4 Best Nurse Practitioner Programs in Connecticut – 2024

Written By: Editorial Staff @ NursingProcess.org

After you attend one of the accredited nurse practitioner schools in Connecticut and pass your certification exam, you’ll be able to practice through a collaborative agreement with a physician in your field of specialty. Connecticut’s healthcare planners are increasingly counting on NPs to take responsibility for the provision of primary care in that state. Additionally, NPs’ scope of practice in The Nutmeg State allows them some freedoms that NPs don’t have in other states: NPs can sign death certificates and handicap parking permits. Connecticut NPs earn $131,490 a year on average, and the need for their services is expected to increase by nearly 48 percent within the coming decade. The list below is of the best nurse practitioner programs in Connecticut for 2024.

WHAT ARE THE BEST NURSE PRACTITIONER PROGRAMS IN CONNECTICUT (ONLINE & CAMPUS) FOR 2024?

(Based on our ranking methodology, the following are the 4 Best NP programs in Connecticut for the year 2024.)

1) University Of Connecticut - Storrs

Programs Offered: MSN and Post-Master’s Certificate

The University of Connecticut ranks among the top 20 public research universities in the United States. It’s the only public research university in New England. UConn’s nurse practitioner programs in Connecticut focus on preparing nurse practitioners who will take leadership roles in advancing the health of individuals and communities both at the local and global level. If you want to become a nurse practitioner in Connecticut, the UConn School of Nursing offers four NP options in conjunction with its MSN program and four that can be taken as certificate concentrations.

MSN Concentrations: Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

The UConn School of Nursing is not accepting students into its MSN-affiliated NP programs for 2020, but it is accepting applicants for 2021. All four nurse practitioner specialties can be completed in four semesters by full-time students and in seven semesters by part-time students. The Adult Gerontology Primary Care and Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialties require 45 credits. The Family Nurse Practitioner program consists of 48 credits. The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner pathway primarily utilizes a distance-learning format though students are required to make three visits to the university’s Storrs campus during the course of their studies.

Post-Master’s Certificate Concentrations: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP), Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP), Neonatal Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP)

UConn’s NP certificate concentrations are open to any nurse who earned a master’s degree in nursing with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The AGACNP and AGPCNP tracks require 30 credits. The NACNP specialty consists of 26 credits while the NNP specialty involves 29 credits. Students may be able to get credit toward completion of certificate training for coursework they have taken in their previous graduate studies.

2) Yale University - West Haven

Programs Offered: MSN and Post Graduate APRN Certificates

Yale University is the third-oldest institution in the United States. It is an Ivy League university, celebrated for the excellence of both its academic teaching and its research. When Yale University’s School of Nursing was founded in 1923, it became the first nursing school in the U.S. to use an academic rather than an apprenticeship educational model to prepare students for nursing careers.

Yale’s advanced practice programs are not only among the best nurse practitioner programs in Connecticut, they’re also among the finest in the nation. “U.S. News & World Report” ranks its overall MSN program among the top 20 in the United States. Its psychiatric-mental health specialty is ranked sixth in the nation, while its pediatric nurse practitioner specialty comes in at Number Five. Yale offers seven nurse practitioner tracks in conjunction with its MSN program. Nurses who already hold MSN degrees can expand their scope of practice further through four NP options.

MSN Concentrations: Adult/Gerontology-Acute Care, Adult/Gerontology-Primary Care, Family Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Acute Care, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care, Psychiatric-Mental Health, and Women's Health Nurse Practioner

Yale’s MSN-affiliated advance practice tracks are designed to be completed in two years. Though clinical rotations begin during the first year, their heaviest concentration is in Year 2.

The AGACNP specialty entails 49.6-semester credits and 994 clinical hours. The AGPCNP specialty consists of 47.5-semester credits and 660 clinical hours. Nurses who are interested in becoming FNPs must complete 57-semester credits and 720 clinical hours. The PNP-AC track requires 50-semester credits and 604.5 clinical hours while the PNP-PC specialty requires 44.5-semester credits and 518.5 clinical hours. If you’re interested in acquiring the skills associated with the PMHNP track, you will need to finish 49.4-semester credits and 774 clinical hours. The WHNP program involves 42-semester credits and 634 clinical hours; this program can be combined with Yale’s midwifery program.

Post Graduate APRN Certificate Concentrations: Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Yale’s advanced practice certificate pathway enables RNs who already have an MSN to acquire clinical competencies in a new specialty. Study plans are individualized to account for coursework an applicant has already completed as part of his or her master’s degree education. Most students complete their certificate training within two years. The coursework is similar to the specialty training classes students take in pursuit of their MSNs.

3) Sacred Heart University - Fairfield

Programs Offered: MSN and Post-BSN to DNP

Sacred Heart University is the second-largest Catholic university in the New England region, but it is open to students from all religious and cultural backgrounds. It’s an online nurse practitioner program in Connecticut: Its MSN and post-BSN to DNP tracks are specifically designed for working nurses who want the convenience of distance learning while they’re studying to enhance their scope of clinical competency. Sacred Heart students have the opportunity to pursue a single NP track either in conjunction with an MSN degree or as part of a post-BSN to DNP concentration.

MSN Concentrations: Family Nurse Practitioner

Online classwork for the MSN-affiliated Family Nurse Practice specialty is presented in an asynchronous format so that nurses can proceed through their studies at their own pace. The program is designed to be completed within three years. Clinical rotations are scheduled for locations in which students live or work; however, residents of New York State will not be allowed to complete their clinical rotations in New York due to restrictions placed by the New York Office of the Professions.

Post-BSN to DNP Concentrations: Family Nurse Practitioner

Students can enroll either full-time or part-time in the Family Nurse Practitioner track that’s taught in conjunction with Sacred Heart’s post-BSN to DNP program. Full-time students typically complete the track in three years while part-time students take four years. The FNP specialty requires 69 credits, and it’s taught utilizing a distance-learning format.

4) Quinnipiac University - Hamden

Programs Offered: MSN

Quinnipiac University has a unique approach to higher education that combines a traditional academic approach with multiple experiential learning opportunities. The career site Zippia has called Quinnipiac the top university in the U.S. for employment opportunities following graduation. Two NP tracks are offered in conjunction with Quinnipiac’s Master’s of Nursing Science degree. These two nurse practitioner programs in Connecticut are designed for working nurses; they can be pursued either full-time or part-time.

MSN Concentrations: Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner

The Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner track involves 46 credits while the Family Nurse Practitioner track entails 52 credits. Students can begin their studies either in the fall semester (August) or in the spring semester (January.) MSN studies take two years to complete; at the end of those two years, students can either look for employment opportunities or transition into Quinnipiac’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.


VIEW OUR RANKING METHODOLOGY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the Total Number of Accredited NP Programs in Connecticut?

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that currently there are Twenty accredited nurse practitioner programs in Connecticut.




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