Augusta University offers 2 acute care nurse practitioner tracks:
- BSN-DNP AGACNP
- Post-Master’s Certificate AGACNP
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $33.5K | 3 years (8 semesters) | 76 |
| Certificate | $8.0K | 1 year (3 semesters) | 20 |
Tuition is calculated from published per-credit rates rather than published as a total.
Augusta University limits enrollment in its nurse practitioner programs to residents of Georgia and South Carolina, because faculty travel to each student’s clinical site to meet the student and the preceptor. No acute or critical care experience is required to apply to either track.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN to DNP, Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) |
| Format | Mostly Online |
| Campus Visits | Face-to-face orientation, MEGAI skills intensive, and in-person DNP project defense |
| Clinical Placement | Faculty visit the student, the preceptor, and the clinical site |
| Clinical Sites | Must be located in Georgia or South Carolina |
| RN Experience | One year recommended, not required, before clinical courses begin |
| License Requirements | Georgia RN license for the DNP; RN plus APRN certification for the certificate |
| Start Terms | Fall for the DNP, spring for the certificate |
| Tuition | $441 per credit (DNP) and $401 per credit (certificate), in state |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC and AACN ACNPC-AG |
| Accreditation | CCNE |
| State Restrictions | Enrollment limited to Georgia and South Carolina residents |
Requirements Shared Across All Tracks
You Should Know: Both tracks require the student to live in Georgia or South Carolina. Augusta University applies the rule to the AGACNP, FNP, PNP, PMHNP, and post-graduate certificate programs alike, and ties it to faculty site visits rather than to state authorization.
Clinical Requirements
- Clinical locations: every placement must be in Georgia or South Carolina
- Faculty oversight: instructors travel to visit the student, the preceptor, and the clinical site
- Practicum sequence: three graded AGACNP practicum courses, plus a fourth APRN practicum for DNP students
- DNP practice hours: Augusta University applies the AACN standard of 1,000 supervised post-baccalaureate clinical hours for all DNP graduates
- Published clock hours: the 2023-24 catalog listed 1,156 total clinical hours for the DNP; no clock-hour total is currently published for either track
- Additional licensure: certificate students must obtain an RN license in any state where a clinical experience is assigned
Be aware: Augusta University does not currently publish a clinical clock-hour total on its AGACNP program pages, and the only sourced figure available is the 1,156 hours listed in the 2023-24 catalog. The split between AGACNP patient-care hours and DNP project hours is not published.
Campus Requirements
- Orientation: accepted DNP students must attend a face-to-face orientation
- MEGAI intensive: a multi-day on-campus skills event for AGACNP, FNP, and PNP doctoral students covering suturing, joint injections, ultrasound, and casting
- Project defense: DNP students defend the practice project in person
- Certificate: Augusta University publishes no campus attendance requirement for certificate students
RN Experience and Licensure
- DNP experience: one year of professional nursing experience is recommended, not required, before clinical courses begin
- Acute care experience: no ICU, emergency, or critical care minimum is published for either track
- DNP licensure: an active unrestricted Georgia RN license, or eligibility for one, at application
- Licensure deadline: applicants admitted without a Georgia license must produce one before the end of the first semester
- Certificate licensure: a current unrestricted RN license, compact preferred, plus current national APRN certification in another population focus
- Screening: a criminal background check and drug screen follow admission, due three weeks before classes start for DNP students and four weeks for certificate students
You Should Know: An applicant licensed only in South Carolina can be admitted to the DNP but must hold a Georgia RN license by the end of the first semester. The certificate carries the reverse burden: enrolled students add a license in whichever state their clinical placement lands.
BSN-DNP AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the DNP-AGACNP concentration at Augusta University is approximately $33,516 in state (76 credits at $441 per credit). The program can generally be completed in three years full-time or four years part-time.
DNP Curriculum
- 76 credits across eight semesters, combining DNP core coursework, the AGACNP specialty sequence, and a practice project
- NURS 8331: AG-ACNP I: Health Promotion and Management of Chronic Disease in the Adult and Older Adult (3 credits)
- NURS 8332: AG-ACNP Practice I for DNP Students (4 credits)
- NURS 8334: AG-ACNP II: Evidence-Based Management of Urgent and Emergent Health Problems (3 credits)
- NURS 8335: AG-ACNP Practice II for DNP Students (4 credits)
- NURS 8337: AG-ACNP III: Advanced Concepts in Complex Illness (3 credits)
- NURS 8338: AG-ACNP Practice III for DNP Students (4 credits)
- NURS 9192: APRN Practicum for DNP Students (4 credits), taken in the final semester
- Practice project: NURS 9050 and NURS 9051 run alongside the specialty sequence from year two onward
Specialty content starts in the fourth semester. The first three terms are core science, statistics, informatics, policy, and advanced practice coursework. NURS 8331 and the first practicum open in the spring of year two.
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know: Augusta University revised the plan of study effective Fall 2026, and the published credit totals do not agree. The plan of study totals 76 credits while the 2023-24 catalog record lists 75. Confirm the count for your entry cohort before budgeting.
