Arkansas State University (A-State) offers 2 Acute Care Nurse Practitioner tracks:
- MSN
- Post-Master’s Certificate
Practicum requirements are completed with approved preceptors in authorized states, preparing graduates for advanced acute care roles in ERs, ICUs, urgent care centers, and specialty practices.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | $8.2K | About 16 months | 21.5 |
| MSN AGACNP | $15.8K | About 2 years (24 months) | 41.5 |
A-State markets both tracks as fully online to nurses nationwide, but its federal licensure disclosure states that the AGACNP programs meet the educational requirements for nurse practitioner licensure in only four states: Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The disclosure lists the remaining 46 states as not meeting.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN, Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) |
| Format | Online |
| Campus Visits | None required; weekend on-site skills labs are optional |
| Clinical Hours | No total published; 12.5 practicum credits in both tracks |
| Clinical Placement | Practicum must occur in a state where A-State holds operating authority |
| RN Experience | 1,500 RN practice hours for the MSN; none stated for the certificate |
| Distinctive Coursework | MSN seminar on neurological disorders, shock and trauma, palliative care, and special procedures |
| Start Terms | MSN four 7-week starts per year; certificate fall and spring |
| Tuition | $380 per credit, identical for in-state and out-of-state, fees included |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC and AACN ACNPC-AG |
| Accreditation | ACEN |
| State Restrictions | Meets licensure requirements in AR, MO, TN, and MS only |
Requirements Shared Across All Tracks
Both tracks run the same 21.5-credit AGACNP specialty block, carry the same 12.5 practicum credits, and sit under the same state authorization rules. The MSN adds a 20-credit graduate core on top.
Clinical Requirements
- Practicum credits: 12.5 in each track
- Clock hours: no total published for either track
- Practicum courses: six 7-week courses in the MSN, three 14-week courses in the certificate
- Placement geography: hours must be completed in a state where A-State holds State Operating Authority
- Delivery: practicums are completed in person with approved preceptors
- Preceptor standard: A-State follows NONPF criteria but does not publish a required preceptor credential on its AGACNP pages
- Placement responsibility: A-State does not state whether the school or the student secures the site
You Should Know: A-State publishes no clinical clock-hour total for either AGACNP track. Its own certificate admissions criteria cite ANCC’s 500 faculty-supervised hours as the benchmark it uses when evaluating other schools’ programs.
Campus Requirements
- Required visits: none for either track
- Optional events: weekend on-site skills labs
- Coursework: 100% online, in 7-week or 14-week terms depending on the course
RN Experience and Licensure
- MSN requirement: documentation of 1,500 RN practice hours prior to admission
- Certificate requirement: none stated beyond a current unencumbered RN license
- Acute or ICU experience: not required or preferred in either track
- Licensure: current unencumbered RN license at application
- Relocation: students must report a move to another state to both their advisor and the Registrar’s Office
Be aware: A-State’s State Authorization & Licensure Disclosures page places the MSN and certificate in the “Does Meet” column for Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and in the “Does Not Meet” column for every other state. No state is listed as undetermined. Nurses outside those four states should confirm with their own board of nursing before applying.
MSN, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at Arkansas State is $15,770 (41.5 credits at $380 per credit). A-State publishes a completion time of as few as 24 months.
MSN Curriculum
The 41.5 credits split into a 20-credit graduate core of seven courses, six 1.5-credit seminars, and six practicums totaling 12.5 credits. Most courses run 7 weeks.
- NURS 66003: Advanced Pathophysiology (3 credits)
- NURS 66033: Advanced Clinical Pharmacology (3 credits)
- NURS 66043: Advanced Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (3 credits, 14 weeks)
- NURS 66103, 66203, 66303, 66402: Research Design, Theory Development, Health Care Issues and Policy, Professional Role Development (11 credits)
- Seminars I and II: EENT, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and integumentary management
- Seminars III and IV: gastrointestinal, genitourinary, endocrine, obstetric, hematologic, oncologic, and immunologic disorders
- Seminar V: neurological disorders, shock and trauma, palliative care, and special procedures
- Seminar VI: practice issues, risk assessment, and geriatric disorders
- Practicums I through VI: six sequential courses, 12.5 credits, taken alongside or after the seminars
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Admissions
- Degree: BSN from an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited program at a regionally accredited institution
- GPA: 3.25 cumulative undergraduate on a 4.0 scale
- Licensure: current unencumbered RN license
- Experience: documentation of 1,500 RN practice hours prior to admission
- Entrance exam: none required
- Background check: completed within 12 months, required before the first course rather than for the admission decision
- Application fee: $30, non-refundable
- Deadlines: four intakes a year, with application and document deadlines roughly five weeks before each start
Post-Master’s Certificate, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner is $8,170 (21.5 credits at $380 per credit). A-State publishes a completion time of 16 months.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate carries the same 21.5 specialty credits and the same 12.5 practicum credits as the MSN, packaged as three 14-week seminar and practicum pairs rather than six 7-week courses.
