Jacksonville State University offers one acute care nurse practitioner track:
- BSN to DNP, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
Program Track Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $34.5K | 4 years (12 semesters) | 69 |
Tuition above is calculated from the published per-credit rate. JSU quotes no current program total for this track. The duration is counted term by term from the published fall-admission plan of study, which runs 12 semesters across a fall, spring, and summer calendar. Spring admission runs 11 semesters.
Only residents of five states may apply, and the doctorate is the sole AGACNP route here. Students who finish the specialty sequence are awarded an MSN at the eighth semester, then continue four more semesters for the DNP.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN to DNP only. No standalone MSN track, no post-graduate certificate |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) |
| Format | Mostly Online. Online coursework with limited on-campus events |
| Campus Visits | Orientation, simulation, project presentation. Number not published |
| Clinical Hours | 700 specialty hours published. Plan of study details sum to 850. 630 DNP residency hours |
| Clinical Placement | Responsibility for locating sites and preceptors is not published |
| RN Experience | None published. No acute care, ICU, or emergency requirement stated |
| Distinctive Coursework | Four paired didactic and practicum courses, ANP 7068 through ANP 7877 |
| License Requirements | Current unencumbered RN licensure in the United States |
| Start Terms | Fall and spring. Two intakes per year |
| Tuition | $500 per credit, flat doctoral rate. Mandatory fees are additional |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC and AACN ACNPC-AG, both named by JSU |
| Accreditation | CCNE for the DNP program. SACSCOC institutionally |
| State Restrictions | Applicants must reside in AL, GA, FL, MS, or TN |
| Embedded MSN | MSN awarded after the specialty sequence, before the doctoral half |
| Time Limit | All requirements must be completed within 7 calendar years |
BSN to DNP, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP AGACNP track at Jacksonville State University is approximately $34,500 (69 credits at $500 per credit, derived). The program can generally be completed in about 4 years, based on the 12 semesters in the published fall-admission plan of study.
This is the only AGACNP pathway at JSU, and admission is open only to residents of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
BSN-DNP AGACNP Curriculum
The 69 credits divide into four blocks.
- A nine-credit advanced practice foundation covers the three sciences.
- A 24-credit AGACNP specialty sequence pairs four didactic courses with four practicums.
- A 24-credit doctoral core carries scientific underpinnings, evidence-based practice, policy and finance, biostatistics, population health, leadership, and informatics.
- A 12-credit capstone block holds the DNP project planning course and three residencies.
A fall-admission student does not begin acute care content until the fifth semester. The first four terms cover doctoral core and advanced practice science, with Advanced Health Assessment in semester four. The four ANP course pairs then run across four consecutive terms, each didactic course carrying its own practicum.
- NU 7007, Advanced Health Assessment (3 credits), fall of year 2
- NU 7013, Physio-Pathological Basis of Advanced Nursing (3 credits)
- NU 7020, Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses (3 credits)
- ANP 7068, Advanced Adult-Gerontology Acute NP I (3 credits), with ANP 7869 Practicum I (2 credits, 110 clinical hours), spring of year 2
- ANP 7071, Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Issues for AGACNP (1 credit)
- ANP 7072, Advanced Adult-Gerontology Acute NP II (3 credits), with ANP 7873 Practicum II (3 credits, 210 clinical hours), summer of year 2
- ANP 7074, Advanced Adult-Gerontology Acute NP III (3 credits), with ANP 7875 Practicum III (3 credits, 250 clinical hours), fall of year 3
- ANP 7076, Advanced Adult-Gerontology Acute NP IV (3 credits), with ANP 7877 Practicum IV (3 credits, 280 clinical hours), spring of year 3
- DNP 8796, DNP Project Planning and Development (3 credits)
- DNP 8797, 8798, and 8799, Residency I through III (3 credits each, 210 clinical hours each)
More curriculum details are available here in the JSU graduate catalog, and JSU publishes term-by-term sequences for fall admission and spring admission.
You Should Know
- Both plans of study state that students receive the MSN after Practicum IV and then continue four more semesters for the DNP. JSU does not say whether the MSN alone establishes eligibility to sit the AGACNP certification exams. Every specialty course and every specialty clinical hour is complete at that point, which makes the question worth asking directly before enrolling.
- Spring admission completes in 11 semesters rather than 12, because the plan front-loads heavier terms early. Entry term therefore changes both the length and the total fee bill.
