University of Miami ACNP Programs

University of Miami offers 3 Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner tracks:

  • Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – AGNP Acute Care
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – BSN to DNP AGNP Acute Care
  • Post-Master’s Certificate – AGNP Acute Care

The programs utilize the state-of-the-art Simulation Hospital Advancing Research and Education (S.H.A.R.E.®), a 41,000 square foot facility with innovative simulation-based education technology.

Program Tracks Overview

Program NameEst. TuitionEst. Duration
MSN – AGNP Acute Care~$45,2881.5 years (FT, 3 semesters)
or 2.5 years (PT, 5 semesters)
DNP – BSN to DNP AGNP Acute Care~$94,0003 years (FT, 6 semesters)
or 6 years (PT, 12 semesters)
Post-Master’s Certificate – AGNP Acute Care~$30,000Varies (gap analysis), ~1–1.5 years typical

All programs hold full CCNE accreditation through 2031 with a 96% MSN overall pass rate and U.S. News & World Report rankings of #25 for MSN and #39 for DNP.

Master of Science in Nursing – AGNP Acute Care

The estimated cost for the MSN AGNP Acute Care program is approximately $45,288 and takes 1.5 years (3 semesters full-time) or 2.5 years (5 semesters part-time) to complete. The program prepares nurses for leadership roles caring for acutely and critically ill patients across the continuum of acute care services with emphasis on research and evidence-based practice.

MSN Admissions Requirements

Academic Credentials:

  • Bachelor’s degree in nursing from regionally-accredited institution
  • Degree from NLN or CCNE accredited program preferred
  • Registered nurses with Bachelor’s degree in other relevant science fields may be considered
  • Direct entry Masters ineligible
  • Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0

Clinical Experience:

  • Minimum one year critical care experience required (ICU, SICU, CCU, CVICU, Step down, PICU, ER, Flight Nursing, trauma ED, Trauma ICU, Neuro ICU)
  • Others encouraged to apply for individual review

Licensure:

  • Current, unrestricted RN license to practice in Florida or state/territory of current practice
  • International students must have U.S. Social Security number for Florida RN license

Application Materials:

  • Three letters of recommendation (at least one from academic source)
  • Statement of purpose discussing reasons for applying and personal/educational/professional goals
  • Current CV/resume including work, volunteer activities, licensures, certifications, awards, professional organizations, academic experiences
  • Introductory statistics course completion
  • Applications submitted through NursingCAS

Additional Requirements:

  • Mandatory online pre-immersion course completion
  • Valid immunizations, negative drug test, FBI background clearance
  • BLS & ACLS certifications from American Heart Association
  • Background report without infractions required
  • $1,500 non-refundable deposit within two weeks of admission

Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2026 entry (full-time 3 semesters): Application opens September 1, 2025; Deadline June 1, 2026
  • Spring 2027 entry (part-time 5 semesters): Application opens April 1, 2026; Deadline October 1, 2026
  • Rolling admission process with interviews at faculty discretion

MSN Curriculum

The 37-credit program emphasizes holistic patient care with collaborative, interprofessional team approach and guided clinical experiences paired with acute care nurse practitioners, physicians, or collaborative teams.

Full-Time Track (3 Semesters) – 37 Credits:

Fall Semester I (13 credits):

NUR 601 – Advanced Pharmacology (3 credits)
This course applies advanced pharmacology and pharmacokinetics to safe prescribing decisions for diverse patient populations.

NUR 606 – Advanced Practice Preparation (0 credits)
This preparatory course reviews key content in pharmacology, physiology, and health assessment and builds graduate study and academic writing skills.

NUR 610 – Adult Gerontology Acute Care I (4 credits)
This course introduces adult-gerontology acute care practice concepts and builds a foundation for managing acute and complex adult health needs.

NUR 612 – Physiology/Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 credits)
This course examines normal physiology and disease mechanisms that drive clinical signs, symptoms, and health outcomes.

NUR 613 – Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning (3 credits)
This course develops comprehensive assessment and diagnostic reasoning skills, including age-specific screening and basic interpretation of labs and diagnostic studies.

Spring Semester I (13 credits):

NUR 608 – Concepts in Advanced Practice Nursing (3 credits)
This course covers core advanced practice concepts such as health promotion, policy, ethics, epidemiology, health technology, and role competencies, with attention to cultural care.

