The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences offers three acute care nurse practitioner pathways:
- MNSc
- Post-BSN to DNP
- Post-Graduate Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (Resident) | Est. Tuition (Non-Resident) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate AGACNP | $11.6K | $19.5K | About 3 semesters | 22 |
| MSN AGACNP | $23.6K | $40K | 2 years (6 semesters) | 45 |
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $37.8K | $63.9K | 3 years (8 semesters) | 72 |
Tuition is calculated from published FY 2026-27 per-credit rates and excludes mandatory fees.
UAMS runs the identical 770-hour AGACNP specialty sequence at all three credential levels, so choosing between the certificate, the master’s, and the doctorate changes your credential and your bill without changing your acute care clinical volume.
Two filters narrow the field before that choice matters. Every applicant needs an unencumbered Arkansas or compact-state RN license. And UAMS’s $12,000 to $15,000 PREPARE scholarship is restricted to primary care and psychiatric tracks, so acute care students cannot apply for it.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MNSc, post-BSN DNP, and post-graduate certificate. No MSN-to-DNP bridge. |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) only. No pediatric acute care ACNP option. |
| Format | Mostly Online |
| Campus Visits | One onsite orientation day tied to core courses and to specialty courses; labs at Little Rock or a regional campus. |
| Clinical Hours | 770 specialty clock hours in the MNSc and DNP. The DNP adds 350 hours of advanced nursing clinical practice. |
| Clinical Placement | Student and specialty coordinator negotiate sites. No guarantee published. |
| RN Experience | 2,000 verified RN hours before advanced health assessment. No ICU, ED, or critical care minimum. |
| License Requirements | Unencumbered Arkansas or compact-state RN license. |
| Start Terms | August and January for all three pathways. |
| Application Deadlines | March 1 for August start; September 1 for January start. |
| GPA Minimum | 3.00 for the DNP. 2.85 for the MNSc, with conditional review from 2.50 to 2.84. |
| Specialty Transfer | Not permitted. Changing NP specialty requires reapplying as a new student. |
| Tuition | $525 per credit resident, $888 non-resident. Six border states pay the resident rate. |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC and AACN ACNPC-AG eligibility on completion. |
| Accreditation | CCNE through December 2035 for the MNSc, DNP, and post-graduate APRN certificate. |
| State Restrictions | None beyond the license rule. UAMS operates under SARA and can also enroll California residents. |
Post-Graduate Certificate AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the Post-Graduate Certificate in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care at UAMS is approximately $11,550 for Arkansas residents (22 credits at $525 per credit).
The six specialty courses map to three consecutive terms in the college’s published rotation, so about three semesters is the practical floor. This pathway is open only to nurses who already hold a master’s or DNP in nursing, and admission is granted on a space-available basis.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the acute care specialty sequence lifted out of the degree programs: three theory courses paired with three practicums, no core coursework and no capstone.
A gap analysis against your prior transcript determines whether you also need core or foundational courses. That is where the 22-credit figure can grow.
- NURS 51854: Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory I (4 credits)
- NURS 52852: Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory II (3 credits)
- NURS 53852: Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory III (2 credits)
- NURS 71805: Acute Care Nursing Practicum I (5 credits)
- NURS 72802: Acute Care Nursing Practicum II (2 credits)
- NURS 73806: Acute Care Nursing Practicum III (6 credits)
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- Practicum credits: 13 across three courses, two credits more than the same three practicums carry in the MNSc and DNP plans of study
- Clock hours: no total published for the certificate. The degree tracks run 70 clock hours per practicum credit, which would place 13 credits near 910 hours
- Preceptor standard: licensed nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or physician with at least one year in that role
- Placement: negotiated with the AGACNP specialty coordinator, who works to keep students in their own geographic area
- Faculty oversight: at least one clinical evaluation visit per semester
This is not a stripped-down credential. Most post-graduate certificates trim the specialty sequence. UAMS carries more practicum credit in the certificate than in either degree, so the certificate is not a shortcut through the clinical work. Because the clock-hour total is unpublished, confirm it with the specialty coordinator before relying on it for ANCC eligibility paperwork.
Certificate Admissions
The certificate has a narrower gate than the degrees and a softer one at the same time: a graduate nursing degree is required, but no GPA floor is published for this pathway.
