Indiana University offers 2 Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner tracks:
- BSN-to-DNP
- Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate
IU has no standalone master’s PNP, so the BSN-DNP is the primary route into the role — a doctoral program completed largely online with minimal campus time.
The post-master’s certificate serves nurses who already hold an MSN and want to add the pediatric specialty. IU’s graduate nursing programs rank nationally, but every clinical hour must be completed in Indiana.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program Name | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP PNP | ~$29K (in-state) | 3 years |
| Post-Master’s Certificate PNP | ~$7K | ~1–1.5 years |
“At Indiana University, the path to pediatric primary care runs straight to the doctorate — earned largely online, with every clinical hour grounded in Indiana.”
BSN-DNP PNP
The estimated cost for the BSN-DNP Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track at Indiana University is about $29,000 in tuition for Indiana residents. The full-time plan of study runs 3 years (4 years part-time).
DNP Curriculum
The BSN-DNP totals 66 credit hours and prepares graduates to provide comprehensive primary care to well, at-risk, and chronically ill children.
Coursework builds collaborative practice, health maintenance, chronic illness management, health policy, and patient advocacy, and culminates in an evidence-based DNP project centered on a population health intervention.
The program is distance-accessible and can be completed online with minimal face-to-face requirements. The provided IU page does not itemize the full 66-credit course list.
DNP Clinicals
The track requires 1,005 clinical hours, of which 750 are direct patient care supervised by clinical faculty and an experienced preceptor. The remaining hours are met through the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the DNP project.
Placements are arranged cooperatively by students and faculty, and all clinical hours must be completed in Indiana.
- 1,005 total clinical hours; 750 direct patient care
- Remaining hours completed through the evidence-based DNP project
- All clinical hours must be completed in Indiana
- Population focus: well, at-risk, and chronically ill children and adolescents
- Settings include FQHCs (urban and rural), school-based clinics, tertiary care specialty programs, urgent care/ER, HMOs, and private practice
DNP Admissions
Specific admission requirements (GPA, references, prerequisites) are not detailed on the provided IU pages; entry assumes a BSN and RN licensure.
Confirm GPA minimums, recommendation, and prerequisite requirements directly with the IU School of Nursing.
- BSN required (BSN-DNP entry point)
- RN licensure expected
- Clinical hours must be completed in Indiana
- On graduation: eligible for PNCB certification as Pediatric Nurse Practitioner–Primary Care and to apply for Indiana prescriptive authority
Post-Master’s Certificate PNP
The estimated cost for the Post-Master’s Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate at Indiana University is roughly $7,000 in tuition for Indiana residents.
Most students finish in about 1 to 1.5 years, though length varies by prior coursework.
Certificate Curriculum
Built for nurses who already hold a master’s or higher in nursing, the PNP certificate is a 17-credit specialty sequence. It develops diagnostic reasoning, child-centered primary care, and advanced clinical decision-making through didactic courses, simulation, and supervised practica.
Each student receives an individualized plan of study, developed after admission, to ensure they meet national certification criteria.
- NURS-C630 Clinical Concepts for PNP Practice (3)
- NURS-C640 Pediatric Primary Care for the APRN I (3)
- NURS-C641 PNP Practicum in Primary Care I (3) — 225 clinical hours
- NURS-C650 Pediatric Primary Care for the APRN II (3)
- NURS-C651 PNP Practicum in Primary Care II (5) — 300 clinical hours
Certificate Clinicals
The two practica carry 525 supervised clinical hours combined (225 + 300), completed under an experienced preceptor across varied pediatric primary care settings.
- 525 clinical hours per course detail (C641: 225; C651: 300)
- Preceptor-supervised practica in pediatric primary care
- Clinical hours completed in Indiana
Certificate Admissions
Admission requires a completed master’s degree or higher in nursing; the plan of study is then tailored to coursework already completed.
- MSN or higher in nursing
- Individualized plan of study developed after admission
- Credit hours and time to completion vary by prior coursework
Tuition
IU lists graduate nursing tuition at $434.95 per credit hour for Indiana residents, plus mandatory fees such as a $761.02 Student Services Fee per semester; a sample full-time semester (22 credits) totals $10,329.92 in tuition and fees.
Out-of-state rates are not provided in the source. The estimates above multiply the in-state per-credit rate by each track’s credit total (66 for the DNP, 17 for the certificate), and IU notes that nearly $1 million in graduate scholarships is available annually.
See the official tuition page for more details here.
Review Additional Indiana PNP Programs
- Purdue University - West Lafayette