Northwestern State University of Louisiana offers pediatric nurse practitioner preparation through its College of Nursing and School of Allied Health as one pathway:
- BSN to MSN – Primary Care, CPNP-PC
NSU runs the MSN online, but clinical hours must be completed in Louisiana unless the clinical coordinator approves otherwise, and applicants need a Louisiana RN license or a compact license that includes Louisiana. NSU does not offer an acute care pediatric track or a pediatric post-master’s certificate.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (Resident) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN – PC | $23.5K | 32 months (8 semesters) | 45 |
Tuition estimates multiply NSU’s Fall 2026 Internet Only graduate rate ($522 per credit for loads up to 9 credits, no out-of-state fee listed) by the 45 credits in the catalog’s pediatric NP course list. The $50 electronic learning fee per online course is listed separately under Tuition.
Price is what separates this program from most PNP options. Tuition for the full MSN comes to about $23,500, and NSU charges the same Internet Only rate to Louisiana residents and non-residents. That is a low total for a graduate pediatric NP degree. NSU has offered the primary care pediatric concentration since 1997, and its final preceptorship course is written around rural, urban, and underserved Louisiana sites.
The low price comes with a fixed structure. Students start once a year in the fall, move through an eight-semester (32-month) sequence, and complete clinical hours in Louisiana. The first pediatric clinical course runs only when enough students enroll, and entry into clinical courses depends on a competitive clinical application. Nurses outside Louisiana, or those who want acute care pediatrics, will need a different program.
NSU’s pediatric MSN costs about $23,500 in tuition, but it runs on a fixed 32-month schedule with clinical hours completed in Louisiana.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Population Focus | MSN: Primary Care (PNCB CPNP-PC) |
| Format | Mostly online; NP students may be required to attend labs, simulation, or learning events on campus |
| Clinical Hours | About 700 (est.), from weekly clinical contact hours in four pediatric courses |
| Clinical Locations | Louisiana, unless the clinical coordinator approves otherwise |
| RN License | Unencumbered Louisiana RN or compact license that includes Louisiana |
| RN Experience | At least 1 year full-time as an RN |
| Start Term | Fall only; priority deadline March 31, final deadline June 1 |
| Tuition | $522 per credit (Fall 2026, Internet Only graduate rate) |
| Accreditation | CCNE; approved by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing |
MSN – Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
The MSN with a Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration (major code 546M) costs about $23,490 in tuition for 45 credits and follows an eight-semester, 32-month curriculum pattern. It prepares graduates for primary care practice with children of all ages, and NSU’s MSN handbook states that graduates are eligible for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board primary care exam (CPNP-PC). It admits BSN-prepared RNs with at least one year of full-time nursing experience and a license valid in Louisiana.
A published conflict worth knowing about. The 2026-2027 University Catalog says the MSN requires “a minimum of 40-45 semester credits” across all concentrations, and the 2026 MSN Student Handbook says the nurse practitioner pattern requires a minimum of 43-45. The catalog’s own course list for the pediatric concentration adds up to 45 credits when all three 2-credit research seminars are counted, even though the catalog labels the research area “0-4 hours.” This page uses 45 credits because that is what the listed courses total.
Curriculum
The handbook describes the first three semesters as core coursework (theory, research, pharmacotherapeutics, pathophysiology, and social forces). The remaining five semesters carry the clinical courses, the NP role courses, and the paper in lieu of thesis. The pediatric sequence runs through three management courses and ends with a preceptorship in which students stay enrolled until all clinical hours are completed and approved. Graduation also requires a role competency exam.
Core and Advanced Practice Courses
- NURG 5010 Research in Nursing (3)
- NURG 5100 Social Forces and Nursing Practice (3)
- NURG 5120 Theory Oriented Nursing Practice (3)
- NURG 5280 Advanced Human Physiology and Pathology for Advanced Practice Nurses (3)
- NURG 5700 Methods of Clinical Nursing Assessment (3), NURG 5710 Pharmacotherapeutics (3)
- NURG 5810 Family Dynamics for Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
- NURG 5830 and 5840 Role of the NP in Clinical and Business Practice (2 each); NURG 5370 Genomics and 5690 Informatics (1 each)
- NURG 5995, 5996, 5997 Research Seminars I-III (2 each), leading to the paper in lieu of thesis
Pediatric Specialty Sequence
- NURG 5850 Primary Care PNP I: Care of the Well Child (3): well-child care, developmental problems, communicable disease, and respiratory, GI, and urinary illness from birth to school age
- NURG 5860 Primary Care PNP II: Care of the Child with Acute and Chronic Illness (3): cardiovascular, hematologic, immune, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and neurologic conditions from birth to school age
- NURG 5870 Primary Care PNP III: Care of the Adolescent (3): well-adolescent care, psychosocial problems, and acute and chronic illness in adolescents and vulnerable populations
- NURG 5880 Primary Care PNP IV: Clinical Preceptorship (3): precepted practice in rural and urban sites caring for children in underserved areas
The catalog lists prerequisites for NURG 5850 and 5860 that include “5260” and “5820,” numbers that do not appear anywhere in the MSN course list. They are reported here as published; the catalog does not explain them.
Full requirements are in the 2026-2027 University Catalog (Nursing 546, Master of Science in Nursing).
Clinical Requirements
- Estimated total: about 700 clinical hours (est.)
