The University of Alabama in Huntsville offers three acute care nurse practitioner tracks:
- MSN
- BSN to DNP
- Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN | $22.9K | 1.5 years (4 semesters) | 42 |
| BSN-DNP | $39.9K | 3 years (8 semesters) | 73 |
| Certificate | $13.1K | 1.5 years (4 semesters) | 24 |
Tuition and duration are both calculated rather than published.
All three UAH tracks restrict clinical placements to Alabama or Tennessee, meet on the Huntsville campus every other Wednesday, and require 1,000 hours of RN experience in a critical care environment before clinical courses begin.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN, BSN to DNP, and post-master’s certificate |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP), all three tracks |
| Format | Hybrid. Classes typically meet on campus every other Wednesday |
| Clinical Hours | 720 total, including at least 600 direct patient care hours |
| Clinical Placement | Alabama or Tennessee only. Placement responsibility not stated |
| RN Experience | 1,000 hours in a critical care environment before clinical courses |
| Start Terms | Fall only. NUR 620 opens the sequence and runs once a year |
| Certifications Required | AHA BLS for all students. ACLS additionally for MSN AGACNP |
| License Requirements | Unencumbered US RN license. Tennessee clinicals require TN licensure |
| Tuition | $546 per credit, in-state distance learner rate including fees |
| Accreditation | CCNE, covering the master’s, DNP, and certificate programs |
| State Restrictions | Placement limited to AL and TN. DNP track adds a residency list |
Requirements Shared Across All Tracks
All three pathways use the same four-course AGACNP specialty sequence, NUR 620 through NUR 623, and carry identical clinical, campus, and experience requirements.
Clinical Requirements
- 720 total clinical hours
- At least 600 direct patient care hours supervised by a physician or nurse practitioner
- Up to 120 hours may come from clinical seminars, approved continuing education, simulation, or specialty rotations
- Hours must include care of adults from young adulthood through the elderly
- Four clinical courses across four terms, roughly 180 hours per term
- Clinical placements available only in Alabama or Tennessee
- Clinicals outside Alabama require RN licensure in that state
- Whether UAH or the student secures the preceptor is not clearly stated
- No placement guarantee is published
Campus Requirements
- Classes typically meet on the Huntsville campus every other Wednesday
- Roughly 30 campus days across the four-term sequence
- Campus is at 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899
- No virtual attendance option is published
RN Experience and Licensure
- 1,000 hours as an RN in a critical care environment, required before clinical hours begin rather than at application
- Current, unencumbered US RN license, maintained throughout the program
- Current AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers certification (AHA only)
- ACLS certification, required for MSN AGACNP students
- Health and liability insurance, OSHA and HIPAA training, a recent physical exam, and drug testing and background checks before enrollment and annually
You Should Know
The AGACNP sequence runs fall, spring, summer, fall, and each course is offered once a year. Entry is annual, and a deferral or failure in any single course delays completion by twelve months rather than one term. The 1,000-hour experience requirement gates the sequence, so an applicant still accumulating hours in the fall waits a full year to start.
MSN, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
The estimated tuition for the MSN AGACNP track at UAH is approximately $22,932 (42 credits at $546 per credit). The program can generally be completed in about 1.5 years, or four consecutive terms starting in a fall semester.
MSN Curriculum
The 42 credits divide into a graduate core, an advanced practice core covering the three foundation sciences, and the 24-credit AGACNP specialty sequence that carries all 720 clinical hours.
- NUR 602, Scholarly Inquiry for Advanced Nursing Practice (fall, spring, summer)
- NUR 604, Role Development for Advanced Practice Nursing
- NUR 605, Advanced Health Assessment (fall, summer)
- NUR 606, Advanced Pathophysiology (fall)
- NUR 607, Pharmacology in Advanced Practice (spring, summer)
- NUR 620, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner I (fall)
- NUR 621, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner II (spring)
- NUR 622, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner III (summer)
- NUR 623, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner IV (fall)
- One NUR 500-level elective
Each specialty course pairs a didactic section with a separately registered clinical experience section. NUR 620, 621, and 622 carry a Simulation and Learning Innovation Center lab fee.
More curriculum details are available here in the UAH graduate catalog.
MSN Admissions
- BSN from a CCNE, ACEN, or CNEA accredited program
- Minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale across all baccalaureate coursework, or across the last 60 semester hours
- Advanced Health Assessment, Advanced Pathophysiology, and Advanced Pharmacology as prerequisites or co-requisites, none older than two years at admission
- Fall entry
UAH does not publish an application deadline, cohort size, or interview requirement for this track.
BSN to DNP, AGACNP Focus
The estimated tuition for the BSN to DNP pathway with an AGACNP focus is approximately $39,858 (73 credits at $546 per credit). The program can generally be completed in about 3 years, or eight terms. UAH awards the MSN on completion of NUR 623, so students reach certification eligibility roughly halfway through.
How This Track Differs
The first 42 credits are the MSN, including the same AGACNP sequence and the same 720 clinical hours described above. The remaining 31 credits are doctoral coursework.
- NUR 700, Clinical Data Management and Analysis
- NUR 731, Philosophical, Theoretical, and Conceptual Foundations for Advanced Practice Nursing
- NUR 733, Informatics for Advanced Practice Nursing
- NUR 737, Interdisciplinary Leadership and Role Development for Practice Excellence
- NUR 740, Health Policy and Politics
- NUR 742, Program Evaluation Methods
- NUR 743, Evidence-Based Practice Strategies
- NUR 738, DNP Project Development
- NUR 739, DNP Project (7 credits, taken across several semesters as determined by the faculty adviser)
The doctoral tier adds no specialty clinical hours. UAH describes the DNP portion as online with one required on-campus intensive, so this track is hybrid in its first half and online in its second. UAH does not publish a total DNP practice hour requirement.
