The FNP Concentration is designed to prepare primary care providers to work in ambulatory settings such as community health centers, outpatient clinics, student health and women's health centers and private practices. The focus is on preparing nurse practitioners for rural and urban under-served areas. It is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and the curriculum is consistent with the Curriculum Guidelines published by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). The curriculum includes 600 hours of supervised clinical practice in the community. Each of the clinical courses requires some clinical practice hours, varying according to the objectives of the specific course, and 270 hours of this practice is part of the culminating internship.

Students are required to successfully complete a comprehensive examination and graduates are eligible to apply for legal certification to the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing and for professional certification to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). Legal certification by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing authorizes the nurse practitioner to use the credentials, CRNP. Graduates first are certified professionally, then legally by the State Board of Nursing with the designation as CRNP.

The Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration was the first of the master's level programming to be offered by Clarion, Edinboro and Slippery Rock Universities.  The result of several years of discussion and recommendations by a task force of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the first classes were taught in the summer of 1995.  Until 2001, the program was jointly sponsored by Clarion and Slippery Rock Universities with Edinboro University conducting an individual FNP Program.  In August of 2001 approval was granted by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing to add Edinboro to the joint program, resulting in the current 3-university consortium.