Family Nurse Practitioner—FNP Post-Master's Certificate (Online)

  • Certificate
  • Graduate
  • Online
  • Nursing & Health Professions

Enhance your credentials and advance your career with an online Post-Master's Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Program Details

  • Next Start Date:  January 13, 2025
  • Est. Program Length: 3 – 6 semesters (Varies based on previous education)
  • Low-Residency Format:  Online coursework and nine days on campus during the course of the program
  • Credit Hours: 19 – 43 (Varies based on previous education)
  • Course Length: 14 weeks (NSG517 is 7 weeks)
  • Cost Per Credit (2024-25 Academic Year): Nursing Courses – $725/Clinical Courses – $1,132
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Why Earn a Post-Master’s Certificate from Rivier?

Post-master’s certificate programs build your clinical skills and knowledge and provide the opportunity for you to take on new challenges and redefine your career path. The Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate prepares you to care for patients from infancy through adulthood, providing treatment for illnesses, as well as preventative and health education services.

Rivier offers post-master’s nursing certificates to RNs that have already earned an MSN degree.

Rankings and Accolades

Rivier Ranked Top Nursing School in New Hampshire

Nursing Schools Almanac 2024 has recognized Rivier’s exceptional nursing education, ranking the University as the #1 nursing school in NH!

Rivier ranked #1 Online College in New Hampshire

Rivier University has been named the #1 online college in New Hampshire by Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for higher education programs. 

Program of Study

The Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate program requires a minimum of 19 credits. This low-residency program requires 3 on-campus intensives for a total of 9 days on campus. The average completion time for this program is three semesters.

Applicants must document successful completion of a graduate-level course in Pharmacology (3-credit equivalent) less than five years prior to application to the Certificate Program. A waiver is considered for experienced, practicing nurse practitioners. Applicants must document successful completion of a graduate-level course in Pathophysiology (3-credit equivalent) less than 10 years prior to application to the certificate program. This may also be waived for practicing nurse practitioners.

Clinical specialty preparation will be reviewed as part of the application process and used by faculty in developing the individualized program of study. Applicants who do not have clinical work in their master’s program will be required to take additional coursework.

Licensure and Accreditation

Registered nurses (RN) who complete this advanced degree coursework and clinical education are qualified to sit for the national exams to become certified in family practice (FNP-BC).

Rivier University is unable to accept students from California due to the post-secondary higher-education requirements. There are also some restrictions for programs that lead to professional licensure due to the various requirements of individual state boards of nursing. See State Guide.

For further information on Professional Nursing Licensure at the state level, please use the following contact list (also available on the NC-SARA website).

A Commitment to Quality

Rivier University’s ASN, BSN, MSN, Post Master’s Certificates, and DNP programs located in Nashua, NH are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000.

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the post master’s certificates nursing programs is Continuing Accreditation.  View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program. 

Dr. Donna Proulx, Ph.D., RN, CCRN, CSC, the Program Director for Graduate & Doctoral Nursing Education, is working to advance substance use disorders treatment for vulnerable populations. Her doctoral research was a qualitative inquiry titled “The Lived Experience of Postpartum Women Attending Outpatient Substance-Abuse Treatment for Opioid or Heroin Use.” She holds two certifications in critical care from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (ACCN)—one in adult critical care (CCRN) and a second in adult cardiac surgery (CSC)—and is a past president of the New Hampshire Chapter of ACCN.

Explore Other Certificates

There are three other post-master’s certificates in Nursing offered in Rivier’s graduate education program.

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Office of Graduate and Professional Studies Admissions

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Prepare to advance your career with an online Post-Master's Certificate.