California State University, Long Beach offers a BSN-DNP – AGACNP track.
The program is delivered in a hybrid format combining face-to-face and online teaching sessions over 15-week semesters.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $60.3K | 3 years (8 semesters) | 72 |
Tuition is calculated from the published flat doctoral rate and covers the six fall and spring terms only.
Admission is gated on employment: applicants submit a letter from a direct supervisor verifying current work as an RN, and clinical placements are normally student-identified. The AGACNP track is one of five nurse practitioner specialties sharing a single 39-unit core, and the specialty is fixed at application.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN to DNP only. No MSN, post-master’s certificate, or MSN-to-DNP pathway. |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care, one of five NP specialties in the DNP. |
| Format | Hybrid |
| Campus Attendance | Face-to-face and online sessions across 15-week semesters. Weekly cadence not published. |
| Clinical Hours | 1,000 minimum, across three specialty practicum courses totaling 18 units. |
| Clinical Placement | Student-identified sites. The School of Nursing assists students who have none. |
| RN Experience | One year required, plus supervisor verification of current RN employment. |
| License Requirements | Active unrestricted California RN license, or eligibility for California licensure. |
| Enrollment Pace | Full-time only, eight consecutive semesters. No part-time option. |
| Start Terms | Fall only. All cohorts begin in August. |
| Application Deadline | Cal State Apply opens October 1 and closes January 15. |
| Admissions Screening | Faculty interview plus a proctored on-site or online writing assessment. |
| Distinctive Coursework | Six units of learning theory and curriculum development in year two. |
| Tuition | Flat $10,052 per semester for California residents, at any unit load. |
| Certification | Prepares for national AGACNP certification. No certifying body is named. |
| Accreditation | CCNE accredits the BSN and the DNP. |
BSN to DNP, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP program at CSU Long Beach is approximately $60,312 for California residents. The program runs eight consecutive semesters over three years of full-time study.
BSN-DNP Curriculum
The 72 units divide into 39 units of core coursework across 15 courses, 24 units of AGACNP specialty courses, and 9 units of doctoral project work.
- NRSG 760: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Theories I (3 units), covering cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, and hematologic conditions. Spring of year two
- NRSG 760L: Acute Care Clinical Studies Practicum I (8 units), taken alongside NRSG 760
- NRSG 761: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Theories II (3 units), covering gastrointestinal, neurologic, renal, and shock and emergency management. Fall of year three
- NRSG 761L: Acute Care Clinical Studies Practicum II (8 units), taken alongside NRSG 761
- NRSG 762L: Acute Care Clinical Residency (2 units), the final spring semester
- NRSG 795: National Certification Review Course (1 unit), also in the final spring
- Core sciences: NRSG 701 pathophysiology, NRSG 702 pharmacology, and NRSG 703 with NRSG 703L assessment lab, all in year one or the fall of year two
- NRSG 712A and 712B: Learning and Instructional Theories, and Curriculum Development (6 units), the entire summer term of year two
- NRSG 792A through 792D: Integrative Scholarship I to IV (9 units), carrying the DNP project, which students complete in cohort groups rather than individually
More curriculum details are available in the BSN-DNP roadmap.
You Should Know
- Acute care content begins in semester five. The first four semesters are shared core coursework taken with the primary care, family, pediatric, and psychiatric specialty students.
- The specialty cannot be changed after applying. The School of Nursing will not switch an applicant’s track or reconsider an application filed under the wrong specialty. Changing means canceling one application and opening another.
Clinical Requirements
- Total hours: a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours, required for both the specialty experience and the DNP degree
- Practicum sequence: NRSG 760L (8 units), NRSG 761L (8 units), and NRSG 762L (2 units)
- Per-course split: not published. The 1,000-hour figure is stated at the program level only
- Site sourcing: students identify their own preceptorship sites, and the School of Nursing works with students who do not have one
- Employer placements: permitted at a student’s own workplace, but not on the unit where the student currently works
- Preceptors: must be approved by the School of Nursing
- Affiliation agreements: students are asked to identify sites early so contracts can be executed before the practicum begins
- Project sites: the DNP project is developed with a group of classmates at a clinical or community site
Campus and Cohort Requirements
- Format: 15-week semesters combining face-to-face and online synchronous and asynchronous sessions
- Orientation: mandatory, held in mid to late August before the first fall semester
- Cohort structure: eight consecutive semesters with a single annual August start, including two summer terms
- Interruption: students may request a leave of absence and rejoin the next available cohort
- Clearances: criminal background check, plus the health requirements of the school and every assigned clinical agency
- Materials: uniforms and lab coats are purchased at orientation
You Should Know
- Rejoining a cohort costs a year, not a term. With one August intake and a lockstep sequence, a leave of absence resumes when the same semester comes around again.
