University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing offers 2 ACNP specialty tracks:
- BSN-DNP – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty
- BSN-DNP – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Acute Care Specialty
This 11-quarter program offers two acute care specialties: the AGACNP specialty (ranked #5 nationally) prepares graduates to manage acutely ill adult patients.
The PNP-AC specialty (the only one of its kind at a public university in California) prepares nurses to provide child-focused, family-centered care to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with complex acute, critical, and chronic illness.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $130.5K in-state | 3 years (11 quarters) | 39 in year 1 |
| BSN-DNP Peds AC | $130.5K in-state | 3 years (11 quarters) | 39 in year 1 |
Tuition is calculated from the published quarterly fee schedule. UCSF publishes units for year one only.
UCSF’s Clinical Placement Office arranges and oversees every student placement across Bay Area health systems, so students do not source their own preceptors. Applicants must already hold a California RN license, and the Advanced Practice pathway is under review by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN Entry to DNP only; no MSN or post-master’s certificate in acute care |
| Population Focus | AGACNP and acute care pediatrics (ACPNP) |
| Format | Hybrid; in-person and online coursework on a quarter calendar |
| Clinical Placement | Arranged and overseen by the UCSF Clinical Placement Office |
| Placement Region | San Francisco Bay Area clinical partner sites |
| Clinical Hours | No specialty clock-hour total published; 1,000 post-BSN DNP practice hours required |
| RN Experience | 2 years required, and specific to each specialty |
| License Requirements | California RN license required at application |
| Start Terms | Fall only, once per year |
| Application Deadline | Feb. 14, 2027 for fall 2027 entry; opens Sept. 15, 2026 |
| Tuition | Flat quarterly rate, not per credit; resident and non-resident rates differ |
| Certification | ANCC and AACN for AGACNP; PNCB CPNP-AC for pediatrics |
| Accreditation | CCNE for the DNP program; pathway under California BRN review |
| Restrictions | Applicants needing an F-1 visa cannot meet the in-person course requirement |
Requirements Shared Across Both Tracks
Both specialties sit inside the same BSN Entry to DNP pathway. They share the core curriculum, the placement model, the admissions process, and the calendar. Only the specialty coursework, the experience requirement, and the recommender count differ.
Clinical Requirements
- Placement model: the UCSF Clinical Placement Office arranges and oversees all student placements in collaboration with clinical partners
- Student responsibility: students do not identify their own sites or preceptors, but must complete site-specific requirements before starting
- Geography: clinical sites are located throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
- Named partner sites: UCSF Health, Sutter Health, Kaiser Northern California, Alameda Health Systems, Dignity Health, SFDPH/ZSFGH, John Muir Health, Stanford Health Care, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Veterans Affairs
- DNP practice hours: a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours is required for degree conferral, set by CCNE
- Practicum conversion: one practicum unit equals 30 practice hours
- Specialty clock hours: no AGACNP or pediatric acute care clinical hour total is published
You Should Know
- The 1,000 hours are a degree requirement, not a specialty count: they cover all post-baccalaureate mentored practice toward the DNP. UCSF does not publish how many are direct acute care patient contact hours in either specialty.
Format and Campus Requirements
- Structure: 11 quarters of full-time study on UCSF’s quarter calendar
- Delivery: hybrid, combining in-person and online courses, with the majority of coursework online
- In-person components: UCSF does not publish a visit count or a fixed campus cadence for either specialty
- Campus: UCSF School of Nursing, 490 Illinois Street, San Francisco
- Work expectation: UCSF advises that outside work not exceed 60% time during the academic year
You Should Know
- The program is not distance-accessible: in-person coursework and Bay Area clinical placement both require living within commuting distance. Applicants who need an F-1 visa cannot satisfy the in-person attendance requirement and are advised to contact the school before applying.
RN Experience and Licensure
- California RN license: required at the point of application, not merely eligibility for endorsement
- Out-of-state applicants: must obtain California licensure by endorsement under BRN regulations 2729 and 2732 before applying
- AGACNP experience: two years of RN inpatient clinical practice required
- Pediatric acute care experience: two years of clinical practice in an acute pediatric setting, required before clinical rotations begin
- Scope of the rule: these are the only two of UCSF’s six BSN-DNP specialties that require any prior practice experience
Shared Admissions Requirements
- Degree: BSN, or an MSN held alongside a bachelor’s degree in another field
- GPA: minimum 3.0
- GRE: not required
- Statistics: no longer required for fall 2027 entry and after; applicants entering fall 2026 or earlier needed a course completed within five years
- Goal statement: 500 words maximum, with AI-generated text prohibited
- Personal statement: required, covering background and its influence on pursuing graduate study
- Resume or CV: 2 to 5 pages, PDF format
- Application fee: $120 for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, $140 for international applicants
- Cycle: applications open Sept. 15, 2026 and close Feb. 14, 2027 for fall 2027 entry, with decisions in March or April
You Should Know
- Entry is annual and deferrals are rare: UCSF states it does not grant many deferrals, limits them to medical, military, religious mission, or other extenuating circumstances, and requires requests by June 30. A declined deferral means reapplying and waiting a full year.
BSN Entry to DNP – AGACNP Specialty
The estimated tuition for the BSN Entry to DNP with the AGACNP specialty is approximately $130,484 for California residents and $167,219 for non-residents across 11 quarters. The program can generally be completed in about three years of continuous full-time study.
UCSF describes the AGACNP specialty as the only one of its kind in Northern California. Training covers hospitalized adult patients across internal medicine, transplant, cardiology, neurosurgical, oncology, trauma, intensive care, and emergency settings.
AGACNP Curriculum
Year one carries 39 units, of which 28 are the DNP and advanced practice core. Specialty coursework begins in the third quarter of enrollment and continues through years two and three, which UCSF does not publish unit counts for.
- NURSADVPR 200: Concepts and Theory Application for Advanced Practice Nurses (3 units)
- NURSADVPR 203: Structural Racism, Healthcare and Social Justice (2 units)
- NURSADVPR 208: Health Assessment for Advanced Practice (2 units)
- NURSADVPR 209: Clinical Pharmacology for Advanced Practice (3 units)
- NURSADVPR 211: Physiology and Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice (2 units)
- NURSADVPR 212: Improving Health Outcomes by Advancing QI and Safety (3 units)
- Advanced Practice Skills Lab: 1 unit, taken alongside the first specialty content course
- APRN specialty content: 8 units across the third and fourth quarters, plus a 2-unit specialty clinical residency application
- DNP scholarly project: developed across multiple quarters, with project courses beginning in quarter 8
Procedural skills training is delivered outside the course list. UCSF runs an invasive skills workshop for AGACNP students covering procedural competency in high-acuity settings, taught in its simulation lab.
More curriculum details are available here.
AGACNP Admissions
- Experience: two years of RN inpatient clinical practice required
- Recommenders: four required, one more than most UCSF specialties
- Recommender mix: one employer or supervisor, one faculty member, and two from professional colleagues or advanced practice nurses
- Shared requirements: California RN license, GPA, statements, and deadlines follow the shared section above
BSN Entry to DNP – Acute Care Pediatric Specialty
The estimated tuition for the BSN Entry to DNP with the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner specialty is approximately $130,484 for California residents and $167,219 for non-residents across 11 quarters. The program can generally be completed in about three years of continuous full-time study.
UCSF describes this as the only acute care pediatric NP specialty at a public university in California. Graduates work with infants, children, adolescents, and young adults facing physiological instability, medical fragility, life-threatening illness or injury, and technological dependency.
Acute Care Pediatric Curriculum
The core sequence and unit load match the AGACNP specialty, listed in the section above. The specialty content differs, and UCSF names palliative and end-of-life care as an explicit component of the specialty’s preparation.
