Healthy families, healthy communities
Our Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track within the DNP degree program prepares you to provide comprehensive, holistic primary care for individuals across the lifespan, with a focus on health promotion, wellness and the diagnosis and management of stable acute and chronic conditions.
FNP practice focuses on:
- Promoting physical and psychosocial health
- Preventing disease and supporting long-term wellness
- Diagnosing and managing stable acute and chronic conditions
- Recognizing and referring patients requiring urgent, emergent or specialized care
You will learn to care for individuals across the lifespan, from infancy through older adulthood.
Program format
The FNP track follows the standard DNP program format: online coursework combining required live online sessions with asynchronous work, plus up to one on-campus intensive each quarter. Clinical placements begin in spring quarter of year two. All clinical placements are arranged by the UW School of Nursing and are located in Washington state.
Choosing the right track
The FNP track prepares you to care for patients of all ages, from infancy through older adulthood, across primary and ambulatory care settings. Two considerations shape the right choice: the population you want to serve and the acuity of the patients you want to care for.
To focus your practice and clinical preparation exclusively on children and adolescents, explore our Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Primary Care track. To practice with adults and older adults only, explore our Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track.
If you want to care for patients with acute, critical or unstable conditions, explore our Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Acute Care tracks.
What makes our DNP-FNP track different?
The FNP track combines nationally recognized primary care preparation, hands-on simulation and coordinated clinical placements. You’ll build the clinical judgment to care for individuals and families across the lifespan while learning from faculty with expertise in health promotion, primary care and family health.
A top 15 DNP-FNP program
UW’s Family Nurse Practitioner specialty is ranked among the top 15 nationally by U.S. News & World Report for 2026.
Build clinical competency through hands-on simulation
Strengthen your assessment, diagnostic reasoning and patient communication skills during your on-campus intensives in our INACSL-endorsed Simulation Center, a controlled, psychologically safe environment for developing advanced practice competencies.
We coordinate your clinical placements
UW works with UW Medicine and an expansive network of clinical and community partners to integrate primary care experiences into your program plan.
Provide comprehensive care across the lifespan
Curriculum
You’ll build a foundation in population health, health policy, evidence appraisal and translation, leadership and health systems alongside DNP students from every specialty track, while advancing your knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics and comprehensive health assessment.
Specialty coursework in health promotion, diagnostic reasoning and the primary care management of health across the lifespan leads into a sequence of advanced clinical practica, clinical immersion and your DNP Project.
National certifications
Graduates of our DNP-FNP program may be eligible to apply for the following national certifications:
- Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (FNP-BC): American Nurses Credentialing Center
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C): Nurse Practitioners Certification Board
Hear from FNP track graduates
“I had the most amazing clinical preceptors at the UW SoN. It’s hard to choose one particular moment! I think my rural rotation as a whole was such a meaningful experience. I was able to learn firsthand the barriers that persons in rural areas face in low-resource settings that are not as evident in urban settings.
It was eye-opening and motivated me to improve access to my patients who live in rural settings and advocate for them as best as I can from this urban oasis.”
Graduate spotlight
For her DNP Project, Bridget Chandler worked to increase immunization rates at Seattle Public Schools and support families navigating vaccine hesitancy. The work earned her a national award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Application deadlines
You may apply to each specialty track once per admissions year.
Review application requirements
Apply through the UW Graduate School