- Weekly clinical contact hours from the catalog: 10 in PNP I, 7 in PNP II, 10 in PNP III, 20 in PNP IV
- NURG 5700 health assessment adds 3 lab contact hours a week
- Direct-care (in-person) clinical hours required, completed in Louisiana unless the clinical coordinator approves otherwise
- NP students may be required to attend learning events, labs, or simulation on the Natchitoches campus or an off-campus learning site
- Continuous enrollment in NURG 5880 until all clinical hours are completed and approved
The 700-hour estimate multiplies each pediatric clinical course’s weekly clinical contact hours by a 15-week semester (150 + 105 + 150 + 300 = 705). NSU does not state a single total, and summer terms are shorter.
An estimate near 700 hours places the program inside the 600-750 range typical for a single-population PNP track and above the 500-hour certification floor. The heaviest load comes in the final preceptorship, at roughly 20 hours a week, which most working nurses will need to plan their schedules around.
The Louisiana requirement matters more than the hour total for many applicants. The catalog and handbook describe precepted sites in rural and urban Louisiana but do not say whether students or faculty secure preceptors, so applicants should expect to live within reach of Louisiana pediatric practices for the clinical semesters.
Admissions
- BSN from a nationally accredited nursing program
- Undergraduate GPA of 2.5, or 2.75 in the last 60 hours; otherwise a GRE combined verbal and quantitative score of 284
- Current unencumbered, unrestricted Louisiana RN license or compact license that includes Louisiana
- At least 1 year of full-time RN experience
- Two professional references: one former faculty member and one immediate clinical supervisor
- Current American Heart Association BLS (Red Cross and other providers not accepted)
- Attestation to the college’s technical performance standards
- Application through NSU’s Graduate School; applications open January 1, priority deadline March 31, final deadline June 1
- Fall entry only, as a cohort
The GPA floor is low for a graduate NP program, and the GRE is needed only if an applicant misses both GPA thresholds. The single fall intake means a missed June 1 deadline costs a full year.
NSU’s own documents describe clinical entry in two ways. The handbook says admission to the MSN includes acceptance into clinical courses as long as students meet progression requirements. The 2026 clinical course offerings sheet says the first clinical course in every NP concentration runs only when a large enough cohort forms, and that selection into clinical courses is competitive, based on a clinical application due by March 31 (priority) or June 1 (final). Applicants should plan for the stricter of the two.
Tuition
NSU publishes separate tuition schedules by campus and delivery mode. Because the handbook states that the MSN is offered only online, this page uses the Fall 2026 Internet Only graduate schedule: $522 per credit (tuition plus registration fee) for 1 to 9 credits in a semester, with each credit above 9 adding $200. That schedule lists no out-of-state fee, so the estimate is the same for residents and non-residents.
The campus schedules are different. On the Fall 2026 Shreveport and Natchitoches schedules, 9 graduate credits cost $5,122 to $5,357 including student association and health service fees, and non-residents add an out-of-state fee of $5,394 a semester at 9 or more credits. Those rates apply only to campus-coded enrollment.
| Pathway | Resident | Non-Resident |
|---|---|---|
| MSN – PC (45 credits) | $23,490 | $23,490 |
Figures are calculated from NSU’s Fall 2026 Internet Only schedule (45 × $522) and are not university-published totals. Semesters above 9 credits would lower the total slightly.
Fees Beyond Tuition
- Electronic learning course fee: $50 per internet course, about $900 across the 18 courses in the plan (est.)
- Health services fee: $96, listed on each semester’s Internet Only schedule as a separate mandatory fee
- Application fee: $20
- Installment plan fee: $85 per semester if the balance is not paid in full by the due date
- Travel to any required on-campus labs, simulation, or learning events
Tuition plus the per-course electronic learning fee comes to about $24,390 (est.). Current schedules are on NSU’s Tuition and Fees Schedule page.
Why Choose This PNP Program?
Best suited for: Louisiana RNs with at least a year of experience who want primary care pediatric NP preparation at low cost and can work within a fixed part-time schedule.
Total Cost Near $24,000
At $522 per credit and 45 credits, tuition and online course fees total about $24,390 (est.). NSU charges the same Internet Only rate regardless of residency, so a compact-licensed nurse from another state pays the same as a Louisiana resident.
Clinicals Tied to Louisiana
Clinical hours are completed in Louisiana unless the clinical coordinator approves otherwise, and the preceptorship course is built around rural and underserved sites. For a Louisiana nurse, that keeps clinical work local. For anyone else, it usually means relocating or commuting for several semesters.
A Long, Fixed Sequence
The eight-semester pattern keeps course loads light enough for full-time work, averaging roughly 5 to 6 credits a semester (est., 45 credits over 8 semesters). There is no published accelerated option, and courses run in the order set by the curriculum pattern.
Drawbacks
- Primary care only; no acute care (CPNP-AC) track
- No pediatric post-master’s certificate; NSU’s certificates cover only AGACNP, FNP, and PMHNP
- One fall intake a year, and the first clinical course runs only with enough enrollment
- Possible on-campus labs or simulation despite online coursework
The Verdict
NSU is a strong fit for a Louisiana pediatric or family nurse who wants the CPNP-PC credential, keeps working full time, and wants to keep total cost near $24,000. Nurses who want acute care pediatrics, a faster finish, a certificate route after an existing MSN, or clinical placements outside Louisiana should compare other programs.
Accreditation
NSU’s baccalaureate, master’s, DNP, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and all nursing programs and concentrations are approved by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. The university is accredited by SACSCOC.
NSU’s MSN handbook states that primary care pediatric NP graduates are eligible for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board exam, the CPNP-PC. Because admission requires a license valid in Louisiana and clinical hours are completed in Louisiana, the Louisiana licensure requirement matters more than out-of-state authorization lists for most applicants.
Compare NSU to Other Louisiana PNP Programs
- Grambling State University - Grambling
- LSU Health New Orleans - New Orleans
How to choose the best Louisiana Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program