Azusa Pacific University’s School of Nursing offers three pathways to pediatric nurse practitioner practice:
- MSN (PNP-PC) Specialty – Primary Care
- MSN with PNP-PC and School Nurse Services Credential (SNSC) – Primary Care
- Post-Master’s Certificate in PNP-PC – Primary Care
All three prepare primary care practice only. APU has no acute care pediatric pathway, so graduates sit for the PNCB CPNP-PC exam rather than the CPNP-AC. Every pathway is campus-based in California and requires an active California RN license. The MSN and the certificate run at the Azusa, Inland Empire, and San Diego locations; the school nurse credential combination runs at Azusa only. APU also routes applicants who are not yet nurses into PNP-PC through its separate Entry-Level MSN, a prelicensure program not covered on this page.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN – PC | $39,380–$44,750 | ~2–2.5 yrs (FT) | 44–50 |
| MSN – PC + SNSC | $47,435–$49,225 | ~2.5 yrs (FT) | 53–55 |
| Cert – PC | $29,535–$33,115 | ~1.5–2 yrs | 33–37 |
Tuition estimates multiply APU’s 2026-27 School of Nursing rate of $895 per unit by the unit range the academic catalog states for each pathway. Practicum course fees are itemized in the Tuition section below.
- Why choose it: An MSN route that adds the California School Nurse Services Credential to the PNP-PC specialty in one 53–55 unit plan of study.
- Trade-off: The credential route costs about $8,000 more and is taught only at the Azusa campus, and APU offers no acute care pediatric track.
Quick Facts
| Program Types | MSN, MSN with school nurse credential, post-master’s certificate |
| Population Focus | Primary care (CPNP-PC) on all three pathways; no acute care option |
| Format | Campus, with evening lecture options and part-time study |
| Locations | Azusa, Inland Empire, San Diego; the SNSC pathway is Azusa only |
| Clinical Hours | Total not published; 13 clinical units on the MSN and certificate, 16 with SNSC |
| Clinical Placement | APU describes customizable placement; who secures the site is not stated |
| RN License | Active California RN license required on all pathways |
| RN Experience | No minimum published |
| Distinctive Coursework | Bioethics and spiritual concept analysis (MSN only); school nursing and curriculum development (SNSC) |
| Transfer Credit | Up to 9 approved graduate units toward the MSN |
| Start Terms | Fall and spring; a summer start was added for the MSN in 2026 |
| Tuition | $895 per unit, 2026-27 |
| Accreditation | CCNE; nurse practitioner programs approved by the California BRN |
Clinical Education at APU
Clinical work is embedded in courses rather than scheduled as standalone practicum blocks. The catalog splits each course into classroom and clinical units, so a 6-unit course listed as 3/3 carries three units of supervised practice. Across the pediatric specialty sequence the clinical units fall this way:
- GNRS 511 Advanced Pediatric Health Assessment and Health Promotion – 1 clinical unit
- GNRS 532 Advanced Nursing Practice in Pediatrics – 3 clinical units
- GNRS 542 Advanced Concepts and Competencies in Pediatric Primary Health Care – 2 clinical units
- GNRS 590A Primary Health Care of the Young Family – 3 clinical units
- GNRS 590B Clinical Practicum in Pediatrics – 4 clinical units
- GNRS 550A Theory and Practice in School Nursing – 3 clinical units (SNSC pathway only)
APU does not publish a total clinical hour figure for any pediatric pathway. The university’s credit hour policy sets no fixed clock-hour conversion for practicum courses, so the 13 clinical units cannot be translated into hours from published material. The practical consequence is that the single number most applicants use to compare NP programs, and the number the PNCB sets a 500-hour floor on for CPNP-PC eligibility, is unavailable here while several competing California programs state theirs outright. APU does state that graduates are eligible to sit for national PNP-PC certification, which implies the floor is met.
Two placement details are worth holding onto. APU markets customizable clinical placement and evening lectures as accommodations for nurses who keep working, but it does not say whether the school secures preceptors or the student does. And each clinical course carries its own fee, which is covered in the Tuition section rather than folded into the per-unit rate.
General Admissions
These requirements apply across all three pathways. Each pathway section below adds only what is specific to it.
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on the posted degree; provisional admission is possible below that if competency can be shown through multiple measures
- Copy of RN license status, verifiable through the California Breeze system
- Prerequisite undergraduate coursework in health assessment, pathophysiology, nursing research, statistics, nursing leadership, and community health nursing
- Written statement of one to two pages on professional nursing goals and a personal definition of nursing
- Current résumé covering employment, education, honors, and volunteer activity
- Two professional references from managers, supervisors, or faculty; coworkers are not accepted
- Online application with a $45 nonrefundable fee and official transcripts from every institution attended
- No GRE
Two things are notable by their absence. APU publishes no minimum RN experience requirement and no pediatric-specific experience preference, which is unusual among NP programs and makes the school reachable for nurses a year or two out of their BSN. There is also no interview stage in the published process, so the written file carries the decision.