BSN-DNP Admissions
- Degree: BSN from a nationally accredited program
- GPA: 3.0 minimum cumulative in the BSN coursework
- Licensure: active, unencumbered California RN license, or eligibility for California licensure. Applications are accepted while licensure is in progress
- Experience: one year of clinical experience as a registered nurse
- Employment: verification of current RN employment, in a letter from a direct supervisor
- Prerequisite: a college-level statistics course
- References: three professional letters from faculty, colleagues, or supervisors, dated and signed within the past year
- Statement of purpose: one page, single-spaced
- Screening: faculty interview with one or two reviewers, plus an on-site or proctored online writing assessment. Decisions are made in summer
- Deadline: Cal State Apply runs October 1 to January 15 for the following fall
- Second application: a separate School of Nursing DNP application is submitted in addition to Cal State Apply
Be aware that:
- Transfer credit is capped at 9 units and excludes research courses. Transferring pathophysiology, pharmacology, or physical assessment additionally requires passing a departmental competency exam at the student’s own cost.
- A qualifying assessment follows NRSG 711. Students who do not pass may retake it once within one semester.
- CSULB has not determined whether the program meets licensure requirements outside California. The curriculum is built to California Board of Registered Nursing standards.
Tuition
CSULB bills DNP students at a flat Nursing Practice Doctorate rate of $10,052 per semester for California residents in 2026-27, applied at any unit load. That figure is $9,095 in tuition plus $957 in mandatory campus fees, and it runs roughly double the standard graduate rate of $5,231.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | 72 | $60,312 |
The estimate multiplies the current rate across the six fall and spring terms, which works out to about $838 per unit. Non-residents add $471 for every unit enrolled, or $33,912 across the program.
You Should Know
- The two summer terms are not priced on the doctoral fee schedule. CSULB publishes the flat rate for fall and spring only, and the roadmap requires 11 units across two summers, so the real total will exceed $60,312.
- The flat rate rewards heavy terms. The 13-unit fall of year three costs the same as the 5-unit summer of year one.
- CSU tuition is on a scheduled increase. Systemwide rates are rising 6% per year through the five years that began in fall 2024, so a three-year cohort will not pay one rate throughout.
See the official tuition and fees page for more details.
Financial Aid
CSULB does not publish an AGACNP-specific scholarship. Because every DNP student is enrolled full-time and already working as an RN, employer tuition benefits are worth checking against the flat semester rate. General options are on the financial aid and scholarships page, and the DNP cost of attendance page carries the current annual figures.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
- 1,000 clinical hours. The minimum sits well above the 500-hour floor ANCC sets for AGACNP-BC eligibility, spread across two practicum courses and a final residency.
- Placement can run through your own employer. Students who already work in an acute care setting may precept at that hospital, provided it is not their own unit.
- Flat doctoral pricing. A single per-semester rate covers any unit load, so the 12- and 13-unit specialty terms carry no additional tuition.
- The DNP project is built and defended as a cohort group rather than solo, which changes both the workload and the collaboration demands of the final two years.
- Six units of nursing education coursework. Learning theory and curriculum development are required, reflecting the program’s stated aim of preparing graduates for faculty roles alongside clinical practice.
This suits a California-licensed nurse who is already employed in acute care, can commute to Long Beach, and can hold a full-time lockstep schedule for three unbroken years. Nurses who need part-time pacing, a spring start, or a master’s-level credential will not find one here.
Accreditation and Certification
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at the CSULB School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. CSULB offers no post-graduate APRN certificate, so the DNP is the only route into the AGACNP track.
California State University, Long Beach is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The School of Nursing is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
The track carries an adult-gerontology acute care population focus. That focus is the one tested by the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner examination and the AACN ACNPC-AG examination, and CSULB states that its graduate programs meet the standards for eligibility across multiple certifying organizations without naming a specific exam.
Additional ACNP Programs for California Students
- Cal State LA - Los Angeles
- California Baptist University - Riverside
- Loma Linda University - Loma Linda
- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco
- West Coast University - Anaheim