NUR 621 – Diagnostics and Nursing Interventions for Acute Care Nursing (3 credits)
This course focuses on diagnostic testing and acute care interventions, with emphasis on clinical decision-making and team-based assessment.

NUR 625 – Adult Gerontology Acute Care II (7 credits)
This course combines advanced clinical and theory work in managing adult patients across post-acute and residential settings, including long-term and home care.

Summer Semester I (11 credits):

NUR 609 – Professionalism in Advanced Practice Nursing (2 credits)
This course strengthens professional identity and leadership skills for advanced practice roles across varied patient populations.

NUR 630 – Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice (3 credits)
This course teaches research design, quantitative and qualitative methods, and evidence appraisal to support practice improvement and better clinical outcomes.

NUR 638 – Adult Gerontology Acute Care III (6 credits)
This course advances clinical management skills for adult patients while integrating evidence and practice evaluation in advanced care settings.

Total Program Credits (37 credits)
The curriculum totals 37 credit hours across advanced pharmacology, assessment, pathophysiology, acute care management, professionalism, and evidence-based practice.

More curriculum details are available here.

MSN Clinicals

The program requires 616 total clinical hours preparing students for wide range of employment opportunities in acute care inpatient settings and specialty areas. Students complete clinical experiences in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties paired with community preceptors with high-level expertise in managing critical care patients.

Clinical Hour Breakdown:

  • NUR 613: 28 lab hours (not included in clinical total)
  • NUR 610: 112 clinical hours
  • NUR 621: 56 clinical hours
  • NUR 625: 224 clinical hours
  • NUR 638: 224 clinical hours
  • Total: 616 clinical hours

Clinical Settings:

  • ICU, CCU, Emergency Department, Intensive Care Units
  • Specialty areas: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Neurology, Cardiovascular surgery, Neurosurgery, General surgery
  • Transplant units, Trauma centers, Rapid response teams
  • Both inpatient and outpatient settings
  • Faculty coordinate clinical experiences with preceptors
  • Final coursework allows specialty area or location focus

Certification Eligibility: Graduates eligible to take AGACNP certification exam (American Nurses Credentialing Center) and ACNP-AG certification exam (American Association of Critical-Care Nurses).

Doctor of Nursing Practice – BSN to DNP AGNP Acute Care

The estimated cost for the BSN to DNP AGNP Acute Care program is approximately $94,000 and takes 3 years (6 semesters full-time) or 6 years (12 semesters part-time) to complete. The DNP represents the emerging standard for certification and licensure in advanced nursing practice, preparing nurses for leadership roles in caring for acutely and critically ill patients.

DNP Admissions Requirements

Academic Credentials:

  • Bachelor’s degree (preferably in nursing) from regionally-accredited institution
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • Introductory statistics course completion

Professional Requirements:

  • Current, unrestricted RN license in Florida or state/territory of current practice
  • Current Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers certification (American Heart Association only)
  • National certification in nursing specialty
  • Minimum one year critical care experience (for Acute Care track)

Application Materials:

  • Two letters of recommendation (preferably from individuals with doctorates in nursing, at least one academic source)
  • Statement of professional goals
  • Current CV/resume
  • Applications submitted through NursingCAS

Additional Requirements:

  • Mandatory online pre-immersion course
  • Valid immunizations, negative drug test, FBI background clearance
  • Clinical rotations require background report without infractions
  • BLS & ACLS certifications from American Heart Association

DNP Curriculum

The 70-credit BSN to DNP Acute Care program integrates advanced practice nursing education with doctoral-level leadership, research, and systems thinking courses preparing graduates for terminal practice degree roles.