MSN with PNP-PC Specialty
The MSN with a PNP-PC specialty runs 44 to 50 units at $895 per unit, an estimated $39,380 to $44,750 in tuition, and full-time students generally finish in about two to two and a half years. It prepares primary care practice with children and families and requires a BSN from an NLN- or CCNE-accredited program plus an active California RN license. This is the pathway available at all three campus locations.
A published conflict worth knowing about. APU’s MSN with NP Specialties page lists 44–56 units and a base cost reaching $50,120, but that page covers four nurse practitioner specialties at once and the range spans all of them. The 2026-27 academic catalog states 44–50 units for PNP-PC specifically, and the course blocks reconcile to it: 10 + 14 + 19 units of required coursework, 1 to 3 concluding units, and an optional 4-unit specialization course. This page uses the catalog figure. The higher ceiling belongs to a different specialty, and building a budget on it would overstate the cost by roughly $5,400.
MSN Curriculum
The plan of study divides into a 10-unit academic core, a 14-unit academic and advanced practice core, and a 19-unit pediatric specialty sequence, closing with either a 1-unit comprehensive examination study or a 3-unit thesis sequence. Two features distinguish it from a typical PNP curriculum. First, the academic core devotes 6 units to faith-integrated coursework, bioethics analyzed from a Christian worldview and a scholarly treatment of spiritual care, which is roughly an eighth of the minimum degree and has no equivalent at most public universities. Second, students choose between a pediatric-specific assessment course and a lifespan assessment course, a choice that shapes how narrowly the assessment training is aimed.
Academic Core (10 units)
- GNRS 504 Bioethics and Healthcare Policy (3)
- GNRS 506 Spiritual Concept Analysis in Health Care (3)
- GNRS 508A Research and Theory in Advanced Practice Nursing (4)
Academic and Advanced Practice Core (14 units)
- GNRS 510 Family Theory in Health Care (2)
- GNRS 511 Advanced Pediatric Health Assessment and Health Promotion (4), or GNRS 612 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
- GNRS 513 Advanced Nursing Practice Role (2)
- GNRS 610 Advanced Pathophysiology (3)
- GNRS 611 Advanced Pharmacology (3)
Pediatric Specialty Sequence (19 units)
- GNRS 532 Advanced Nursing Practice in Pediatrics (6)
- GNRS 542 Advanced Concepts and Competencies in Pediatric Primary Health Care (3)
- GNRS 590A Primary Health Care of the Young Family (6)
- GNRS 590B Clinical Practicum in Pediatrics (4)
- Optional: GNRS 543 Transitions Across the Care Continuum (4), which adds about $3,580 in tuition
The concluding requirement is the other variable in the unit range. Choosing the comprehensive examination keeps the degree at its minimum; choosing the thesis route adds two units of proposal and research writing. The catalog lists the full requirements here.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 13 clinical units embedded across the assessment course and the four specialty courses
- Total supervised clinical hours are not published
- Settings are pediatric primary care: assessment, diagnosis, management, advocacy, and family education with infants through adolescents
- Available at Azusa, Inland Empire, and San Diego
- Practicum fees of $275 attach to each clinical course
Worth noticing: the MSN and the post-master’s certificate carry exactly the same 13 clinical units. Everything the degree adds over the certificate is classroom work. A nurse comparing the two is buying a master’s credential and the research and ethics coursework that comes with it, not additional supervised practice.
MSN Admissions
- BSN from an NLN- or CCNE-accredited program at a regionally accredited institution
- Fall start: April 1 priority deadline, June 15 final
- Spring start: October 20 priority deadline
- Summer start: April 10 priority deadline, added for 2026
- Up to 9 units of approved graduate work may transfer in; advanced health assessment and advanced pharmacology are both named as candidates under conditions
Three entry points a year is more flexibility than most PNP programs offer, and the summer option is new. The transfer allowance matters more than it looks: 9 units is roughly a fifth of the minimum degree and about $8,000 in avoided tuition for an applicant arriving with recent graduate coursework.
MSN with PNP-PC and School Nurse Services Credential
The combined MSN with PNP-PC and SNSC runs 53 to 55 units at $895 per unit, an estimated $47,435 to $49,225, and takes about two and a half years full time. Graduates finish qualified to apply to the California Board of Registered Nursing for nurse practitioner certification and to hold the California School Nurse Services Credential, which is the license required to practice as a school nurse in a California district. The pathway is taught at the Azusa campus only.