DNP Admissions
- BSN entry, for nurses moving directly to the doctorate
- Official transcripts from all schools attended
- Same AGACNP experience, licensure, and certification requirements as the MSN
You Should Know
UAH restricts DNP enrollment to applicants who live, work, and are licensed in a published list of roughly 35 jurisdictions, and states separately that it cannot admit nurses from New York. Appearing on that list is necessary but not sufficient, since clinicals must still be completed in Alabama or Tennessee. UAH’s published DNP admission requirements are written primarily for post-master’s entry, so BSN-entry criteria should be confirmed with the Office of Graduate Programs.
Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate is approximately $13,104 (24 credits at $546 per credit). The program can generally be completed in about 1.5 years, the same four terms as the MSN.
How This Track Differs
The certificate is the four-course AGACNP specialty sequence on its own. It uses the same courses and the same clinical requirements described above, with no reduction in clinical hours for applicants who already hold NP certification. Students skip the graduate core, the role course, and the elective, which is what brings the credit count from 42 to 24.
Certificate Admissions
- Master’s in nursing from a CCNE, ACEN, or CNEA accredited program
- Minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale across all MSN coursework
- Advanced Health Assessment, Advanced Pathophysiology, and Advanced Pharmacology, none older than two years at admission
- APRN students must document an active and appropriate APN license before course enrollment
- Same experience, licensure, health, and background check requirements as degree-seeking students
You Should Know
The two-year recency rule on the three foundation sciences is the most common obstacle for this pathway. An APRN certified more than two years ago will likely need to repeat all three, adding credits and cost beyond the 24-credit figure. UAH publishes no formal gap analysis process, so the number of added prerequisites is determined case by case. UAH also publishes no statement on federal financial aid eligibility for non-degree certificate students.
Tuition
The cost per credit for all three tracks is $546 at the College of Nursing distance learner rate for 2026-2027. UAH does not publish that figure directly: it combines $458 tuition, a $46 College of Nursing fee, and a $42 infrastructure fee, all charged per credit hour.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| MSN AGACNP | 42 | $22,932 |
| BSN to DNP AGACNP | 73 | $39,858 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate | 24 | $13,104 |
Tuition figures are estimated from the per-credit rate. UAH publishes no program-specific cost for any AGACNP track.
Mandatory course fees add roughly $880 to the MSN, $1,155 to the BSN to DNP, and $580 to the certificate. The largest single charge is a $400 course fee on NUR 623, which applies to all three tracks. NUR 605 carries a $300 fee, NUR 620 through 622 carry a $10 per credit hour simulation lab fee, and NUR 743 carries a $275 fee on the DNP track.
Important: UAH classifies the AGACNP program as hybrid, while the university’s bursar states that programs delivered in a blended modality are charged the campus rate. UAH’s published materials do not resolve which rate applies. At the graduate campus rate the cost would be $824 per credit for Alabama residents and $1,818 for non-residents. Confirm the applicable rate with the bursar before enrolling.
See the official 2026-2027 tuition schedule for current rates.
Financial Aid
The Alabama Board of Nursing awards scholarships to graduate nursing students and runs a Loan Repayment Program covering students preparing as CRNPs, with repayment tied to full-time service in an Area of Critical Need in Alabama. UAH also lists the Elizabeth M. Fisher Memorial Scholarship, graduate teaching assistantships, and graduate tuition scholarships through its College of Nursing aid page.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
Regional clinical network. Clinical placements are limited to Alabama and Tennessee, which rules the program out for nurses elsewhere but puts placements inside the same regional hospital network where graduates are likely to be hired. UAH is the only institution offering both undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in north Alabama.
A real critical care entry gate. The 1,000-hour critical care requirement means classmates arrive with a shared floor of acute care experience. UAH’s FNP track asks for 1,000 RN hours with no setting specified, so this is a genuine screen rather than boilerplate.
Accredited simulation. UAH’s Simulation and Learning Innovation Center holds accreditation for Teaching and Education in Healthcare Simulation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and endorsement from INACSL for all four core simulation standards. The College of Nursing is an NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education.
Three entry points, one sequence. BSN nurses, master’s-prepared APRNs changing population focus, and nurses seeking a doctorate all complete the same four courses and the same 720 hours. The certificate costs $13,104 against the MSN’s $22,932 and finishes on the same date.
A fixed annual rotation. Four consecutive terms produce an MSN in about 16 months, which is quick for 720 clinical hours. The trade-off is rigidity: each course runs once a year, so any interruption costs twelve months.
Best suited for nurses in Alabama or Tennessee who hold ICU or comparable critical care experience, can be in Huntsville every other Wednesday, and want a short, low-cost path to AGACNP practice with the option to continue to a doctorate at the same school.
Accreditation and Certification
The University of Alabama in Huntsville is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The UAH College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Alabama Board of Nursing.
UAH states that its baccalaureate, master’s, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs are all CCNE-accredited, which covers all three AGACNP pathways. That matters specifically for the certificate: ANCC requires a post-graduate APRN certificate program to hold accreditation in its own right for graduates to be eligible for certification.
All three tracks carry an adult-gerontology acute care population focus, which maps to the AGACNP-BC exam from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the ACNPC-AG exam from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. UAH does not name either exam on its program pages, stating only that graduates are prepared to meet certification eligibility requirements for advanced practice licensure. Applicants planning for a specific credential should confirm eligibility with the certifying body before enrolling.
More ACNP Programs in Alabama
- Jacksonville State University - Jacksonville
- University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham
- University of South Alabama - Mobile