Grambling State University’s School of Nursing, part of the College of Professional Studies, offers one pediatric nurse practitioner pathway:
- BSN to MSN – Primary Care, CPNP-PC
The MSN is a full-time, 46-credit program with classes on the Grambling campus on Mondays and clinical rotations arranged in the student’s own area. Applicants need a BSN, two years of RN experience, and GRE scores, and every student must hold an unencumbered Louisiana RN license before starting clinicals. There is no acute care pediatric track.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (Resident) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN – PC | $14.1K | 21 months (full-time) | 46 |
Tuition estimates multiply Grambling State’s 2026-2027 resident graduate tuition rate ($307.15 per credit) by the 46-credit catalog total; non-resident costs are in the Tuition section, and mandatory university fees and nursing course fees are billed on top.
Price is where this program separates itself. Grambling State bills graduate nursing students the standard university graduate rate of $307.15 per credit for 2026-2027, with no nursing differential, so resident tuition for the full PNP MSN comes to about $14,100. The program’s stated mission is primary care for children in school-based health clinics, private pediatric practices, and public health sites across Louisiana.
That price comes with a fixed, in-person structure. Classes meet on campus on Mondays, admission happens once a year in the fall with an April 15 deadline, applicants must submit GRE scores and show two years of RN work, and the degree includes a 6-credit research project or thesis. Nurses who cannot reach north Louisiana every week, or who want an acute care credential, will need a different program.
Grambling State’s PNP MSN costs Louisiana residents about $14,100 in tuition and suits nurses who can attend Monday classes in Grambling for 21 months.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Population Focus | Primary Care (CPNP-PC eligibility path); no acute care option |
| Format | Hybrid: on-campus classes on Mondays, clinicals in the student’s area |
| Credit Hours | 46 (catalog and plan of study) |
| Clinical Hours | 668 minimum clock hours |
| Clinical Placement | Faculty-approved sites under contract; preceptors must be board certified in pediatrics |
| RN License | Unencumbered Louisiana RN license before clinicals |
| RN Experience | Two years minimum |
| Admission Tests | GRE within five years; minimum 140 Verbal, 140 Quantitative |
| Start Term | Fall only; School of Nursing deadline April 15 |
| Tuition | $307.15/credit resident; $808.65/credit non-resident (2026-2027) |
| Accreditation | ACEN, continuing accreditation through 2028 |
Master of Science in Nursing – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Primary Care)
The MSN Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program costs an estimated $14,129 in resident tuition ($37,198 non-resident) for 46 credits. The School of Nursing describes it as 21 months (five semesters) of full-time study, preceded by the NUR 500 writing seminar in the summer before the first fall unless an approved substitute is accepted. It prepares graduates for primary care practice with infants, toddlers, school-age children, and adolescents. Applicants need a BSN, two years of RN experience, and GRE scores.
A published conflict worth knowing about. Grambling’s older PNP curriculum page (labeled “Revised 2014”) and the School of Nursing degrees page list 43 credits. The 2024-2026 General Catalog, the current plan of study, and the MSN brochure list 46. The 3-credit gap is NUR 500 Advanced Writing Seminar, which the 46-credit plans include and the 43-credit page omits. This page uses the catalog’s 46 credits. An applicant whose writing course is accepted as a substitute for NUR 500 would likely finish at 43 (est.), based on the admissions page allowing an approved substitute.
Curriculum
The first year covers the graduate nursing core and the first two pediatric management courses. The second year finishes the pediatric sequence alongside the research requirement, which is 6 credits split across the final fall and spring. Courses are sequential and must be taken in order. The four pediatric management courses move from health promotion and supervision (NUR 572), to growth and development (NUR 574), to acute and common illnesses (NUR 576), to chronic illness (NUR 578), all in pediatric and primary care settings.
