Brenau University offers one acute care nurse practitioner track:
- Post-Master’s Certificate, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Program Track Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate AGACNP | $13.8K | Under 1 year (2 semesters) | 15 |
Tuition and the credit total are both calculated rather than published.
Brenau compresses the AGACNP certificate into five courses across two semesters, and faculty arrange the clinical placements rather than leaving students to find preceptors. Georgia residents are guaranteed a site within 100 miles of Gainesville.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | Post-master’s certificate |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) |
| Format | Mostly Online |
| Campus Visits | One in-person weekend per semester at the North Atlanta campus in Norcross |
| Clinical Hours | No clock-hour total published for the certificate |
| Clinical Placement | Arranged by faculty; guaranteed within 100 miles of Gainesville for Georgia residents |
| RN Experience | None published; applicants must already hold APRN certification |
| Distinctive Coursework | Acute Care I and Acute Care II, each paired with its own clinical course |
| License Requirements | Active RN license and active APRN license |
| Start Terms | Not published; admission is rolling and first come, first served |
| Tuition | $918 per credit all in, about $13,776 for 15 credits |
| Certification | ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP-BC) |
| Accreditation | CCNE, covering post-master’s certificate programs |
| State Restrictions | None on enrollment; the placement guarantee applies only to Georgia residents |
Post-Master’s Certificate, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s Certificate AGACNP program at Brenau University is approximately $13,776 (15 credits at $918/credit). The program can generally be completed in about two semesters.
Brenau publishes no total credit count. The figure above sums the five required courses at three credits each, the value the catalog confirms for Acute Care I and Acute Care I Clinical.
Certificate Curriculum
- NG 907: Healthcare Systems, Policy and Law (3 credits)
- NG 912: Acute Care I (3 credits)
- NG 913: Acute Care I Clinical (3 credits)
- NG 914: Acute Care II (3 credits)
- NG 915: Acute Care II Clinical Practicum (3 credits)
The sequence carries no advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology, or health assessment course, which is consistent with an entry requirement that applicants already hold APRN certification.
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinicals
- Clinical courses: two, NG 913 and NG 915, each paired to its didactic course
- Clock hours: no total published for the certificate
- Placement model: faculty arrange clinical placements
- Placement guarantee: within 100 miles of Gainesville, for Georgia residents only
- Adult settings: CCU, MICU, SICU, emergency, intermediate care, and specialty services such as transplant and oncology
- Gerontology settings: complex long-term care, rehabilitation, and inpatient Acute Care of Elders units
- Specialty clinics: cardiology and pulmonology
You should know: Brenau does not publish a clinical clock-hour total for this certificate. ANCC requires 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours in the adult-gerontology acute care population focus before a candidate can sit for the AGACNP-BC exam, and two practicum courses across two semesters leaves how prior hours are counted an open question. Confirm the number with the program before enrolling.
You should know: The 100-mile placement guarantee is scoped to Georgia residents. Brenau operates under NC-SARA and can enroll students in 49 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but a student outside Georgia gets no published commitment on where a site will be found.
Campus Requirements
- Cadence: one in-person weekend per semester
- Total visits: two across the two-semester program
- Location: the North Atlanta campus at 3139 Campus Drive, Norcross
- Remaining instruction: online
Brenau labels the program hybrid. The published on-campus obligation is two weekends, which is why this profile classifies it as Mostly Online.
Certificate Admissions
- Degree: MSN or DNP from an accredited institution
- Certification: open to any APRN certified to work with adults
- GPA: 3.0 minimum across all college transcripts
- Licenses: active RN license and active APRN license
- Documents: all official college transcripts, plus a resume or CV
- Deadline: rolling, on a first come, first served basis
- RN or acute care experience: none published
You should know: Brenau publishes no start term for this certificate and fills seats first come, first served. On a two-semester sequence the entry term sets the completion date outright, so an applicant who misses a cohort waits for the next one rather than starting a term late.
Tuition
Brenau charges $896 per credit hour for graduate nursing certificates under the 2026-2027 schedule, plus an I&I Development Fee of 2.5% of tuition. That brings the all-in cost to $918 per credit.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate AGACNP | 15 | $13,776 |
A University Services Fee of $375 per semester adds $750 across the two semesters. Brenau bills nursing fees on top of that but does not publish a certificate-specific amount, so budget above $14,526.
Be aware: the graduate nursing certificate rate rose from $866 to $896 per credit for 2026-2027, and the University Services Fee rose from $325 to $375 per semester. The cost-of-attendance table on the program page is a generic 27-credit, three-semester graduate nursing template and does not describe this two-semester certificate.
See the official Brenau tuition page for the full schedule.
Financial Aid
Active duty military pay $250 per credit hour. Veterans, spouses, and dependents of active duty personnel receive 10% off the program rate, which is a material discount on a certificate this size. Brenau’s financial aid office handles federal aid questions; non-degree certificate students should confirm eligibility before counting on loans.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
- Two semesters to completion. Five courses, no thesis, no doctoral tier. For an APRN who already carries adult certification, this is among the shortest routes into the acute care role that Georgia offers.
- Faculty arrange the placements. Students are not sent out to negotiate their own preceptor agreements, and the catalog names the unit types rotations draw from rather than describing sites in the abstract.
- Georgia residents get a distance commitment. A guaranteed site within 100 miles of Gainesville sets a travel ceiling that most programs leave undefined.
- The campus burden is two weekends. Everything else runs online, and the in-person sessions sit at the Norcross campus rather than the Gainesville main campus.
- Entry rests on credentials, not bedside years. Brenau publishes no RN or critical care experience minimum, gating admission on an MSN or DNP, an active APRN license, and a 3.0 GPA.
This fits an adult-focused nurse practitioner already working in or near northeast Georgia who wants to add acute care quickly and would rather have faculty handle placement than build a preceptor network alone.
Accreditation and Certification
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredits Brenau’s nursing programs, and its scope statement names the post-master’s certificate programs explicitly alongside the BSN, MSN, and DNP. That matters for certificate holders, because ANCC requires the certificate program itself to hold accreditation, not merely the school’s degree programs.
Brenau University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing also holds full approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing.
The population focus is adult-gerontology acute care. Graduates sit for the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam, credentialed as AGACNP-BC. Brenau’s program page directs applicants to the national certification boards rather than naming a single exam, so candidates weighing the AACN ACNPC-AG route should confirm the curriculum maps to it.
Compare Brenau with Other ACNP Programs in Georgia
- Augusta University – Augusta
- Emory University – Atlanta
- Georgia Southern University – Statesboro
- Georgia State University – Atlanta
- Mercer University – Atlanta
- Middle Georgia State University – Warner Robins
View our complete Georgia ACNP Program comparison (helps you choose)