Grand Canyon University (GCU) offers three Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) tracks:
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology
- Bridge (Master of Science in Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology)
- Post-Master’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) Certificate: Adult-Gerontology Emphasis
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Cost | Approximate Duration |
|---|---|---|
| MSN – AGACNP | $39,750 | About 13 months (full-time) |
| Bridge MSN – AGACNP | $8,160 | 7 months (full-time) |
| Post-Master’s Certificate – AGACNP | $27,750 | Varies; courses offered in 16-week terms |
All three programs are offered primarily in an online format, incorporating essential hands-on training through mandatory on-campus experiences and extensive clinical placement support.
These tracks prepare experienced registered nurses (RNs) to take on advanced roles in complex, acute, and critical care settings for adult and geriatric patients.
Master of Science in Nursing – AGACNP
The estimated cost for the MSN: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology program is $39,750 and would take approximately 13 months to complete on a full-time basis, based on the course length.
Estimate based on $750 per credit hour $\times$ 53 credits.
MSN Curriculum
The 53-credit curriculum integrates advanced theories and practices related to critical care for adult and gerontology patients, emphasizing evidence-based practice and critical judgment.
Courses are structured around seven domains, including managing the adult-gerontology patient, disease detection, diagnosis, and culturally relevant practices.
Coursework includes:
NUR-513 – Introduction to Advanced Registered Nursing
This course introduces advanced registered nursing through nursing theory, ethics, and a Christian worldview. Students examine legal, regulatory, and moral responsibilities in health promotion and disease prevention while learning how leadership influences outcomes. The course also reviews the research process and helps students locate and interpret evidence-based practice resources for their specialty area.
NUR-514 – Organizational Leadership and Informatics
This course explores how leadership, organizational science, policy, and informatics support safe, high-quality, cost-conscious care. Students study leadership theories, change management, and strategies for collaboration, negotiation, and conflict resolution. The course also covers health information systems, electronic health records, and clinical decision support tools, along with their ethical, legal, and financial implications.
NUR-550 – Translational Research and Population Health Management
This course focuses on how nurses move research evidence into practice to improve outcomes for populations. Students evaluate evidence from epidemiology, biostatistics, genetics, and related fields to design prevention and population health interventions that are culturally appropriate and evidence-based. They learn to spot knowledge gaps, plan practice changes, and consider policy, advocacy, and ethical issues in population health management.
NUR-590 – Evidence-Based Practice Project
In this capstone course, students complete an evidence-based practice project proposal that targets a real problem in their specialty. They refine the intervention, plan practical implementation steps, and design an evaluation strategy to measure outcomes. The focus is on translating prior literature review and problem analysis into a clear, actionable project plan.
NUR-631 – Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology
This course provides an in-depth study of normal and altered physiology across the lifespan. Students examine cellular processes, fluid and electrolyte balance, genetics, immunity, and major body systems such as endocrine, pulmonary, renal, cardiovascular, neurologic, and more. The goal is to link pathophysiologic changes with clinical signs, symptoms, and diagnostic markers to support advanced clinical reasoning.
NUR-635 – Advanced Pharmacology
This course covers advanced principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and their application to prescribing across the lifespan. Students examine how age, ethnicity, pregnancy, and organ dysfunction affect drug response and interaction risk. The course reviews major drug classes used for cardiovascular, psychiatric, endocrine, respiratory, infectious, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and dermatologic conditions to support safe, evidence-based prescribing.
NUR-634 – Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning With Skills Lab
This course strengthens advanced health assessment skills for patients of all ages. Students perform comprehensive and focused assessments that address physical, psychosocial, spiritual, risk, and functional domains in diverse populations. They learn a structured approach to diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision-making to build accurate differential diagnoses.
ANP-635 – Health Promotion and Maintenance and On-Campus Experience I
This course emphasizes preventive care, health maintenance, and lifestyle counseling for diverse adults in acute and primary care contexts. Students learn to integrate cultural, spiritual, environmental, and genetic factors into patient teaching and health promotion plans while using clinical guidelines to form differential diagnoses. The course includes a required three-day on-campus experience to practice advanced assessment, communication, and health coaching skills.
ANP-635CE – On-Campus Experience I
This zero-credit companion course delivers the three-day on-campus intensive linked to ANP-635. During the experience, students apply health promotion, diagnostic reasoning, and patient education strategies in simulated acute and complex care scenarios. Activities reinforce the nurse–patient relationship, family involvement, and use of community and integrative resources.
ANP-650 – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I
This course introduces advanced management of acutely ill adult and geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities. Students synthesize data from clinical findings and evidence-based sources to build differential diagnoses and treatment plans focused on restorative care. Practicum hours allow learners to refine assessment, procedural, and care management skills while considering the impact of acute illness on patients, families, and communities.
