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Key takeaway: To become a nurse practitioner you must first become a registered nurse, then earn a graduate degree (an MSN or DNP), pass a national certification exam in your chosen patient population, and obtain advanced practice (APRN) licensure from your state board. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $132,300 for nurse practitioners and projects 40.1 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS, 2025) -- one of the fastest growth rates of any U.S. occupation.
Becoming a nurse practitioner (NP) is one of the highest-return paths in healthcare, but it is also a multi-year, multi-step process with no shortcuts. An NP is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who can assess and diagnose patients, order and interpret tests, develop treatment plans, and – in most states – prescribe medication and practice with significant independence. Reaching that level of authority requires building the registered nurse foundation first, then layering graduate education, national certification, and a second, advanced license on top of it.
This guide lays out the full pathway in the order you will actually complete it: earn a nursing degree, pass the NCLEX-RN to become a registered nurse, gain clinical experience, complete a master’s (MSN) or doctoral (DNP) program with a population focus, pass a national certification exam, and apply for state APRN licensure. Along the way you will see verified wage and demand data and links to the specific program pages that match each step. For the big-picture overview of nursing education, start with the Online Nursing Programs Guide.
Plan on roughly six to eight years total. That typically breaks down as four years for a bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN), one to two years of registered nurse experience, and two to four years for a master’s (MSN) or doctoral (DNP) program. Accelerated and bridge tracks can compress parts of this timeline, but every NP must complete an RN credential, a graduate degree, national certification, and state licensure.
You need a graduate nursing degree – either a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – with a defined patient-population focus such as family or adult-gerontology. A bachelor’s degree alone does not qualify you to practice as an NP. The graduate degree is what makes you eligible to sit for national NP certification and to apply for advanced practice licensure.
No. The NP role is built on the registered nurse license, so you must become an RN before you can practice as an NP. However, you do not have to take a slow path: direct-entry MSN programs let people with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree earn RN licensure and an NP-level graduate credential in a single integrated track.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $132,300 for nurse practitioners (BLS, 2025). That is well above the $97,550 national median for registered nurses, reflecting the advanced education, certification, and prescriptive authority the role requires. See the Nursing Salary Guide for a full wage breakdown by role and degree level.
For most candidates, yes. NPs earn a six-figure national median wage, and the BLS projects 40.1 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034 with about 29,500 annual openings (BLS, 2025) – among the strongest outlooks of any occupation. Weigh that against the time and cost of graduate school; see Is a Nursing Degree Worth It? to run the numbers for your situation.
Not currently. A master’s degree (MSN) is the standard minimum to become an NP today. The DNP is a terminal practice doctorate that some employers prefer and that professional organizations have advocated as a future standard, but as of now national certification and state licensure accept the MSN for NP practice.
Before mapping the steps, it helps to see why so many nurses pursue this path. Nurse practitioners sit near the top of the nursing pay scale and in one of the fastest-growing corners of the healthcare workforce.
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National median annual wage | $132,300 | BLS, 2025 |
| Projected employment growth, 2024-2034 | 40.1% | BLS Employment Projections |
| Projected annual openings | ~29,500 | BLS Employment Projections |
| Minimum degree to practice | MSN (master’s) | Standard requirement |
| Required credentials | RN license, national NP certification, state APRN license | State boards of nursing |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and Employment Projections.
That 40.1 percent projected growth rate is many times the average for all occupations, driven by an aging population, expanded access to primary care, and the growing use of NPs as primary care providers in rural and underserved areas. For wage and outlook figures across every nursing role, see the live data table on the Nursing Salary Guide and the role-by-role breakdown in the Nursing Careers guide.
The path has six core steps. Each one is a prerequisite for the next, so the order matters.
Your first move is to earn a nursing degree that leads to RN licensure. The cleanest route is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), the four-year degree most graduate NP programs expect for admission. A BSN builds the clinical, leadership, research, and community-health foundation that graduate study assumes.
You have a few entry options depending on where you are starting:
A BSN is strongly recommended over stopping at an associate degree if your goal is to become an NP, because nearly all MSN and DNP programs require a bachelor’s for admission. Accredited online programs award the same degree and meet the same clinical requirements as on-campus programs; see online vs on-campus nursing.
A nursing degree alone does not let you practice. After graduation you must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) and apply for licensure through your state board of nursing. Passing the NCLEX-RN and receiving your license makes you a registered nurse – the foundational credential every nurse practitioner is built on.
Becoming an RN is a milestone in its own right: the BLS reports a $97,550 national median annual wage for registered nurses. It is also the point at which you begin earning while you build toward the NP role. Verify your state’s specific application, background-check, and fee requirements with your board of nursing, since licensure is regulated at the state level.
