How Long Does It Take to Become a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?

Becoming a nurse practitioner requires six to eight years of education, depending on your current qualifications and education level. 

Nurse practitioners are well-educated medical professionals with a wealth of health knowledge and patient-care experience. Such expertise is well-rewarded in the job market but can take time to develop. 

In this article, you will learn how long it can take you to become a nurse practitioner, what they do, their job outlook, and the path you need to take to become one.

As you gain a deeper understanding of this fascinating career and its place in the health care field, you will also better understand why it takes as long as it does—and whether it’s the right path for you. 

If you’re ready to prepare for a role as a nurse practitioner, enroll in the University of Minnesota’s Integrative Nursing Specialization. You’ll have the opportunity to assess the current and future role of integrative nursing in health care in as little as two months. Upon completion, you’ll have had the opportunity to gain the skills you need to succeed in nursing.

What is a nurse practitioner? Duties and job outlook 

A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) with a master’s degree and additional specialized training who can assess patients, diagnose medical conditions, and prescribe treatment plans. Not to be confused with registered nurses (RN), NPs do much of the same work as physicians by diagnosing and treating patients. However, in some states, NPs must have the approval of a physician to prescribe medication—a responsibility that physicians are allowed in all states. 

What does a nurse practitioner do? Primary duties and responsibilities 

NPs perform many important duties to provide patients with quality health care. Some of these duties include: 

• Diagnosing health problems and providing treatment 

• Ordering, performing, and analyzing diagnostic tests

• Taking samples, such as bloodwork 

• Prescribing medication (in some states) 

• Counseling patients

• Performing some non-complex medical procedures, such as suturing a wound

• Educating patients on health-related issues and lifestyle changes 

What do nurse practitioners earn? Job outlook and salary

The job outlook for NPs is very positive. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), career opportunities for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners are expected to grow by 35 percent (much faster than average) between 2024 and 2034 [1]. By comparison, the BLS projects that the overall job growth in the US will be 3.1 percent between 2024 and 2034 [2].

With such high demand comes a high earning potential. As of May 2024, NPs earned a median annual salary of $132,050, several times higher than that of the national individual median salary of $49,500 for the same year [3, 4]. 

Who gets paid more: PA or NP?

Physician assistants (PAs) and NPs earn similar pay, although PAs may earn slightly more on average. Compared to the NP median pay of $132,050, PAs earn an average median pay of $133,260, according to the BLS [3,4]. 

Read more: What Is a Physician Assistant? (+ How to Become One)

How many years of school to be a nurse practitioner?

Nurse practitioners must have either a master’s or a doctoral degree in nursing. As a result, it usually takes six to eight years of schooling to become a nurse practitioner. 

These years of schooling are typically broken down as follows: 

Note: A master’s degree is not required to pursue a DNP, so the amount of time it would take to obtain both a bachelor’s and doctoral degree would be approximately eight years. The timeline for obtaining all three degrees is approximately 10 years. 

How to become a nurse practitioner

It can take some time to gain the necessary knowledge, experience, and qualifications to become a nurse practitioner. This is how you would do it—from start to finish.

1. Get a bachelor’s degree.

To qualify for a master’s or doctoral program in nursing, you must first have a bachelor’s degree. While a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) will likely best prepare you for graduate study, you can actually apply to a graduate degree program in nursing with a non-nursing degree as well. 

Already an RN? 

Many registered nurses receive their training through either an accredited nursing program or an associate degree program in nursing. As a result, they have the relevant training to work professionally but lack a bachelor’s degree. 

Registered nurses in this common situation should consider taking an RN to BSN program, which can guide them to a BSN in as little as nine months. To accommodate those with busy schedules, flexible online programs are available through many education providers. 

2. Become an RN. 

To become a nurse practitioner, you must first also be a registered nurse. 

The educational requirements to become a registered nurse vary from state to state. Still, the three most common routes are through a BSN, an associate degree, or an accredited nursing program. Contact the nursing regulatory body (NRB) in your state to see what you need to do in order to qualify for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Once you have met the proper qualifications in your state, you can take the NCLEX-RN. Make sure to study, though, because the NCLEX-RN tests your knowledge with questions that require critical thinking and informed decision-making rather than just rote memorization. 

3. Continue nurse practitioner schooling with a graduate degree in nursing.

You can obtain two graduate degrees to become an NP: a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). 

An MSN usually requires two years of full-time study and deepens student knowledge on topics such as health care informatics and evidence-based practices. A DNP is the terminal degree in the nursing field. It expands on the topics covered in an MSN while preparing students for leadership roles. Depending on prior experience and credentials, it can take anywhere from 18 months to four years to complete. 

Whether you decide to enter an MSN or DNP program will depend on your professional goals and life circumstances. Either degree, though, qualifies you to become a nurse practitioner. 

4. Get licensed. 

Once you have received your graduate degree, you are now qualified to sit for either of the certification exams used to license nurse practitioners. 

These two tests are the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) exam and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) exam. Though the two tests differ somewhat in their focuses—the ANCC is more research-focused and the AANP is more clinically focused—you only need to take and pass one test to be licensed as an NP in your state. 

Explore our free career resources

Subscribe to Career Chat to discover answers to your career questions, and evaluate whether a career in health care is right for you by exploring these helpful resources from Coursera:

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• Learn more: AI in Health Care: Uses, Benefits, and Concerns

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