- Prior degree: official transcript showing a master’s or DNP in nursing from a CCNE- or NLNAC-accredited institution
- License: current, unencumbered Arkansas RN license
- Application: complete the MNSc application and flag post-graduate certificate interest in the supplemental questions
- Interview and essay: may be required
- Seat availability: admission on a space-available basis
- RN experience: 2,000 verified RN work hours before registering for clinical specialty courses
- Second specialty applicants: must also show national APRN certification and an unencumbered APRN license
You Should Know
- Gap analysis timing. The analysis happens after admission, so your final credit count and cost are not fixed when you apply.
- Non-degree status. UAMS describes certificate applicants as non-degree-seeking students who may take classes on a space-available basis, with no guarantee the coursework will later apply to a degree. If you might pursue the DNP afterward, get that in writing first.
- License wording conflict. The certificate page requires an Arkansas RN license specifically, while the MNSc and DNP requirement pages accept an Arkansas or compact-state license. Ask which rule applies before assuming a multistate license is sufficient.
- No published aid. UAMS lists no scholarship or aid eligibility for post-graduate certificate students, and the PREPARE scholarship requires full-time degree enrollment in a non-acute-care track.
MSN AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the MNSc Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track at UAMS is approximately $23,625 for Arkansas residents (45 credits at $525 per credit) and $39,960 at the non-resident rate.
UAMS publishes full-time completion at about two years, with an average of three to three and a half years and a six-year maximum. The MNSc admits at a 2.85 GPA against the doctorate’s 3.00, which makes it the more accessible entry point for a BSN-prepared applicant.
MSN Curriculum
The track is built from four parts: eight advanced practice core courses, a three-course acute care theory sequence, three escalating practicums, and a one-credit outcomes portfolio.
Core coursework covers research methodology, advanced physiology and pathophysiology, clinical pharmacology, advanced health assessment and diagnostic reasoning, clinical prevention, evidence-based practice, theoretical foundations, and APRN roles.
What is absent is the doctoral layer: no epidemiology, informatics, economics, health policy, or quality-outcomes coursework, and no DNP project. The specialty content itself is identical to the DNP, course for course and credit for credit.
- NURS 51854: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory I (4 credits)
- NURS 52853: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory II (3 credits)
- NURS 53852: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory III (2 credits)
- NURS 71805: Acute Care Nursing Practicum I (4 credits, 280 clock hours)
- NURS 72802: Acute Care Nursing Practicum II (2 credits, 140 clock hours)
- NURS 73806: Acute Care Nursing Practicum III (5 credits, 350 clock hours)
- NURS 59951: Outcomes Portfolio (1 credit)
On high-acuity content, the record is thin. UAMS publishes no topic-level detail for the three acute care theory courses, so the curriculum alone does not show whether trauma, mechanical ventilation, rhythm interpretation, or procedural training occupy standalone units.
The college does state that AGACNP specialty courses use team-based learning, task trainers for procedures, and simulation, and that graduates are prepared to perform hemodynamic monitoring, central venous and arterial line placement, suturing, incision and drainage, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, and ventilator management. The published outcomes point to procedural preparation; the course list does not document how it is sequenced.
More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Admissions
Two things separate MNSc admission from the DNP: a lower GPA threshold with a conditional band beneath it, and an explicit statement that Arkansas residents receive preference.
- Degree: BSN from an NLNAC- or CCNE-accredited program
- License: unencumbered Arkansas or compact-state RN license
- GPA: 2.85 or above for regular admission, calculated on the last 60 undergraduate hours
- Conditional band: 2.50 to 2.84 possible, contingent on interview and space. Below 2.50 is not considered
- Health assessment: academic course (3 credit hours) or ANCC-COA approved continuing education
- RN experience: 2,000 verified work hours before registering for advanced health assessment or any clinical specialty course
- Health records: CPR certification, current TB test, and completed Hepatitis B series at registration
- Entrance exam: none. No GRE or MAT
- Application windows: October 1 to March 1 for August start; June 1 to September 1 for January start
You Should Know
- No published term map. UAMS publishes no term-by-term plan of study for the MNSc NP tracks. The six-semester figure in the overview table is derived from the two-year full-time estimate across the college’s fall, spring, and summer rotation.
- Credits may rise. The MNSc page warns that enrolled students may see increased clinical hours and credits as AACN Essentials and NONPF criteria change. Treat 45 credits as the current minimum, not a locked figure.
- Arkansas residents get preference. This is stated twice on the requirements page. Out-of-state applicants can be admitted and can take online courses with approval, but pay the non-resident rate unless they qualify under a border county or border state agreement.
- Tentative admission is possible. If licensure, the health assessment course, or statistics is outstanding, you cannot register for graduate nursing courses until the status clears.
- Transfer credit: up to 12 graduate credits, subject to review by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Accreditation.
BSN-DNP AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the Post-BSN to DNP Adult-Gerontology Acute Care track at UAMS is approximately $37,800 for Arkansas residents (72 credits at $525 per credit) and $63,936 at the non-resident rate.
UAMS publishes both a three-year and a four-year plan of study, with the three-year version running eight semesters. This is the only Arkansas pathway that pairs an AGACNP population focus with a terminal practice degree.
DNP Curriculum
The sequence is front-loaded with doctoral core work. The first four semesters are identical across all seven UAMS nurse practitioner specialties and cover research methods, advanced physiology and pathophysiology, analytics, evidence-based practice, pharmacology, epidemiology, clinical prevention, advanced health assessment, health systems economics, and informatics. Acute care content does not begin until semester five.
From semester five forward, the acute care theory and practicum sequence runs alongside the remaining doctoral courses in APRN roles, quality outcomes management, and health policy leadership. The final semester pairs a two-credit DNP competency integration course with a five-credit, 350-hour advanced nursing clinical practice experience.
- NURS 51854: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory I (4 credits)
- NURS 71805: DNP Acute Care Nursing Practicum I (4 credits, 280 clock hours)
- NURS 52853: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory II (3 credits)
- NURS 72802: DNP Acute Care Nursing Practicum II (2 credits, 140 clock hours)
- NURS 53852: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Theory III (2 credits)
- NURS 73806: DNP Acute Care Nursing Practicum III (5 credits, 350 clock hours)
- NURS 74004: Advanced Nursing Clinical Practice (5 credits, 350 clock hours)
More curriculum details are available here.
DNP Clinical Requirements
- Specialty hours: 770 AGACNP clock hours, split 280 in Practicum I, 140 in Practicum II, and 350 in Practicum III
- DNP practice hours: 350 additional hours in Advanced Nursing Clinical Practice, bringing the published program total to 1,120
- Settings: emergency departments, intensive care units, inpatient internal medicine, inpatient and outpatient subspecialties, and procedural areas or operating rooms
- Preceptor standard: licensed nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or physician with at least one year in that role
- Placement: negotiated with the specialty coordinator, who works to use an approved preceptor in the student’s own area
- Faculty oversight: faculty evaluate the practicum site, meet the preceptor, and conduct at least one clinical evaluation visit each semester
- Hour tracking: Typhon
The volume clears the certification floor comfortably. The 770 specialty hours exceed the ANCC AGACNP-BC eligibility minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours by 270, and they are the same 770 hours an MNSc student completes.
The doctoral premium buys systems work, not patient contact. The extra 350 hours sit in Advanced Nursing Clinical Practice during the final semester, next to the DNP competency integration course.
On placement, read the wording carefully. UAMS says the coordinator tries hard to keep students local and that every effort is made to minimize travel. That is coordination and effort, not a guaranteed local site.
DNP Campus Requirements
- Coursework: core courses are online, with a day of onsite orientation tied to core coursework and another tied to specialty coursework
- Laboratory experiences: held on the Little Rock campus and at UAMS Regional Campuses
- On-campus classes: telecommunicated across the state
- Specialty courses: the AGACNP theory courses on the spring 2026 schedule ran through Blackboard Ultra with no required on-campus classes
The travel commitment is real but small, and the regional campus network shortens the drive for much of the state. What UAMS does not publish is a count of intensive days for the acute care track specifically, which matters more if you live outside driving distance of Little Rock or a regional site.