DNP Admissions
- Degree: a BSN, or a pre-licensure MSN, from an accredited college or university
- GPA: 3.0 minimum on all undergraduate work, and 3.0 on graduate work where applicable
- Prerequisite: a 3-credit undergraduate or graduate statistics or biostatistics course with a grade of B or higher
- References: three, one of which should be a clinical supervisor or manager where applicable
- Essay: 500 words minimum on the DNP role and the applicant’s chosen concentration, written to scholarly standards
- Testing: no GRE or other standardized test
- Application: NursingCAS ($80) followed by an Augusta University supplemental application ($25)
- Entry term: fall only, with applications for Fall 2027 opening August 7, 2026
- Post-MSN entry: the graduate rate schedule lists post-BSN and post-MSN AGACNP DNP tracks at identical per-credit rates
- Visa status: Augusta University cannot issue an I-20 or DS-2019 for this program
Post-Master’s Certificate AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the post-graduate AGACNP certificate at Augusta University is approximately $8,020 in state (20 credits at $401 per credit). The program can generally be completed in about one year across three part-time semesters.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate uses the same three-course AGACNP theory sequence as the DNP, paired with certificate-coded practicum courses, and carries the clinical requirements described in the shared section above.
- NURS 8331: AG-ACNP I: Health Promotion and Management of Chronic Disease in the Adult and Older Adult (3 credits)
- NURS 8333: AG-ACNP Practice I for Post-Graduate Certificate (3 credits)
- NURS 8334: AG-ACNP II: Evidence-Based Management of Urgent and Emergent Health Problems (3 credits)
- NURS 8370: AG-ACNP Practice II for Post-Graduate Certificate (4 credits)
- NURS 8337: AG-ACNP III: Advanced Concepts in Complex Illness (3 credits)
- NURS 8371: AG-ACNP Practice III for Post-Graduate Certificate (4 credits)
- Course load: capped below 9 credits per semester because the specialty courses run in strict sequence
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Admissions
- Degree: an MSN as a nurse practitioner in another population focus, or a DNP or PhD earned through an APRN program
- GPA: 3.0 minimum undergraduate and 3.0 minimum graduate
- Prerequisites: advanced health assessment, advanced pathophysiology, and advanced pharmacology, each with a grade of B or higher
- Licensure: proof of a current unrestricted RN license and current APRN certification, uploaded to NursingCAS
- References: three, one of which must come from a supervisor
- Application: NursingCAS ($85) followed by an Augusta University supplemental application ($25)
- Entry term: spring only, with a September 15, 2026 deadline for Spring 2027
You Should Know: The certificate admits one cohort a year, in spring, on a fixed September deadline. Augusta University accepts supporting materials for two weeks past the deadline but will not accept a late application, so a missed cycle costs a full year.
Tuition
Augusta University charges $441 per credit in state for the DNP-AGACNP and $401 per credit for the post-master’s certificate under its Fall 2025 through Summer 2026 graduate rate schedule. Full-time DNP loads run 9 to 11 credits per semester, below the 12-credit threshold where the flat semester rate applies, so the per-credit rate governs throughout.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | 76 | $33,516 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate | 20 | $8,020 |
Out-of-state rates are $1,213 per credit for the DNP and $1,158 for the certificate, which brings the same credit counts to roughly $92,188 and $23,160. South Carolina residents are eligible to enroll but are charged the out-of-state rate.
Mandatory university fees are billed separately at $675 per semester for a full-time in-state student. Across the eight-semester DNP plan that adds roughly $5,400 to the calculated tuition.
See the official tuition page for more details.
Financial Aid
The College of Nursing administers donor-funded scholarships for graduate nursing students, with criteria and availability set by each donor and varying year to year. Applicants apply through the Financial Aid Office and submit scholarship-specific materials to the college.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
- Faculty site visits. Instructors travel to each student’s clinical site to meet the student and the preceptor in person. Augusta University names this as the reason enrollment is capped to two states.
- No acute care experience gate. One year of general nursing experience is recommended before clinical courses, not required, and no ICU, emergency, or trauma minimum is published.
- Board pass rates have reached 100% in four of the last five years for DNP graduates and in each of the last five years for certificate graduates.
- In-state pricing. At $441 and $401 per credit, the full doctorate lands near $33,500 and the certificate near $8,000 before fees.
- Augusta University established Georgia’s first DNP program in 2005 and now runs seven doctoral tracks alongside it.
This suits a nurse already living in Georgia or South Carolina who wants faculty presence at the clinical site and does not carry a critical care resume. Anyone outside those two states is ineligible regardless of credentials.
Accreditation and Certification
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredits the Augusta University College of Nursing DNP program. CCNE separately accredits the college’s post-graduate APRN certificate program, which matters because ANCC requires certificate holders to have completed an accredited post-graduate program to sit for a certification exam.
Augusta University holds institutional accreditation listed on its accreditation page. The DNP department states that the program meets initial APRN licensure requirements in every state and territory except Idaho, Maryland, and Michigan, and directs applicants to those three boards of nursing to check.
Graduates of both tracks complete an adult-gerontology acute care population focus and are eligible for the ANCC AGACNP-BC exam and the AACN ACNPC-AG exam. Augusta University’s certificate page names the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as an alternative exam body, though AANP does not offer an acute care credential.
Research Additional ACNP Programs in Georgia
- Brenau University – Gainesville
- Emory University – Atlanta
- Georgia Southern University – Statesboro
- Georgia State University – Atlanta
- Mercer University – Atlanta
- Middle Georgia State University – Warner Robins