Foundation Courses
- NUR 500 Advanced Writing Seminar (3 credits)
- NUR 505 Advanced Pathophysiology (3 credits)
- NUR 540 NP: Advanced Health Assessment (3 credits)
- NUR 552 Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics (3 credits)
- NUR 501, 503, and 553: theory, research, and health policy for families and communities (3 credits each)
- NUR 541 and 547 NP: Role I and II (1 credit each)
Pediatric Specialty Sequence and Research
- NUR 572 PNP: Advanced Health Management I (4 credits)
- NUR 574 PNP: Advanced Health Management II (4 credits)
- NUR 576 PNP: Advanced Health Management III (4 credits)
- NUR 578 PNP: Advanced Health Management IV (5 credits)
- NUR 580 Research Project or NUR 590 Research Thesis (6 credits)
- NUR 599 Comprehensive Examination (0 credits)
The 2024-2026 catalog’s PNP plan lists NUR 548, a Family Nurse Practitioner course, in the final spring where the PNP plan of study lists NUR 578. The catalog’s own graduation requirements name NUR 578 as a required PNP clinical course, and the catalog does not explain the substitution. Graduation also requires a 3.0 GPA, an A or B in every clinical course, admission to candidacy, and a passing comprehensive exam. Grambling will not accept transfer credit for NUR 540, the PNP management courses, or NUR 552. See the PNP plan of study.
Clinical Requirements
- 668 clinical clock hours minimum, validated by preceptors and logged each semester
- Year one: 236 hours (220 clinical plus 16 skills lab hours, per the MSN handbook); year two: 432 hours
- Settings: pediatric and primary care; the program’s mission names school-based clinics, private pediatric practices, and public health sites
- Preceptors: physicians or NPs with an unencumbered license, board certification in pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty, and at least two years of experience
- Every site and preceptor must be approved by graduate faculty and covered by a clinical contract
- No clinical hours at the student’s place of employment, and no paid clinical hours
- Up to 20% of the next course’s hours may carry over at faculty discretion (not in NUR 540)
- Before clinicals: Louisiana RN license, NP student malpractice insurance, CPR, annual health exam, TB screening, hepatitis B, immunizations, and background check clearance
- Nursing course fee of $300 to $465 per clinical course
A second published conflict. The web version of the PNP plan lists 236 year-one hours and 180 year-two hours, which add to 416, not the 668 total stated on the same page. The downloadable plan of study and the MSN handbook both list 432 year-two hours, which reconciles to 668. This page uses 668, with 432 in year two.
At 668 hours, the program sits inside the typical 600 to 750 range for a single-population PNP track and above the 500-hour certification floor. The 432 year-two hours fall across two semesters, which works out to roughly 14 to 15 hours a week over a 15-week term (est., based on an even split between fall and spring).
The brochure says clinical preceptorships take place in the student’s geographic area, which limits travel for clinicals. The handbook does not say the school recruits preceptors for students; it says faculty contact each new preceptor to vet the site and require a contract before any hours count. The ban on earning hours at your own workplace rules out the easiest option for many nurses. Because a Louisiana RN license is required for clinicals, practical placement is in Louisiana.
Admissions
- Admission to the School of Graduate Studies plus a separate School of Nursing graduate application
- BSN from a nationally accredited nursing program
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 (the catalog also accepts 3.0 on the last 60 hours)
- GRE taken within five years; minimum 140 Verbal and 140 Quantitative
- Health assessment and statistics courses, each with a C or higher
- Two years of RN work experience
- Three letters of recommendation, a writing sample essay, and an interview with MSN faculty
- NUR 500 or an approved graduate writing substitute
- Fall admission only; School of Nursing application deadline April 15
Three rules decide eligibility. The GRE requirement, with set minimum scores, adds a test that many nursing graduate programs have dropped. The single fall intake means a missed April 15 deadline costs a full year. The two-year RN experience minimum is firm, not a preference.
Grambling’s post-master’s certificates are all Family Nurse Practitioner options. A PNP graduate can later add the FNP population through the 16-credit PNP-to-FNP certificate listed in the catalog.