- NURS 62113 / 62114: AGACNP Seminar I and Practicum I (7 credits)
- NURS 63363 / 63364: AGACNP Seminar II and Practicum II (7 credits)
- NURS 64483 / 64484: AGACNP Seminar III and Practicum III (7.5 credits)
- Gap-analysis courses: NURS 66003, 66033, and 66043 add up to 9 credits when prior coursework falls short
- Sequencing rule: all seminars and any required advanced nursing courses must be finished before the first practicum begins
You Should Know: A gap analysis runs before admission and can push the certificate from 21.5 to 30.5 credits, raising tuition from $8,170 to $11,590. It is triggered when a prior program lacked advanced pathophysiology, advanced health assessment with diagnostics, advanced pharmacology, or 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours.
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Admissions
- Degree: MSN from an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited program at a regionally accredited institution
- GPA: 3.25 cumulative in MSN coursework
- Licensure: current unencumbered RN license
- Background check: completed through Verified Credentials
- Gap analysis: requested from the program coordinator prior to admission for applicants whose prior AGACNP coursework was incomplete
- Deadlines: two intakes a year, fall and spring
Tuition
Both AGACNP tracks bill at $380 per credit hour under A-State Online’s pay-by-the-course model. The rate is identical for in-state and out-of-state students, and A-State states that all fees are included in it.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Master’s Certificate | 21.5 | $8,170 |
| Certificate with full gap analysis | 30.5 | $11,590 |
| MSN AGACNP | 41.5 | $15,770 |
The $380 rate carries $50 per credit in required program fees, covering information technology, library, academic excellence, student identity compliance, and access and security. A one-time graduation fee of $85 for the MSN or $95 for the certificate applies at completion.
You Should Know: Certificate programs at A-State are not financial aid eligible, and A-State Online students cannot use payment plans. The $8,170 certificate is therefore paid out of pocket on the course payment schedule.
The Arkansas State University System faculty and staff tuition waiver does not apply to programs delivered through the Risepoint partnership, which includes both AGACNP tracks. See the official tuition page for more details.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
The licensure footprint is four states wide. A-State discloses that the AGACNP programs meet nurse practitioner licensure requirements in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and do not meet them in the other 46. For most out-of-state applicants this decides the question before cost or curriculum enters it.
One flat rate, no residency premium. Every student pays $380 per credit with fees folded in, so a Memphis or southeast Missouri nurse pays the same $15,770 as a Jonesboro resident.
The certificate is the MSN’s specialty half at exactly the same credit weight, which makes the $7,600 difference between the two the price of the 20-credit graduate core rather than any additional acute care training.
No acute care experience gate. The MSN asks for 1,500 general RN practice hours and the certificate asks for none, so cohorts will include nurses without ICU or emergency backgrounds.
Clinical volume is unpublished. Neither track states a clock-hour total, which leaves 12.5 practicum credits as the only comparable figure against programs that publish 500 to 1,000 hours outright.
This suits nurses licensed in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, or Mississippi who want an affordable, genuinely campus-free route to AGACNP certification and are comfortable asking the program directly about clinical hours and preceptor sourcing.
Accreditation and Certification
The associate, baccalaureate, master’s, master’s and post-master’s certificate, and clinical doctorate nursing programs at Arkansas State University are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), which recorded a decision of continuing accreditation. The accreditation covers the Jonesboro-area campus at State University, AR, and the West Memphis, AR, location.
The post-master’s certificate falls explicitly within that ACEN scope. This matters for certificate applicants, because ANCC requires the post-graduate APRN certificate program itself to be accredited for a certificate holder to sit for the exam.
Arkansas State University holds institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, continuously since 1928 and reaffirmed in 2023-2024 through the 2033-2034 cycle.
Both tracks carry a single population focus, adult-gerontology acute care, covering adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients. Graduates are eligible to sit for the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam (AGACNP-BC) and the AACN exam (ACNPC-AG). A-State names both certifying bodies on its program pages.
Additional ACNP Programs for Arkansas Residents
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - Little Rock