ANP-652 – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care II
This course builds on ANP-650 and deepens clinical decision-making for adults and older adults with complex acute conditions. Using a systems-based framework, students analyze changing clinical status, refine differential diagnoses, and adjust evidence-based treatment plans. Practicum experiences further develop advanced assessment, procedural competence, and longitudinal management of acutely and chronically ill patients.
ANP-654 – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care III and On-Campus Experience II
This final acute care course focuses on highly complex, critically ill, and frail older adult patients with multiple comorbidities. Students integrate prior coursework and practicum experience to manage chronic exacerbations, life-threatening conditions, and system-level complications. A required two-day on-campus experience and extensive practicum hours prepare learners for independent AGACNP practice and leadership in high-acuity settings.
ANP-654CE – On-Campus Experience II
This zero-credit course houses the two-day on-campus intensive associated with ANP-654. Students demonstrate advanced assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and management skills for critically ill adult and geriatric patients. Simulation and faculty feedback help consolidate readiness for entry-level practice as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Clinicals
Students are required to complete 750 hours of supervised clinical practice with qualified preceptors. This includes two separate on-campus experiences that span three days each, providing experiential learning, individual review, and skill acquisition practice, such as suturing, intubation, and ventilator management.
MSN Prerequisites & Admissions
- Current, active RN license in the U.S.
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
- Up to 12 transfer credits (or 1/3 of the total program requirements, whichever is less) may be accepted.
- Program is available in select states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.
Bridge (MSN): AGACNP
The estimated cost for the Bridge (Master of Science in Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology) program is $8,160 ($340 per credit hour $\times$ 24 credits) and would take approximately 30 weeks (24 credits $\div$ 3 credits per 5-week course $\approx$ 8 courses) to complete on a full-time basis.
Bridge MSN Curriculum
This 24-credit bridge pathway is designed for experienced RNs who hold a bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing. It provides the necessary background knowledge to qualify for application into the MSN program.
- NRS-415: Nursing Leadership and Interprofessional Collaboration (3 credits)
- NRS-420: Health Assessment (3 credits)
- NRS-425: Health Promotion and Population Health (3 credits)
- NRS-455: Pathophysiology (3 credits)
- HLT-362V: Applied Statistics for Health Care Professionals (3 credits)
- NRS-445: Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice (3 credits)
- NRS-465: Applied Evidence-Based Project and Practicum (6 credits)
Bridge MSN Clinicals
The bridge pathway includes a Practicum component within the NRS-465 course, which, along with online and in-person studies, prepares students for entry into the subsequent MSN degree program.
Bridge MSN Prerequisites & Admissions
- Current, active RN license.
- Bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field.
- Up to 90 transfer credits may be accepted.
- Pathway is offered in select states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas.
Post-Master’s Certificate – AGACNP
The estimated cost for the Post-Master of Science in Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an Emphasis in Adult-Gerontology Certificate program is $27,750 ($750 per credit hour $\times$ 37 credits) and would take approximately 16 weeks per course (37 credits, with course length specified as 16 weeks) to complete.
Certificate Curriculum
This 37-credit certificate is for nurses who already possess a Master of Science in Nursing and seek to specialize in AGACNP. The curriculum mirrors the advanced clinical courses of the MSN track, focusing heavily on acute, critical, complex, and chronic care management. Specific study topics include advanced physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, health assessment, and diagnostic reasoning.
Certificate Clinicals
Students pursuing the certificate are required to complete 675 hours of directly supervised clinical practice. They must also attend two mandatory on-campus experiences, which feature simulation experiences, procedural skills training (e.g., suturing, intubation), and specific lectures to prepare for clinical placement and board certification.
Certificate Prerequisites & Admissions
- Current, active RN license.
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
- Up to 12 transfer credits (or 1/3 of the total program requirements, whichever is less) may be accepted.
- Program is available in select states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.
Tuition
The online tuition rate for graduate-level Nursing courses (MSN and Post-Master’s Certificate) is $750 per credit. The online tuition rate for the Bridge Pathway (undergraduate-level courses) is $340 per credit.
See the official tuition page for more details.
Accreditation
Grand Canyon University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Additionally, the BSN and MSN programs are designed to meet the standards set by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).
Other Nursing Programs
GCU offers a wide portfolio of other advanced nursing programs, including:
- MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner
- MSN: Health Care Quality and Patient Safety
- MSN: Nursing Education
- MSN: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Post-MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate
- Post-MSN: Nursing Education Certificate
- Post-MSN: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate