A world-class city filled with art and culture and an incredible campus that offers cutting edge resources–that’s what students receive at Penn Nursing. And that’s just the start. Penn Nursing and the wider university offer something for everyone, as well as a lifelong community.
Penn Nursing is globally known for educating dynamic nurses—because our School values evidence-based science and health equity. That’s where our expertise lies, whether in research, practice, community health, or beyond. Everything we do upholds a through-line of innovation, encouraging our exceptional students, alumni, and faculty share their knowledge and skills to reshape health care.
Penn Nursing students are bold and unafraid, ready to embrace any challenge that comes their way. Whether you are exploring a career in nursing or interested in advancing your nursing career, a Penn Nursing education will help you meet your goals and become an innovative leader, prepared to change the face of health and wellness.
Penn Nursing is the #1-ranked nursing school in the world. Its highly-ranked programs help develop highly-skilled leaders in health care who are prepared to work alongside communities to tackle issues of health equity and social justice to improve health and wellness for everyone.
Penn Nursing’s rigorous academic curricula are taught by world renowned experts, ensuring that students at every level receive an exceptional Ivy League education. From augmented reality classrooms and clinical simulations to coursework that includes experiential global travel to clinical placements in top notch facilities, a Penn Nursing education prepares our graduates to lead.
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
Our program focuses on the family as well as the infant through their first year of life, and prepares you for leadership in a variety of settings, like intensive care nurseries, well baby nurseries, home care, and high-risk follow-up programs.
About the Program
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is routinely ranked in the top five graduate schools of nursing according to U.S. News & World Report. We are geographically located near the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) as well as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). We offer small cohorts with low faculty-to-student ratios, personalized attention, and the opportunity to learn from world renown experts in the field. Our extensive network of colleagues and alumni allow us to help place graduates before or soon-after graduation in the geographic area of their choice.
The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) prepared at the master’s degree level. The NNP is prepared to practice across a continuum, providing primary, acute, chronic, and critical care to infants and toddlers through age two. NNPs primarily work in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings, selecting and performing clinically indicated advanced diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures. The National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NANNP) is the national association that represents neonatal nurse practitioners in the United States. Certification is governed by the National Certification Corporation (NCC) for Obstetrics, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing Specialties.
All of Penn Nursing’s programs are accredited. To learn more about the accreditation and pass rates, please visit our Accreditation page.
Program Information
Full-Time
Program Length
2 years
Financial aid available?
Yes
Start Semester
Fall
Learning Format
In-person *
Although this program is in-person, to accommodate the busy schedules of our students some courses will be offered in an online or hybrid format. All clinical experiences for this program are in-person on Penn’s campus or at affiliated clinical sites.
Part-Time 2 years
Program Length
2 years
Financial aid available?
Yes
Start Semester
Year-round
Learning Format
In-person *
Although this program is in-person, to accommodate the busy schedules of our students some courses will be offered in an online or hybrid format. All clinical experiences for this program are in-person on Penn’s campus or at affiliated clinical sites.
Part-Time 3 years
Program Length
3 years
Financial aid available?
Yes
Start Semester
Year-round
Learning Format
In-person *
Although this program is in-person, to accommodate the busy schedules of our students some courses will be offered in an online or hybrid format. All clinical experiences for this program are in-person on Penn’s campus or at affiliated clinical sites.
Program Details
Curriculum
We offer the program full-time, part-time, or as a post-graduate APRN certificate. Our world renowned Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program focuses on building future leaders in the field through clinical practice, hands-on education, extensive simulation, and robust research opportunities. Our curriculum can be found on the plans of study and include research, the infant with special healthcare needs and family, embryology, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and management of the neonate. In addition, the NNP faculty find both clinical sites and preceptors at myriad level III and IV NICUs for our students. Our classes are held on campus at the University of Pennsylvania, allowing our students to take advantage of all Penn has to offer.
Click the link below to view the curriculum and different plans of study for this program in the University catalog.
A minimum of two years full-time RN experience (post-orientation) in a level III-IV NICU within the last 3-5 years. Delivery room experience is encouraged but not required.
Application Deadlines
Full-time Enrollment
Summer & Fall 2024 Start Deadline: February 1, 2024
Latest Decision Notification: early-March
Part-time Enrollment
Spring 2024 Start Deadline: February 1, 2024
Summer & Fall 2024 Start Deadline: March 15, 2024
Latest Decision Notification: late-April
*Dates subject to change without notice.
Costs & Tuition
Your program costs will depend on how many course units (CU) you take per semester.
Discount available for employees of our Academic Practice Partners. Click here to learn more.
To be considered a full-time student you must have a course load of 3 CUs or more per semester, including summer terms; anything less, in any semester, is considered part-time. If you apply as a full-time student, but switch to part-time, lowering the number of CUs you take per semester will decrease the cost of your tuition and fees, which will in turn lower your student budget and reduce your financial aid eligibility. You will no longer be eligible for nursing grant or endowed scholarship funds.
The charts below outline costs based on the school year/summer sessions as well as include estimated other expenses like housing.
Tuition & Fee Rates and Living Expense Budgets (Fall 2023 & Spring 2024)
Tuition and Fees
$56,262
Housing
$17,388
Meals
$5,796
Books*
$1,358
Other Personal Expenses*
$7,276
TOTAL
$88,080
*Category for Other Personal Expenses includes a budget for the cost of Student Health Insurance. Please keep in mind that the school does not bill the student for books and personal expenses. We do, however, build these figures into the Student Budget to better help students and their families plan for all costs associated with a Penn Nursing education. Likewise, loan eligibility and financial aid is based on the total student budget per term, not just on the cost of tuition and fees.
Every student’s living situation and personal expenses are different, but below are the projected academic year Summer and Fall/Spring costs per CU. These can be multiplied by the total number of CUs in your part-time plan of study to estimate the total cost of an MSN program.
Summer 2023 - per course unit (CU)
Tuition
$6,392
General Fees
$474
TOTAL
$6,866
Summer 2023 - living expenses:
TOTAL (both sessions)
$9,205
Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 - per course unit (CU)
Tuition
$6,392
General Fee
$474
Technology Fee
$116
TOTAL
$6,982
Program Outcomes
Our graduates typically work within:
Neonatal Intensive Care Nurseries
Well Baby Nurseries
High Risk Follow Up
Teaching in undergraduate and graduate programs
At the completion of this advanced level of nursing education, Penn Nursing MSN graduates will:
Use scientific inquiry to translate evidence into practice and promote clinical scholarship
Perform advanced nursing skills for specialty and subspecialty nursing practice
Lead quality improvement and manage care delivery models across settings
Leverage strong networks to advance in professional role