Frontier Nursing University offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree and post-graduate certificates leading to education as a certified nurse-midwife (CNM), family nurse practitioner (FNP), women’s health care nurse practitioner (WHNP) and/or psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP). FNU seeks to meet the needs of prospective nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who do not want to leave their home communities to obtain the graduate education they desire to fulfill their professional aspirations.
Didactic coursework is delivered using web-based, distance education courses allowing students to achieve their higher education goals without leaving home for classes. Using clinics, hospitals, and preceptors in their own community allows students to get the hands-on clinical experience required for these exciting health care professions. Students also participate in one to two campus immersion experiences, including an orientation prior to beginning studies, and a five-day skills intensive workshop prior to beginning the clinical practicum.
SPECIALTY TRACKS
EDUCATION OPTIONS
DEGREE PATHS
Frontier Nursing University is for RNs at different education and career stages:
- RNs with a Bachelor’s Degree: Registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing may pursue a Master of Science in Nursing at FNU. Students who complete a specialty program earn an MSN degree with the option to complete a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.
- Nurse-Midwives & Nurse Practitioners: If you are currently a Certified Nurse-Midwife or Nurse Practitioner, our Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) is an excellent option if you wish to add a specialty. You also have the option to complete a DNP. If you are only interested in adding a DNP degree without a specialty, our Post-Master’s DNP program is a great fit for you.
- Non-Matriculating Students: Frontier Nursing University (FNU) offers graduate and continuing education courses for licensed registered nurses. These online courses offer the opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills to expand the scope of clinical practice, to refresh the knowledge and skills of experienced advanced practice nurses, to gain the graduate credits necessary for prescriptive authority, or to become a better preceptor. Click here to learn more.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
As an FNU student, you can align your education to fit your schedule, your career and the needs of your family. Full-time study is estimated to require a commitment of 40 hours per week, while part-time study is estimated at 30 hours per week. Course terms are 11 weeks long with a two-week break between terms. There are four course terms per year.
FNU has two Programs of Study (POSs) for each program; they are not designed on a full-time/part-time basis but more around the length of time a student chooses to complete the program.
While we have several options to choose from based on your education and career level, this is one popular path for RNs who hold a bachelor’s degree and wish to earn both an MSN and a DNP:
- Frontier Bound – Attend “Frontier Bound,” a three-day new student orientation in Kentucky.
- Online Studies – Complete online didactic coursework for Levels I and II at home.
- Clinical Bound – Return to the Kentucky campus for a five-day clinical skills intensive.
- Clinical Practicum – Complete 750 clinical hours under the guidance of a preceptor in your home community.
- Comprehensive Exam – Successfully complete a comprehensive exam for your specialty track and receive an MSN (or Post-Graduate Certificate).
- MSN or PGC Conferred – Graduate with your MSN degree or Post-Graduate Certificate.
Learn more about the journey of an FNU student.
Accreditation
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master’s degrees and doctoral degrees. The nurse-midwifery post-graduate certificate and master’s programs, and doctor of nurse practice degree are fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME). The Doctor of Nursing Practice, the Master of Science in Nursing program and the post-master’s certificates, including the nurse-midwifery, family nurse practitioner, and women’s health care nurse practitioner tracks, are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Learn more about our accreditation here.
SUCCEEDING TOGETHER
The FNU community is comprised of men and women from all walks of life with one common passion: improving the primary care of women and families. Read the stories of FNU alumni, students, preceptors, staff, faculty and couriers that are a part of this greater mission of serving the underserved. Listen to our podcast and delve deeper into FNU and the individuals who are making a daily difference in advanced practice nursing, midwifery, education, and healthcare across the country. Learn more about our Culture of Caring and our efforts to increase diversity in the nursing and midwifery professions.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).