Being a nurse practitioner (NP) can be an exciting career choice. NPs are advanced practice nurses who help plan and manage patient care across various settings. Due to looming physician shortages nationwide, NPs are in high demand.
In Connecticut, nurse practitioners can practice independently after maintaining a license and working in collaboration with a physician for at least three years or 2,000 hours. Being able to practice independently opens up many options for NPs in this state.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career as an NP in the Constitution State, there are multiple programs available, from master’s to doctorate degrees and post-graduate certificates.
Program Overview:
Fairfield University is located just 10 miles from the beach and an hour from New York City, making it an exciting location for a college town. The Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies offers two FNP tracks, an MSN option and a DNP option.
The BSN to FNP program is a hybrid option with 51 credits and 500 clinical hours. It takes 36 months to complete full-time, but part-time options are available, too. For those who wish to pursue a terminal degree, the BSN to DNP FNP option is also hybrid, with 73 credits and 1000 clinical hours. Students can finish in three to four years, depending on whether they are part-time or full-time.
When on campus, students learn in the school’s state-of-the-art simulation center, where they get hands-on experience with high-fidelity simulators, interact with actors playing standardized patients, and learn to work together and react to a range of different clinical situations.
Program Overview:
For more than twenty years, Goodwin University in East Hartford has been providing community-based, career-focused education. The school’s BSN to FNP program is 47 credits with 600 clinical hours, which students can complete in as little as 27 months.
Goodwin prides itself on being accessible and adjustable. The FNP program offers classes primarily online so students can still work and enjoy their personal time. Note that there is an orientation and two immersion weekends that require students to be on campus.
Program Overview:
Quinnipiac University offers three NP options. The BSN to FNP track requires 53 credits and 720 clinical hours and can be completed in two to three years. Most classes are online and asynchronous, so students can access their classwork at a time that suits their schedule. The program also includes three weeks of on-campus immersion. This FNP program boasts a 96% pass rate on the recent certification exam.
This university also offers two AGNP tracks: a BSN to AGNP Acute Care and a BSN to AGNP Primary Care option. These programs are offered online with asynchronous classes and three weeks of on-campus immersions. The acute care option is 48 credits with 780 clinical hours, and the primary care option is 46 credits with an unspecified number of clinical hours. Both programs have a 100% pass rate on the recent certification exam.
On-campus immersions generally take place on the North Haven campus, just northeast of New Haven. This site is home to the 325,000-square-foot Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences building, a state-of-the-art learning center with seven high-fidelity mannequins and 16 standardized patient rooms. Students also have access to skills labs, where they can practice with the same equipment they will use in their clinical experiences and throughout their careers.
Program Overview:
Founded in 1963, Sacred Heart University has a reputation for putting students first. At the Davis & Henley College of Nursing, students have four NP tracks to choose from.
The BSN to FNP program is 42 credits with 540 clinical hours and can be completed in as little as 2.5 years. Although the coursework is entirely online, students must attend two on-campus residencies.
SHU also offers a BSN to DNP FNP program in a hybrid format, with an average of six on-campus classes every semester. The program is 69 credits; full-time students can complete it in three years, and part-time students can complete it in four.
For those who already have an MSN in another specialty, SHU has a Post-Graduate Certificate MSN to FNP that is 24 credits with classes offered online. There is also a Post-Master’s MSN to DNP track with 34 credits that can be completed in three to four years. Courses for the MSN to DNP program are also offered online, but there are full-day meetings on campus once every term.
Program Overview:
The School of Nursing at Southern Connecticut State University was established in 1969. Today, nursing is one of the university’s most popular majors. The school offers innovative learning experiences, including skills labs and a simulation center, with more than 150 clinical partners across the state.
There are two NP programs at SCSU. The BSN to FNP is 46 credits with 660 clinical hours. Coursework for this program is entirely online, with both synchronous and asynchronous classes. To help working students plan their schedules, all synchronous classes are held on Tuesdays. Nurses who already have a master’s can choose the Post-Graduate Certificate MSN to FNP option. This program has 27 credits with 660 clinical hours.
Program Overview:
UConn’s School of Nursing has a few options for those wishing to practice as FNPs or AGNPs.
The FNP concentration has three options: a 48-credit BSN to FNP track, a 78 to 80-credit BSN to DNP FNP track, and a 30-credit Post-Graduate MSN to FNP track. Classes are offered entirely online for this specialty.
UConn also offers three options for the Acute Care AGNP concentration: a BSN to AGNP track, a BSN to DNP AGNP track, and a Post-Graduate MSN to AGNP track. The BSN to MSN program is 45 credits with between 700 and 800 clinical hours. This concentration requires two on-campus intensives.
Program Overview:
Whether you have a BSN or MSN or want to pursue a master’s or doctorate to practice as an FNP, there are several options at the University of Saint Joseph.
The BSN to FNP master’s track can be completed in as little as eight semesters. Classes are offered in a part-time, hybrid format. Students take two courses every semester, and both semesters are scheduled on the same day. This program has 53 credits and 750 hands-on clinical hours.
There are also two doctorate options: a BSN to DNP FNP track and an MSN to DNP FNP track. The BSN to DNP option is 77 credits with 925 clinical hours, and the MSN to DNP option is 45 credits with 875 clinical hours.
Program Overview:
WCSU has three tracks that prepare students to practice as AGNPs. All tracks are hybrid, with online courses and in-person requirements. The BSN to AGNP Acute Care and BSN to AGNP Primary Care programs are both 41 credits with 540 clinical hours. The school also offers a Post-Graduate Certificate MSN to AGNP, but limited information is available.
Program Overview:
A member of the Ivy League, Yale University traces its roots to the 1640s. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the country. The Yale School of Nursing was founded in 1923, and nurse practitioner degrees were introduced in 1971. Yale offers more NP options than any other school in the state and has the only pediatric NP program.
The BSN to FNP track is 59.5 credits with 720 clinical hours. While on campus, students in this program participate in multiple real-life simulations with actors playing patients to get experience working and interacting with patients in a safe environment.
There are also two master’s-level AGNP options: a BSN to AGNP Acute Care and a BSN to AGNP Primary Care. The acute care program is 52.6 credits with 968 clinical hours, and the primary care program is 53 credits with 780 clinical hours.
Yale’s PNP options are the only PNP programs in the state, and students can choose between a 48-credit BSN to PNP Acute Care option with 665 clinical hours or a 51.5-credit BSN to PNP Primary Care option with 752 clinical hours.
Post-master’s options are also available, including a Post-Graduate MSN to FNP, Post-Graduate MSN to AGNP Acute Care, Post-Graduate MSN to PNP Acute Care, and Post-Graduate MSN to PNP Primary Care. All classes for these programs are held in person at the Yale West Campus.
NP Programs in Other States
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Maine
New York
Rhode Island