An inconsistency in the published admissions list. APU describes this program as preparation for registered nurses who have completed a bachelor’s degree, and the catalog plan of study is a full MSN including the academic core. The official admission requirements, however, ask for transcripts through both a posted BSN and a posted MSN from NLN- or CCNE-accredited programs, wording that belongs to a post-master’s program. The degree requirements are the more authoritative statement, so BSN-prepared applicants are the intended audience, but the requirement list as published asks for more.
MSN + SNSC Curriculum
The academic core and the advanced practice core are identical to the standalone MSN. The difference sits in the specialty block, which grows from 19 units to 28 by adding school health content on top of the full pediatric primary care sequence. That structure is what makes the combination efficient: the school nursing courses layer onto the NP specialty rather than replacing any of it, so nothing in the clinical preparation is traded away for the credential.
- GNRS 550A Theory and Practice in School Nursing (6, including 3 clinical units)
- EDUC 537 Curriculum Development, Revision, and Evaluation Process (3)
- GNRS 532, 542, 590A, and 590B, carried over unchanged from the MSN specialty sequence
- A California-approved audiometry course, required for credential eligibility
The audiometry requirement deserves attention because the published 53 to 55 unit total reconciles without it, which means it sits outside the tuition estimate as a separate course to find, schedule, and pay for. The catalog lists the full requirements here.
MSN + SNSC Clinical Requirements
- 16 clinical units, the MSN’s 13 plus 3 in the school nursing course
- Clinical experience spans both pediatric primary care sites and K-12 school health settings
- Azusa campus only, which narrows where clinical coordination happens
- The school nursing practicum carries a $200 fee; the pediatric clinical courses carry $275 each
Adding school health placement to an NP clinical sequence is the reason this pathway takes an extra half year. It also means the clinical load is spread across two quite different environments, a district school office and a pediatric clinic, which is useful preparation if school nursing is the goal and unnecessary weight if it is not.
MSN + SNSC Admissions
- Transcripts are requested through both posted BSN and MSN degrees, as noted above
- Fall start: April 1 priority deadline, June 15 final
- Spring start: October 20 priority deadline
- No summer start is published for this pathway
Post-Master’s Certificate in PNP-PC
The PNP-PC Certificate runs 33 to 37 units at $895 per unit, an estimated $29,535 to $33,115, and takes roughly a year and a half to two years. It is a nondegree course credit program for nurses who already hold a master’s degree in nursing, and it drops the academic core entirely, meaning the bioethics, spiritual concepts, and research coursework that define the MSN experience are absent here. Applicants must be admitted to the university before registering.
Certificate Curriculum
Two blocks make up the certificate: a 12-unit advanced practice core and a 21-unit specialty block. The pediatric sequence is the same one the MSN uses, so a certificate graduate completes identical specialty coursework and identical clinical work. Family theory, which sits in the core on the MSN plan, moves into the specialty block here.
- GNRS 511 Advanced Pediatric Health Assessment and Health Promotion (4), or GNRS 612
- GNRS 513 Advanced Nursing Practice Role (2)
- GNRS 610 Advanced Pathophysiology (3) and GNRS 611 Advanced Pharmacology (3)
- GNRS 510 Family Theory in Health Care (2)
- GNRS 532 (6), GNRS 542 (3), GNRS 590A (6), GNRS 590B (4)
- Optional: GNRS 543 Transitions Across the Care Continuum (4)
The waiver route is the most consequential thing on this page for an already-certified clinician. Nurses holding current California certification as a nurse practitioner or nurse midwife, and nurses holding a master’s plus national CNS certification, may petition to challenge or waive coursework that duplicates their current specialty. Petitions must be initiated at admission and approved by the MSN chair, and proof of current certification is required. Up to 9 units of graduate transfer credit may also apply. The published $29,535 floor is therefore a ceiling for some applicants rather than a starting point. The catalog lists the full requirements here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- 13 clinical units, the same as the MSN
- Total supervised clinical hours are not published
- Available at Azusa, Inland Empire, and San Diego
- Evening lectures and customizable clinical scheduling are offered for working nurses
Certificate Admissions
- Master’s degree in nursing from an NLN- or CCNE-accredited program
- A completed graduate research course and an undergraduate health assessment course
- Fall start: April 1 priority deadline, June 15 final
- Spring start: July 15 priority deadline, September 30 final
The spring calendar is the trap here. The certificate’s spring deadlines fall in July and September, months earlier than the October 20 date the MSN uses, so an applicant who reads the MSN timeline and assumes it transfers will miss the cycle by a full term.