- Core courses: identical to the AGACNP specialty across the first year, 28 units
- Specialty content: 8 units beginning in the third quarter, plus a 2-unit specialty clinical residency application
- Practice settings covered: hospitals, intensive care units, specialty clinics, emergency departments, and home health
- Care emphasis: stabilization, complication prevention and management, and comprehensive palliative and end-of-life care
- DNP scholarly project: same structure and timing as the AGACNP specialty
More curriculum details are available here.
Acute Care Pediatric Admissions
- Experience: two years of clinical practice in an acute pediatric setting, required before clinical rotations begin
- Recommenders: three required, one fewer than the AGACNP specialty
- Recommender mix: one employer or supervisor, one faculty member, and one professional contact who is not a relative
- Shared requirements: California RN license, GPA, statements, and deadlines follow the shared section above
Tuition
UCSF bills the Post-BSN DNP at a flat quarterly rate rather than per credit. For 2026-27, a first-year California resident pays $17,437 in the fall quarter, and the published annual resident total is $52,306 including the health insurance premium.
Costs rise after year one because continuing students add a summer quarter. The figures below cover 11 quarters at 2026-27 rates and exclude the student health insurance premium, which can be waived with comparable coverage.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP, resident | Not published | $130,484 |
| BSN-DNP AGACNP, non-resident | Not published | $167,219 |
| BSN-DNP Peds AC, resident | Not published | $130,484 |
| BSN-DNP Peds AC, non-resident | Not published | $167,219 |
The largest single line is Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition at $24,792 per year, which exceeds base tuition of $13,722. Non-residents add $12,245 per year in supplemental tuition. Adding the health insurance premium back brings the resident total to $171,656 and the non-resident total to $208,391.
Be aware that:
- These totals hold current rates constant: they multiply out 2026-27 figures across three years, and the Regents adjust rates annually.
- The registrar labels its own figures as estimates: UCSF states the posted amounts may not be final and are subject to change.
- Residency reclassification is not automatic: non-resident supplemental tuition applies each year unless California residency is established.
UC employees in eligible titles receive a two-thirds reduction in tuition and the Student Services Fee for up to 12 units per quarter, a benefit available through spring 2031. Rate details are on the UCSF Registrar’s 2026-27 School of Nursing fee schedule, and aid options are listed on the School of Nursing student funding page.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
Placement is arranged, not assisted. The Clinical Placement Office collaborates with partner health systems to arrange and oversee every placement, and passes site-specific requirements to students. Nurses who have watched classmates elsewhere spend months cold-calling preceptors will recognize the difference.
Two acute care population foci under one pathway. Adult-gerontology acute care and acute care pediatrics run inside the same doctoral program, sharing a core curriculum and calendar.
An experience gate the other specialties do not have. Both acute care specialties require two years of relevant practice. UCSF’s four other BSN-DNP specialties require none, so acute care cohorts arrive with bedside experience already in hand.
Named Bay Area teaching hospitals. Partner sites include UCSF Health, Stanford Health Care, Kaiser Northern California, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General.
The fit here is a Bay Area nurse who already holds a California license, has two years of inpatient or acute pediatric experience, and wants the doctorate rather than a master’s. Nurses needing distance delivery, a part-time schedule, or a shorter credential should look elsewhere in California.
Accreditation and Certification
The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of California, San Francisco is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. That accreditation covers the DNP program as a whole, including the BSN Entry to DNP pathway that houses both acute care specialties.
UCSF states that the BSN Entry to DNP, Advanced Practice pathway is currently under review by the California Board of Registered Nursing. UCSF is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
AGACNP graduates are eligible to apply for national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, mapping to the AGACNP-BC and ACNPC-AG credentials.
Acute care pediatric graduates are eligible for the California BRN Nurse Practitioner certificate and Furnishing certificate, a national DEA registration, and the Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Acute Care exam offered by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.
Additional ACNP Programs for California Students
- Cal State LA - Los Angeles
- California Baptist University - Riverside
- CSU Long Beach - Long Beach
- Loma Linda University - Loma Linda
- West Coast University - Anaheim