Most NP graduate programs prefer or require some hands-on RN experience before or during enrollment, and many population specialties expect experience in a related clinical setting. One to two years is a common expectation, though requirements vary by program and specialty.
This step is not just a box to check. Bedside experience sharpens the clinical assessment, pharmacology, and patient-communication skills that advanced practice demands, and it helps you choose a population focus that fits the patients you most want to serve. Working as an RN also lets you complete your graduate degree part-time and online while staying employed, which many candidates use to limit debt. See the Nursing Careers guide for how RN roles map to advancement.
This is the step that defines you as an NP candidate. You must complete a graduate nursing degree with an advanced practice nurse practitioner focus:
Within your graduate program you select a patient-population focus, which determines the patients you are certified and licensed to treat. Common NP concentrations include:
Your population focus is one of the most consequential decisions in the whole pathway, because it dictates which certification exam you take and what your license authorizes you to do. Browse all options on the Nursing Concentrations hub. Choose an accredited program – accreditation is a prerequisite for certification eligibility; see the nursing accreditation guide.
After earning your graduate degree, you must pass a national certification exam in your population focus before you can be licensed to practice. Certification is awarded by national credentialing bodies, and the specific exam depends on your track. For example, family and adult-gerontology NPs are commonly certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB).
National certification verifies that you have met the education, clinical-hour, and competency standards for your specialty. It is the bridge between finishing your degree and applying for advanced practice licensure – states require it before they grant APRN authority. Confirm the exact certifying body and exam for your chosen population focus with your graduate program and your state board.
The final step is to apply for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) licensure through your state board of nursing. This is a second, separate license layered on top of your RN license, and it is what legally authorizes you to practice as a nurse practitioner – diagnosing, treating, and, in most states, prescribing.
A critical detail: NP scope of practice varies by state. States fall into three broad categories:
Because of this variation, prescriptive authority and independence depend on where you practice. If you plan to work in a particular state – or to practice across state lines – confirm that state’s APRN licensure rules, collaborative-agreement requirements, and prescriptive authority with its board of nursing before you finalize your plans.
There is no single timeline, because candidates enter from different places. The table below maps the most common starting points to the path ahead.
| Your starting point | Typical path to NP |
|---|---|
| High school graduate | BSN (4 yrs) -> NCLEX-RN -> RN experience -> MSN/DNP -> certification -> APRN license |
| RN with an ADN | RN-to-BSN bridge -> MSN/DNP -> certification -> APRN license |
| RN with a BSN | MSN or DNP -> certification -> APRN license |
| Non-nursing bachelor’s degree | Direct-entry / accelerated MSN -> NCLEX-RN -> certification -> APRN license |
Whichever path you are on, the four non-negotiables are the same: an RN license, a graduate degree with a population focus, national certification, and state APRN licensure.
Pay is a major reason nurses pursue the NP role. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse practitioners earn a national median annual wage of $132,300 (BLS, 2025) – about $34,750 more than the $97,550 national median for registered nurses. The table below renders current BLS wages and growth projections for every nursing role live at build time, so you can see exactly how the NP role compares.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, national median annual wages from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS); growth projections from BLS Employment Projections.
The earnings step-up reflects the additional education the role requires. College Scorecard reports that master’s-prepared nursing graduates report median earnings of $107,358 one year after completion, rising to $119,619 by five years out (College Scorecard, 2026) – and NPs, who hold a graduate degree plus advanced certification and prescriptive authority, sit at the high end of that group. For full salary detail by degree level and role, see the Nursing Salary Guide.
Demand for NPs is exceptional. The BLS projects nurse practitioner employment to grow 40.1 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 29,500 annual openings (BLS, 2025). For context, that growth rate is many times the average across all occupations and among the highest of any role tracked by the BLS.
Several forces drive this:
A strong outlook does not guarantee an easy path – the graduate education and certification requirements are demanding – but it does mean qualified NPs enter a hiring market with substantial, sustained demand. For role-by-role demand context, see the Nursing Careers guide.
Because every NP must complete an accredited graduate degree, program choice is one of your highest-leverage decisions. Look for these features:
These accredited schools offer online nursing programs and report nursing completions, ordered by our independent BOC Score:
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Accrediting Bureau of Health Education SchoolsIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
You now have the full pathway: BSN, RN licensure, experience, a graduate degree with a population focus, national certification, and state APRN licensure. To act on it:
Wage and outlook figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and Employment Projections (2025 snapshot), and earnings figures from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026). Figures in the data table are rendered live from BLS data at build time. Licensure, certification, and scope-of-practice rules vary by state; confirm requirements with your state board of nursing.
Data verified: June 27, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