Full-Time Track (6 Semesters) – 70 Credits:

Fall Semester I (12 credits):

  • NUR 601 Advanced Pharmacology (3 credits)
  • NUR 606 Advanced Practice Preparation (0 credits)
  • NUR 612 Physiology/Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 credits)
  • NUR 655 Health Care Management, Economics, Financing, and Ethics (3 credits)
  • NUR 664 Applied Biostatistics for Nursing Practice (3 credits)

Spring Semester I (13 credits):

  • NUR 654 The Evolution of Nursing Practice and Application of Theory in Nursing Practice (3 credits)
  • NUR 658 Health Policy Development and Implementation (3 credits)
  • NUR 663 Research (3 credits)
  • NUR 676 Practice Immersion I: Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (4 credits: 1 class, 3 clinical, 168 hours)

Summer Semester I (11 credits):

  • NUR 613 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning (3 credits: 2 class, 1 lab, 28 lab hours)
  • NUR 657 Population Based Health and Health Care Disparities (3 credits)
  • NUR 660 Translational Science (3 credits)
  • NUR 688 Practice Immersion II: Personal, Professional and Leadership Development (2 credits: 0 class, 2 clinical, 112 hours)

Fall Semester II (13 credits):

  • NUR 610 Adult Gerontology Acute Care I (4 credits: 2 class, 2 clinical, 112 hours)
  • NUR 656 Global Health (3 credits)
  • NUR 659 Technology in Health Care (3 credits: 2 class, 1 clinical, 56 hours)
  • NUR 672 DNP Scholarly Project Seminar I (3 credits: 1 class, 2 clinical, 112 hours)

Spring Semester II (13 credits):

  • NUR 621 Diagnostics and Nursing Interventions for Acute Care Nursing (3 credits: 2 class, 1 clinical, 56 hours)
  • NUR 625 Adult Gerontology Acute Care II (7 credits: 3 class, 4 clinical, 224 hours)
  • NUR 673 DNP Scholarly Project Seminar II (3 credits: 1 class, 2 clinical, 112 hours)

Summer Semester II (8 credits):

  • NUR 609 Professionalism in Advanced Practice Nursing (2 credits)
  • NUR 638 Adult Gerontology Acute Care III (6 credits: 2 class, 4 clinical, 224 hours)

Part-Time Track (12 Semesters) – 70 Credits:

Program follows extended timeline distributing coursework across 6 years with same total credits and clinical requirements as full-time track.

Degree Requirements:

  • Complete all coursework with overall GPA of 3.0 or better
  • Complete all required clinical and practice immersion hours
  • Successfully complete DNP scholarly project before graduation
  • Lock-step program requiring successful semester completion to progress

DNP Clinicals

The BSN to DNP Acute Care track requires 1,176 total clinical hours integrating advanced practice clinical experiences with practice immersion experiences focused on quality improvement, patient safety, and professional leadership development.

Clinical Hour Breakdown:

Advanced Practice Clinical Hours:

  • NUR 613: 28 lab hours (not counted in total)
  • NUR 610: 112 clinical hours
  • NUR 621: 56 clinical hours
  • NUR 625: 224 clinical hours
  • NUR 638: 224 clinical hours
  • Advanced Practice Subtotal: 616 hours

Practice Immersion Clinical Hours:

  • NUR 676 Practice Immersion I: 168 clinical hours
  • NUR 688 Practice Immersion II: 112 clinical hours
  • NUR 659 Technology in Health Care: 56 clinical hours
  • NUR 672 DNP Scholarly Project Seminar I: 112 clinical hours
  • NUR 673 DNP Scholarly Project Seminar II: 112 clinical hours
  • Practice Immersion Subtotal: 560 hours

Total Program Clinical Hours: 1,176

Clinical Settings: Same acute care settings as MSN program including ICU, CCU, emergency departments, specialty units, and community partnerships in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

DNP Scholarly Project: Students complete original scholarly project addressing practice innovation, quality improvement, or systems change with potential to improve patient outcomes and transform healthcare delivery.

Post-Master’s Certificate – AGNP Acute Care

The estimated cost for the Post-Master’s AGNP Acute Care Certificate is $30,000 (20 credits at $1,500/credit) and takes approximately 1-1.5 years to complete depending on gap analysis results. The certificate program enables MSN or DNP prepared nurses to add AGNP Acute Care specialty certification.