Tuition
APU charges a single flat rate of $895 per unit for School of Nursing master’s, credential, and certificate programs in 2026-27, with no resident and non-resident split. The same fee schedule lists a lower $860 rate for School Nurse Services master’s and certificate programs, which raises a question for the combined pathway. APU’s own program page for the MSN with PNP-PC and SNSC states $895, and that is the rate used here; were $860 to apply, the 53 to 55 unit total would land near $45,580 to $47,300, roughly $1,900 less.
| Pathway | Est. Tuition |
|---|---|
| MSN with PNP-PC | $39,380–$44,750 |
| MSN with PNP-PC + SNSC | $47,435–$49,225 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate | $29,535–$33,115 |
APU publishes the SNSC and certificate totals directly. The MSN figure is calculated here from the catalog’s 44 to 50 unit requirement, because the university’s published range covers four NP specialties rather than PNP-PC alone.
Fees Beyond Tuition
- Clinical and practicum fees of $275 per course apply to GNRS 511P, 532P, 542P, 543P, 590AP, and 590B. Five of these sit in the MSN and certificate plans, about $1,375
- The school nursing practicum, GNRS 550AP, carries $200, bringing the SNSC pathway to about $1,575 in practicum fees
- GNRS 612 carries a $300 fee, so choosing the lifespan assessment course over the pediatric one costs $25 more in fees as well as changing the content
- $45 application fee and a $100 graduation fee
- The $600-per-semester nursing fee in APU’s fee schedule applies to prelicensure Entry-Level MSN, upper-division transfer, and LVN-to-BSN students. It does not apply to these graduate pathways, and budgeting for it would overstate cost by several thousand dollars
What stands out about APU’s pricing is how little of the total sits outside tuition. Practicum fees run under $1,700 across a full program, and there is no differential tuition, no distance learning charge, and no residency-based rate to navigate. The cost question at APU is really a unit-count question, which is why the transfer allowance and the certificate waiver route move the number far more than any fee does. APU publishes the full tuition and fee schedule here.
Why Choose This PNP Program?
Best suited for: a Southern California nurse who wants pediatric primary care preparation on a campus schedule, and especially one who wants the school nurse credential attached to it.
The school nurse credential is the real reason to come here
Pairing PNP-PC preparation with the California School Nurse Services Credential in one plan of study is rare, and it is worth more than a line on a resume. The credential is what California districts require to hire a school nurse, and holding it alongside NP certification opens two employment markets from one program. For a nurse drawn to school-based and community child health rather than clinic practice alone, no other feature on this page matters as much.
Three campuses, evening classes, and three intakes a year
The MSN and certificate run at Azusa, the Inland Empire, and San Diego, which is unusual reach for a campus-based NP program and cuts the commute for nurses across a wide stretch of Southern California. Evening lectures, part-time pacing, and a summer intake added in 2026 are all aimed at nurses who are not leaving their jobs. None of this helps the SNSC pathway, which stays at Azusa.
The certificate is unusually flexible for an already-certified APRN
A California-certified NP, nurse midwife, or nationally certified CNS can petition to challenge or waive coursework that overlaps their current specialty, on top of the 9-unit transfer allowance. Most post-master’s certificates make you take the full sequence regardless of what you have already done. For a CNS moving into NP practice, that provision can materially shorten the program.
Drawbacks
- No acute care pediatric pathway, so PICU, pediatric ED, and inpatient subspecialty careers are out of reach through APU
- Total clinical hours are not published on any pathway, which makes a direct comparison against programs that state theirs impossible
- Nothing is online. Campus attendance in California is required throughout, and an out-of-state nurse would need a California RN license and a move
- Placement responsibility is unstated, so whether you or the school finds preceptors is unknown going in
- Required faith-integration coursework adds 6 units and roughly $5,400 to the MSN, which is a poor fit for applicants who want that money spent on clinical content
- The SNSC pathway costs about $8,000 more than the standalone MSN, is Azusa-only, and adds an audiometry course that sits outside the published unit total
The Verdict
APU is a strong choice for one specific candidate: a California RN who wants pediatric primary care practice and sees school health as part of the career, not a detour. The combined MSN and School Nurse Services Credential is genuinely hard to find elsewhere, and the faith-integrated curriculum will appeal to applicants who want it rather than merely tolerate it. For everyone else the picture is narrower. There is no acute care option, no online delivery, and no published clinical hour total to weigh against competing programs. A nurse who simply wants the most clinical volume per dollar, or who is heading toward inpatient pediatrics, should compare the other California options before committing. An already-certified APRN, though, should look hard at the certificate’s waiver provision, which can cut both the timeline and the bill in ways the published price does not show.
Accreditation
Azusa Pacific University is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and APU’s nurse practitioner programs are approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
Graduates of all three pediatric pathways are eligible to apply to the California Board of Registered Nursing for nurse practitioner certification and may sit for national PNP-PC certification by examination, which is the PNCB’s CPNP-PC credential. Because every pathway is taught in California and requires a California RN license, state authorization elsewhere is not a practical consideration here.
Review Additional Pediatric NP Programs in California
- Loma Linda University - Loma Linda
- University of California, San Francisco - San Francisco
Compare all California pediatric nursing programs (helps you choose the right fit)