Tuition
Grambling State’s 2026-2027 student fees brochure sets graduate tuition at $307.15 per credit for Louisiana residents. Non-residents pay an additional $501.50 per credit, for $808.65 per credit. Graduate nursing is billed at the standard graduate rate; the university’s differential tuition applies only to undergraduate majors.
The Fall 2026/Spring 2027 fee sheet charges graduate tuition on no more than 9 credits per fall or spring semester. The plan of study has two 10-credit semesters, so actual tuition should run about $614 lower for residents and about $1,617 lower for non-residents than the straight multiplication below (est., based on the fee sheet’s 9-credit cap).
Estimated Total Tuition
| Pathway | Resident | Non-Resident |
|---|---|---|
| MSN – PC (46 credits) | $14,129 | $37,198 |
| MSN – PC with NUR 500 waived (43 credits) | $13,207 | $34,772 |
Calculated from the 2026-2027 per-credit rates; these totals are estimates, not university-published figures.
Fees Beyond Tuition
- Mandatory university fees: about $1,230 per full-time (9+ credit) fall or spring semester for residents, per the fee brochure’s $3,994.83 full-time total
- Nursing course fee: $300 to $465 per clinical course; across the five clinical courses (NUR 540, 572, 574, 576, 578) that is about $1,500 to $2,325 (est.)
- Distance learning fee: $80 per course where a course is delivered online
- Required certification review course in the final semester, arranged by faculty through an outside company; students pay registration and travel
- NP student malpractice insurance, background check, health exam, and immunizations, all student-paid
Summer terms are billed on a separate per-session schedule; the Summer 2026 graduate schedule charges residents $895.05 for one to three hours per session. Full cost details are on Grambling State’s tuition and fees page.
Why Choose This PNP Program?
Best suited for: Louisiana RNs with at least two years of experience who want primary care pediatric NP preparation at a low public tuition rate and can be on the Grambling campus every Monday.
Resident tuition near $14,100
At $307.15 per credit with no nursing surcharge, the full MSN costs Louisiana residents about $14,100 in tuition before fees. Non-residents pay about $37,200, which removes most of the cost advantage for out-of-state applicants.
A weekly campus day in Grambling
Classroom work happens on campus on Mondays for the length of the program. That suits nurses within driving distance of north Louisiana and working a schedule that frees one weekday. Clinical hours, by contrast, are arranged near the student’s home.
Community pediatric primary care focus
The program aims graduates at school-based clinics, private pediatric practices, and public health sites, with a stated emphasis on underserved rural and community populations. Nurses aiming for PICU, pediatric emergency, or inpatient subspecialty work need an acute care (CPNP-AC) program instead.
Drawbacks to weigh
- GRE required, with minimum scores
- One fall intake per year
- Full-time only in the posted plan of study, with courses taken in a fixed sequence
- A 6-credit research project or thesis on top of clinical work
- No acute care or dual PNP option, and no pediatric post-master’s certificate
The Verdict
Louisiana nurses with two years of RN experience, a primary care pediatric goal, and a Monday they can give up each week have a strong cost reason to choose Grambling State. Out-of-state applicants, nurses who need a fully online format, and anyone headed for acute care pediatrics should compare other programs.
Accreditation
Grambling State’s MSN program holds continuing accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) through 2028 and full approval from the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Current status is posted on the School of Nursing page.
For 2025, the school reports an 80% first-attempt certification rate, a 70% completion rate, and a 90% job placement rate for the MSN program; these figures cover all MSN tracks together. Grambling’s pages describe the PNP program as primary care preparation but do not name a certification exam. The national credential for primary care pediatric NPs is the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board’s CPNP-PC.
Take a Look at More Pediatric Nurse Programs In State
- LSU Health New Orleans - New Orleans
- Northwestern State University of Louisiana - Natchitoches