DNP Admissions Requirements

Academic Credentials:

  • Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from regionally-accredited institutions
  • Degrees in nursing from NLN or CCNE accredited programs preferred
  • Nurse practitioner (NP) track within Master’s program required
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
  • Official transcripts from all institutions

Prerequisite Graduate Coursework: Minimum three credits of graduate-level coursework in each area:

  • Advanced Pathophysiology
  • Advanced Pharmacology
  • Advanced Physical/Health Assessment

Professional Requirements:

  • Current, unrestricted RN license in Florida (must obtain prior to orientation)
  • National certification in nursing specialty
  • International students must have U.S. Social Security number for Florida RN license

Application Materials:

  • Two letters of recommendation (preferably from individuals with doctorates in nursing, at least one academic source)
  • Statement of professional goals discussing reasons for applying and how program fits personal/educational/professional goals
  • Current CV/resume
  • Certification documentation
  • Applications submitted through NursingCAS

Additional Requirements:

  • Gap analysis completed to determine additional required courses
  • Lock-step program following individualized Plan of Study
  • Same clinical clearance requirements as MSN program

DNP Curriculum

The certificate requires 20 core credits focused exclusively on acute care specialty content. Gap analysis determines if additional graduate-level courses needed based on prior preparation.

Required Core Courses (20 Credits):

  • NUR 610 Adult Gerontology Acute Care I (4 credits: 2 class, 2 clinical, 112 hours)
  • NUR 621 Diagnostics and Nursing Interventions for Acute Care Nursing (3 credits: 2 class, 1 clinical, 56 hours)
  • NUR 625 Adult Gerontology Acute Care II (7 credits: 3 class, 4 clinical, 224 hours)
  • NUR 638 Adult Gerontology Acute Care III (6 credits: 2 class, 4 clinical, 224 hours)

Program Structure:

  • Lock-step program with individualized Plan of Study issued after gap analysis
  • Must successfully complete courses each semester to progress
  • Additional courses may be required at graduate level based on gap analysis results

DNP Clinicals

The Post-Master’s Certificate requires 616 clinical hours in acute care settings, identical to MSN clinical requirements. Students complete same progression through Adult Gerontology Acute Care clinical courses.

Clinical Hour Requirements:

  • NUR 610: 112 clinical hours
  • NUR 621: 56 clinical hours
  • NUR 625: 224 clinical hours
  • NUR 638: 224 clinical hours
  • Total: 616 clinical hours

Clinical Coordination: Program identifies community preceptors with high expertise in critical care patient management across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Final coursework allows knowledge and clinical expertise enhancement in specialty area or location of practice.

Certification Eligibility: Certificate completion with 500+ hours direct care of acutely ill adult patients qualifies graduates for AGACNP certification exam (ANCC) and ACNP-AG certification exam (AACN).

Tuition

Graduate Tuition Rates (2025-2026):

  • Estimated cost per credit: $2,644
  • Full-time semester (9 credits Fall/Spring): $23,796
  • Full-time summer semester (6 credits): $15,864
  • Post-Master’s Certificate: $1,500 per credit

Program-Specific Costs:

MSN AGNP Acute Care:

  • Total Program Cost: $45,288
  • Full-time tuition per semester: $15,096 (2024-25); $15,549 (2025-26)
  • Part-time tuition per semester: $9,058 (2024-25); $9,329 (2025-26)

BSN to DNP AGNP Acute Care:

  • Total Program Cost: $94,000
  • Full-time (6 semesters): $15,666 per semester
  • Part-time (12 semesters): $7,833 per semester

Special Fees:

  • University fees: $683 per semester (Fall/Spring); $466 summer
  • Nursing fees: $1,170
  • APP Course Fee (Advanced Practice Preparation): $600
  • Comprehensive Orientation (DNP): $600
  • NursingCAS application fee: $80 first graduate program, $50 each additional

Additional Costs:

  • Books and course materials
  • Laptop computer required
  • Equipment necessary for course requirements
  • Health insurance, immunizations, background checks
  • BLS & ACLS certifications
  • Professional liability insurance

Important Notes:

  • Students pay semester tuition regardless of course load
  • Students who miss, withdraw, or fail courses must wait academic year to retake at per-credit rate
  • Block tuition per semester for DNP programs
  • Financial aid available through Office of Financial Assistance
  • Limited merit-based and need-based SONHS scholarships for continuing students

See the official tuition page for more details.

Accreditation

The Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) with full accreditation through 2031 (maximum period). All nursing practice programs (BSN, MSN, post-graduate APRN certificate program, DNP) hold CCNE accreditation ensuring quality education meeting national standards for advanced practice nursing