Best Nurse Practitioner Programs in Florida (2026)

Nova Southeastern University's Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing offers a 45-credit Family Nurse Practitioner MSN-APRN in an online format with three on-campus intensives held in Palm Beach or Tampa Bay. The program covers adult primary care (I and II), pediatrics, women's health, advanced pharmacology, and a capstone integration practicum. BSN-prepared RNs complete the program in seven semesters on the full-time track; a flex track spreads clinical courses over eight semesters for working nurses who need more runway. Each clinical credit carries 95 practicum hours, and the capstone clinical alone is 3 credits, meaning at least 285 hours in the final semester. A postgraduate FNP certificate is also available for already-credentialed MSN holders.

Tuition is listed at $37,500 per year; at 45 credits across roughly two years, total program cost runs in the range of $75,000 depending on pace. NSU admits 73% of applicants and graduates 63% of enrollees, reflecting a school that is accessible but demands follow-through. The program is delivered through a CCNE-accredited college, which matters for sitting for ANCC or AANP FNP certification after graduation. With a Hakia Score of 82.1, NSU ranks fifth among Florida NP programs on this list. It fits the RN who wants a nationally recognized private university credential with genuine scheduling flexibility and convenient Florida in-person intensive sites.

Jacksonville University's Keigwin School of Nursing offers two MSN nurse practitioner tracks: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Psychiatric-Mental Health NP (PMHNP). The FNP track targets holistic, family-centered primary care across the lifespan in ambulatory settings. The PMHNP track focuses on diagnosing and treating mental health conditions across the lifespan, blending advanced psychopharmacology with supervised clinical hours in mental health clinics, hospitals, and specialty settings. Both tracks offer full-time and part-time options so working RNs can keep their jobs during enrollment. JU's simulation infrastructure includes virtual reality labs and telepresence robots for additional clinical preparation. The admissions page explicitly states the programs prepare graduates for ANCC national certification exams, after which graduates can apply for Florida APRN licensure.

Tuition runs $46,963 per year, making JU the highest-cost option on this page; total cost depends on program length but working nurses on a part-time track should budget accordingly relative to the $37,362 annual pay lift from staff RN ($97,550) to NP median ($132,300). JU admits 57% of applicants, the most selective rate among these four programs, and graduates 51% of enrollees. The nursing programs are accredited through a CCNE, NLN, or ACEN-accredited pipeline, which the admissions requirements page confirms is required of applicants' BSN programs. With a Hakia Score of 77.6 and a dual-track structure, JU is the right fit for an RN who wants behavioral health specialization or is drawn to Jacksonville's urban clinical network and is prepared for competitive admissions and a premium price point.

Keiser University's Master of Science in Nursing is a 33-credit, 11-course program offered online with on-campus delivery options across Keiser's Florida campuses. The program is structured as a nurse generalist MSN covering health promotion, health systems management, evidence-based practice, nursing leadership, and global health, positioning graduates for nurse leader or nurse educator roles rather than a direct NP clinical track. Working nurses who want the NP credential specifically should note that Keiser's path to FNP runs through a subsequent Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, which the university explicitly positions as the MSN's natural next step. Terms are 8 weeks long, up to 12 transfer credits are accepted, and estimated completion is 12 to 22 months depending on pace.

At $23,856 per year, Keiser is the most affordable option on this page by a wide margin. If a working RN completes the MSN in 12 months, total cost approaches $23,856 before aid; even at 22 months it stays well under $45,000. The program carries CCNE accreditation, the gold standard for collegiate nursing, confirmed on Keiser's own program page. Keiser admits 97% of applicants and graduates 61% of enrollees, making it the most accessible program here. With a Hakia Score of 72.9, it ranks third among these four. It fits the RN who needs a low-cost, fast, CCNE-accredited credential to advance into leadership now while planning a separate DNP-FNP entry later, or who wants the generalist MSN as a foundation before specializing.

Barry University's School of Nursing in Miami offers a 24-month MSN with two distinct nurse practitioner specializations: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP (AGACNP). The FNP track covers comprehensive primary care across the lifespan. The AGACNP track targets complex, acute, and critical adult patients in high-acuity environments such as hospitals, specialty clinics, and critical care units, making it one of the few acute-care-focused MSN options among Florida's ranked programs. Format is primarily online with required in-person clinical practicum hours completed under preceptor supervision and limited on-campus lab sessions. Barry's page states clinical hours are required in your specialty but does not publish a specific total count. Admission requires a minimum of one full year of bedside RN experience within the last year, an active unrestricted RN license, and a 3.0 GPA, and all applicants must complete an admission interview.

Tuition is $1,050 per credit hour, and Barry's own page lists a 25% tuition discount for RN holders, which directly reduces the cost of the 24-month program for every enrolled nurse. At $33,600 per year before the RN discount, and with the discount applied, the net annual cost drops to approximately $25,200; over two years that is roughly $50,400 before other aid. Barry graduates 38% of enrollees, the lowest rate among these four programs, signaling that the program is demanding relative to its admission rate of 77%. The MSN carries dual accreditation from CCNE and approval from the Florida Board of Nursing. With a Hakia Score of 67.5 and nearly three decades of continuous accreditation, Barry fits the acute-care RN who wants the AGACNP track specifically or the Miami-area nurse who values small class sizes and preceptor-supervised clinical in diverse South Florida settings.

South University's Tampa campus offers a Master of Science in Nursing with a Specialization in Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP), a 62-credit program built around the NONPF Core Competencies for Family Nurse Practitioners. The curriculum follows a hybrid model: didactic coursework is available online, in a traditional classroom, or blended, while a required practicum puts clinical skills into practice with real patients across the lifespan. That practicum is in-person and location-specific; the school is explicit that flexibility in the clinical component cannot be guaranteed. The single specialty track is FNP, focused on primary care from pediatrics through geriatrics.

Tuition runs $17,100 per year regardless of residency. The program is CCNE-accredited, which is the threshold requirement to sit for ANCC or AANP certification after graduation. South University Tampa earned a Hakia Score of 61.5 in this ranking; the 23% graduation rate is a real data point every applicant should weigh when evaluating completion risk. Admission requires a BSN from an accredited institution with a 2.5 GPA and an active, unencumbered RN license in every state where the student completes clinical assignments. A working RN who wants an FNP credential with a hybrid format and can manage the cost difference between a $97,550 staff-RN salary and the $132,300 BLS NP median, a $34,750 annual pay lift, would recover two years of tuition ($34,200) in under a year at that differential.

South University's West Palm Beach campus (located in Royal Palm Beach, FL) offers the MSN in Family Nurse Practitioner, the same program architecture as its Tampa sibling: a single FNP specialization focused on lifespan primary care, with flexible learning formats that include on-campus, virtual instruction, and online coursework. As with all South University clinical programs, practicum and externship components require in-person field experience and cannot be made fully flexible. The program sits within a multi-campus South University network that also offers the track in Orlando and Savannah, giving enrollees modest geographic options for clinical placement.

Tuition is $17,100 per year, identical across all South University locations. The program carries CCNE accreditation system-wide, which is the prerequisite for national NP certification through ANCC or AANP. The West Palm Beach campus posted a Hakia Score of 55.6 and an 18% graduation rate, the lowest of the two South University programs in this ranking. That number is the central risk factor for a working RN investing time and money: if less than one in five students finishes, understand why before enrolling. The pay argument is unchanged: completing the credential puts a graduate in range of the $132,300 BLS NP median, a $34,750 annual increase over the $97,550 staff-RN median, which covers two years of tuition ($34,200) in roughly 11 months of NP earnings difference.