- NU 8002, the BSN-DNP online orientation, is a required course carrying zero credits. It does not count toward the 69.
- All requirements must be completed within 7 calendar years. On a 12-semester plan that leaves limited room for interruption.
- The fall plan of study labels the project and residency courses ANP 8796 through ANP 8799. The catalog and the spring plan label them DNP. The course content is the same and the prefix discrepancy appears to be a typo in the fall document.
BSN-DNP AGACNP Clinical Requirements
- 700 AGACNP specialty clinical hours, described by JSU as a combination of simulation and direct patient care
- The plans of study assign per-course hours of 110, 210, 250, and 280 across the four practicums, which sum to 850 rather than 700 ⚠
- 630 DNP residency hours, earned as 210 hours in each of Residency I, II, and III
- 1,330 total supervised academic program practice hours required for graduation, per the catalog
- Clinical hours escalate term over term, from 110 in the first practicum to 280 in the fourth
- A satisfactory DNP project and paper, a professional electronic portfolio, and a comprehensive exam are also required
Both figures clear the ANCC floor of 500 faculty-supervised hours, so the discrepancy affects planning rather than certification eligibility. When comparing against other schools, use the specialty figure. The 1,330 total includes 630 residency hours tied to the scholarly project, which are doctoral practice hours rather than acute care patient contact.
You Should Know
- The 700 and 850 figures cannot both be right. The catalog’s 1,330 graduation requirement minus the 630 residency hours leaves exactly 700, so two sources support the lower number and the plans of study support the higher one. Ask the AGACNP lead faculty which figure governs, and get it in writing.
- JSU does not publish how the specialty hours divide between simulation and direct patient care. That split is the single most useful missing number here. Certification bodies limit how much simulation counts, so a total with an undisclosed simulation share is not directly comparable to a program that publishes a direct patient care minimum.
- JSU does not state who locates clinical sites and preceptors, or whether the school arranges them. Do not assume faculty-arranged placement.
- No preceptor credential standard is published.
- No geographic restriction on clinical placement is published. That is a separate question from the five-state restriction on admission, and both are worth asking about.
BSN-DNP AGACNP Admissions
Admission is gated on academic record rather than clinical background, and eligibility is closed to residents of all but five states.
- Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a regionally accredited institution certified by a national accreditation agency
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the BSN program or the last 60 hours, whichever is higher
- Undergraduate science courses with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
- Current unencumbered licensure as a registered nurse in the United States
- Current resume or curriculum vitae
- Favorable recommendation from the DNP admissions committee
- Fall deadline May 1, spring deadline October 1, or until seats are filled
- $35 non-refundable graduate application fee
You Should Know
- JSU states that only residents of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee are currently eligible for application consideration in its nurse practitioner BSN-DNP tracks. This is an admission eligibility rule rather than a clinical placement rule, and it is the first thing to check.
- No RN work experience is required, and no acute care, ICU, or emergency experience is required or listed as preferred. For an acute care doctorate that cuts both ways. It opens the program to nurses without critical care backgrounds, and it means cohort experience levels will vary more than at programs that screen on ICU hours.
- Both deadlines run as annual cycles, and both state that seats can close before the posted date.
- Progression is strict. A grade below B in a nursing course must be repeated with an A or B, only one such retake is permitted, and more than 3 semester hours of C grades ends eligibility to continue.
- Applicants who already hold a graduate nursing degree should confirm what, if anything, transfers before applying. JSU publishes no transfer credit allowance for this program.
Tuition
The cost per credit for the AGACNP track is $500 in published tuition, or roughly $631 all-in once mandatory fees are added. JSU’s bursar lists the $500 as a flat Doctor of Nursing Practice rate for 2026-2027, with no in-state and out-of-state split.
Published Rates and Mandatory Fees, 2026-2027
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Doctor of Nursing Practice tuition | $500 per credit |
| Professional Nursing Fee, BSN-DNP | $17.68 per credit |
| Digital instruction fee | $18 per credit |
| Athletics fee | $23 per credit, capped at 12 hours per semester |
| General university fee, fall and spring, 1 to 5 hours | $81 per credit |
| General university fee, fall and spring, 6 or more hours | $522 per semester, flat |
| General university fee, summer, 1 to 3 hours | $115 per semester |
| General university fee, summer, 4 or more hours | $225 per semester |
Estimated Cost
The plans of study publish a credit load for every term, so the fee stack can be built term by term rather than estimated as a range. The fall-admission plan carries 6 credits in eleven terms and 3 credits in the final summer.
