the School of Nursing shares one curriculum and governance structure across its Bloomington, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis campuses.
Graduates sit for certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board for FNP, the ANCC for PMHNP across the lifespan, the ANCC or the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for AGACNP, and the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board for CPNP-PC. Passing the exam is the prerequisite for Indiana prescriptive authority.
State authorization
IU does not publish a state-by-state authorization list for its NP tracks. The binding constraint is licensure: every specialty requires an active Indiana or Compact RN license, and IU’s materials describe students admitted under NC-SARA reciprocity as still completing clinicals in Indiana. Nurses in non-Compact states should expect to obtain an Indiana license, and anyone planning to relocate mid-program should confirm the consequences with the School of Nursing before enrolling.
Who is IU best for?
May be a strong fit for
- Out-of-state Compact nurses who want a doctorate with no nonresident premium
- Critical care nurses pursuing AGACNP with faculty-coordinated placement
- Psychiatric nurses who want published certification and employment outcomes
- New BSN graduates willing to build required hours after admission
- Nurses who want 1,005 clinical hours and 750 direct care hours in a doctorate
Compare other options if
- You want an NP master’s in a specialty other than FNP
- You need adult-gerontology primary care or pediatric acute care
- You are a master’s-prepared APRN adding psychiatric practice
- You cannot travel to Indianapolis for labs on an unpublished schedule
- You hold neither an Indiana nor a Compact RN license
Compare more NP programs in Indiana
- Indiana State University - Terre Haute
- Indiana Wesleyan University - Marion
- Purdue University - West Lafayette
- University of Indianapolis - Indianapolis
- University of Southern Indiana - Evansville