Johns Hopkins in Baltimore prepares pediatric nurse practitioners at the doctoral level only, in two tracks:
- DNP – Primary Care
- DNP – Dual Primary/Acute Care
Each is delivered online with required onsite immersions, runs three years full-time (there is no part-time option), and moves students through as a cohort.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program Name | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration |
|---|---|---|
| DNP PNP (Primary Care) | ~$156K | 3 years |
| DNP PNP (Dual Primary/Acute Care) | ~$159K | 3 years |
Johns Hopkins delivers its pediatric primary care and dual primary/acute DNP online with onsite immersions — a top-ranked program built around a Hopkins clinical scholar project.
Admissions & Format
The admission criteria and format below are shared by both pediatric DNP tracks; the dual track adds the acute-care requirements noted in its own section. Fall entry deadlines are November 1 and January 15.
Admissions
- BSN or entry-level nursing master’s from an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited institution; scholastic GPA of at least 3.0
- Current RN license (online students must hold or obtain a license from an authorized state); one year of full-time RN experience preferred, with the strongest applicants having at least one year of pediatric experience
- Three letters of recommendation (at least one from a current supervisor and one from academic faculty), goal statement, resume/CV, and official transcripts
- GRE accepted but not required; interview if advanced by the admissions committee; TOEFL or IELTS if English is not the applicant’s native language
- Undergraduate statistics prerequisite, completed with a grade of B or better
Format
- Online with required onsite immersions in specific semesters; three-year full-time cohort plan (no part-time option)
- Clinical placements coordinated with the Clinical Placement Team based on student focus, interest, and preceptor availability
- Clinical activities cannot currently be conducted in Louisiana or New York
DNP PNP – Primary Care Curriculum
The Pediatric Primary Care track totals 74.5 credits with 840 clinical hours plus 160 project practicum hours (about 1,000 practice hours), over a three-year plan.
Estimated tuition is about $156,000. It prepares graduates for the PNCB Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care (CPNP-PC) exam.
Pediatric primary care specialty courses (22.5 credits / 840 clinical hours):
- Diagnostic Reasoning I: Newborn and Young Child — Wellness, Nutrition, and Developmental Surveillance
- Diagnostic Reasoning II: Common Acute Health Conditions in Pediatric Primary Care
- Diagnostic Reasoning III: Children and Adolescents — Wellness, Behavioral/Mental Health, and Gender/Reproductive Health
- Diagnostic Reasoning IV: Chronic, Complex, and Multi-System Illnesses
- Clinical Management I–V: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Shared DNP core (both pediatric tracks):
- Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology I–II; Pharmacology for Advanced Practice I–II; Advanced Health Assessment; Diagnostic Skills and Procedures
- Human Growth, Development and Supervision Birth through Adolescence; Health Promotion and Disease Across the Lifespan
- Biostatistics; Application of the Research Process; Inquiry for Scholarly Practice; Translating Evidence into Practice; data management and analytics courses
- Advanced Health Policy; Healthcare Finance; Organizational and Systems Leadership; Information Technology in Healthcare; Health Policy and Advocacy
- DNP Scholarly Project sequence (Problem Discovery, Research Translation, Application, and Quality/Safety dissemination) with associated practicum hours
More curriculum details are available here.
DNP PNP – Dual Primary/Acute Care Curriculum
The Dual Primary/Acute Care track totals 76 credits with 960 clinical hours plus 160 project practicum hours (about 1,120 practice hours), over three years. Estimated tuition is about $159,000. It prepares graduates for both PNCB exams — CPNP-PC and CPNP-AC — to care for children across the full continuum from wellness through critical illness.
The dual track shares the same DNP core (listed in the Primary Care section above) and the pediatric Diagnostic Reasoning and Clinical Management foundation, then adds acute care specialty content:
Dual specialty courses (30 credits / 960 clinical hours):
- Diagnostic Reasoning I–IV (the primary care reasoning sequence)
- Clinical Management I–III: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
- Advanced Topics for the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner I–II
- Pediatric Acute Care Practicum I–III
Additional admission requirements (dual track only):
- At least one year of acute-care inpatient pediatric RN experience caring for physiologically unstable patients (critical care, intermediate care, Level 1 pediatric ED, stepdown, pediatric med-surg, or hem-onc preferred), required by the program start — this is required, not merely preferred
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification
More curriculum details are available here.
Tuition
Johns Hopkins is a private university, so tuition is a single per-credit rate with no in-state or out-of-state distinction: $2,098 per credit for 2026–27, billed at the per-credit rate up to nine credits and as full-time above that.
Applied across the credit totals, that comes to roughly $156,000 for the 74.5-credit primary care track and about $159,000 for the 76-credit dual track.
A one-time $500 matriculation fee applies to new students, along with a health services fee and other standard costs; books and supplies, diagnostic equipment, and living expenses are additional. Numerous grants, scholarships, federal loans, and employment programs are available.
See the official tuition page here.
Accreditation
The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing DNP program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Graduates of the primary care track are eligible for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) CPNP-PC exam, and graduates of the dual track are eligible for both the CPNP-PC and CPNP-AC exams.
Review More PNP Programs Near You
- University of Maryland - Baltimore