| Component | Fall Entry, 12 Semesters | Spring Entry, 11 Semesters |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition, 69 credits at $500 | $34,500 | $34,500 |
| General university fee | $4,966 | $4,444 |
| Athletics fee, 69 credits at $23 | $1,587 | $1,587 |
| Digital instruction fee, 69 credits at $18 | $1,242 | $1,242 |
| Professional nursing fee, 69 credits at $17.68 | $1,220 | $1,220 |
| Estimated all-in total (derived) | $43,515 | $42,993 |
| Effective cost per credit (derived) | $631 | $623 |
Confirmed costs:
- Doctor of Nursing Practice tuition: $500 per credit hour for the 2026-2027 year, with no residency surcharge
- Professional Nursing Fee for BSN-DNP students: $17.68 per credit hour
- Digital instruction fee: $18 per credit hour
- Athletics fee: $23 per credit hour, capped at 12 hours per semester
- General university fee: $522 flat at 6 or more hours in fall and spring, $225 in summer at 4 or more hours
- JaxBooks course materials: $23 per credit hour plus tax, with a student opt-out
- Graduate application fee $35, application for degree $50, both non-refundable
Be aware that:
- Every total on this page is calculated from per-credit rates and published term loads. JSU publishes no current fee-inclusive program cost for the AGACNP track.
- The bursar also lists a Doctor of Nursing Practice package of $35,880 for 69 hours at $520 per hour. That table is labeled as rates in effect for students enrolled prior to Fall 2024 with consecutive enrollment. It is a grandfathered cohort rate, not the price a new applicant pays, and a break in enrollment forfeits it.
- Mandatory fees add roughly $8,500 to $9,000 across the program, which is 25 to 26 percent on top of the advertised tuition. The $34,500 figure is not what this degree costs.
- The general university fee turns on credit load and term type. At 6 credits a term the flat $522 fall and spring rate applies, so a student who drops to 5 credits in a fall or spring term pays $405 instead of $522. Summer terms are cheaper by design.
- Spring entry costs about $522 less and finishes a semester sooner, purely because its plan of study distributes the same 69 credits across 11 terms instead of 12.
- Travel for orientation, simulation sessions, and project presentation is not estimated by JSU and is not included above.
- Tuition and fees are set annually and are subject to change across a four-year program.
Mandatory fees raise the real cost to roughly $630 per credit. Use that figure when comparing against schools that quote fee-inclusive totals. There is no residency surcharge, which matters for the Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee nurses who make up four of the five eligible applicant pools.
See the official JSU tuition and fees schedule for current rates.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
Best suited for nurses in the five eligible states who want acute care preparation without a critical care prerequisite.
Five-state eligibility. Only residents of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee may apply to the nurse practitioner tracks. Check this before anything else on the page.
No RN experience requirement. JSU publishes no work experience requirement for this track, and no acute care, ICU, or emergency requirement. The screen is a 3.0 nursing GPA and a 2.5 science GPA.
MSN awarded at semester eight. Both plans of study state that students receive the MSN after the fourth practicum, then continue four semesters for the DNP. All specialty coursework and specialty clinical hours are complete at that point.
Two intakes. Fall and spring admission, with May 1 and October 1 deadlines. Spring entry completes in 11 semesters and costs about $522 less than fall’s 12.
No residency surcharge. The $500 doctoral rate applies regardless of home state, which matters for the four out-of-state applicant pools.
Nurses who meet the residency rule, want the doctorate, and lack a critical care background have a clear reason to consider JSU. Anyone weighing the MSN exit should confirm what it permits, and anyone comparing clinical hours should resolve the 700 versus 850 question first.
Accreditation and Certification
The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Jacksonville State University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The AGACNP track sits entirely within the DNP, so that accreditation covers the only acute care pathway JSU offers. There is no post-graduate APRN certificate program.
Jacksonville State University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which governs federal financial aid eligibility.
The track carries an adult-gerontology acute care population focus. JSU states that graduates are academically qualified for the AGACNP-BC examination through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the ACNPC-AG examination through the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. That statement applies to graduates of the track. JSU does not extend it to the MSN awarded at the midpoint.
Additional ACNP Programs for Alabama Residents
- University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham
- University of Alabama in Huntsville - Huntsville
- University of South Alabama - Mobile