DNP Admissions
The DNP gate is a higher GPA and a competitive ranking, but the experience requirement is looser than the acute care setting would suggest and is not due until the fourth semester.
- Degree: BSN or higher in nursing from an NLNAC- or CCNE-accredited program
- License: unencumbered Arkansas or compact-state RN license
- GPA: cumulative 3.00 or above, with ranking by the last 60 undergraduate hours
- Statistics: basic statistics course with a grade of C or better
- Health assessment: academic or ANCC-COA approved course
- RN experience: 2,000 verified hours before enrollment in Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning, which falls in semester four of the three-year plan
- Recommended experience: two years of clinical practice, recommended but not required
- Interview and essay: may be part of the process
- Screening: annual criminal background check and drug screen
- Entrance exam: none. No GRE or MAT
- Deadlines: March 1 for August start, September 1 for January start
- Second specialty applicants: must show APRN national certification and an unencumbered APRN license
You Should Know
- No acute care experience gate. Nothing in the published requirements names ICU, emergency department, or critical care time. Applicants can enter directly from a BSN program and satisfy the 2,000-hour rule with roughly one year of general RN work before semester four, so expect a cohort with a wide range of acute care backgrounds.
- Full-time in practice. The DNP FAQ expects at least 36 hours per week on coursework and up to 24 clinic hours per week once specialty courses begin, and states that working will be difficult. The four-year plan exists, but UAMS does not describe it as a part-time-friendly option.
- No specialty transfer. Moving from AGACNP to another NP focus means reapplying as a new student, with no exceptions, so the population focus decision is locked at application.
- One program page is stale. The DNP program information page still states fall-only admission with a February 1 deadline and links a sample plan of study from 2020. The current program page publishes two annual intakes with March 1 and September 1 deadlines.
- State authorization is not the barrier. UAMS operates under SARA and can also enroll California residents. The RN license rule is the real filter: applicants licensed only in a non-compact state would need Arkansas licensure.
Tuition
Graduate and DNP tuition at UAMS is $525 per credit hour for Arkansas residents and $888 per credit hour for non-residents in FY 2026-27.
There are no per-credit program fees for the AGACNP pathways; the $25-per-hour graduate program fee applies only to the nursing administration and nursing education tracks.
Residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas are charged the in-state rate.
| Track | Credits | Resident Tuition | Non-Resident Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate AGACNP | 22 | $11,550 | $19,536 |
| MSN AGACNP | 45 | $23,625 | $39,960 |
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | 72 | $37,800 | $63,936 |
Confirmed mandatory costs beyond tuition:
- Graduate Program Fee: $260 per semester, covering standardized patients, Typhon tracking, the Osmosis clinical sciences library, and Enflux
- Student liability insurance: $20 per semester
- Fall and spring institutional fees: University Services $500, Student Health $145, Technology $130, Student Transportation $78, Student Activity $25
- Summer institutional fees: Student Transportation at the reduced $39 rate
- One-time charges: graduation fee $75, application fee $50, and a $150 enrollment deposit credited to first-semester tuition
Applied to the eight-semester DNP plan (six fall and spring terms plus two summers), that schedule produces roughly $7,700 in mandatory fees. That puts the all-in resident figure near $45,500 and the non-resident figure near $71,600. Both totals are derived from the published fee tables, not published by UAMS as a program cost.
Be aware that:
- The PREPARE scholarship excludes acute care students. It pays $12,000 to $15,000 per year and lists eligible tracks as adult-gerontology primary care, family, psychiatric-mental health, and primary care pediatrics. Over three doctoral years the gap can exceed $40,000, more than the entire resident tuition bill for the DNP.
- The online designation is unconfirmed. Several institutional fees are reduced or waived for students in UAMS-designated 100% online programs, but the post-BSN DNP is described as a hybrid format with distance modalities. The full fee stack above is the conservative assumption. Confirm the designation with Student Financial Services, because it is worth several thousand dollars over three years.
- The graduate program fee footnote contradicts itself. It describes the charge as applying to students enrolled in the advanced health assessment course and, in the next sentence, as charged each semester to all graduate students. The fee table lists it as a per-semester graduate charge.
- Out-of-state students pay the non-resident rate. They may take UAMS online courses with approval. Some Arkansas border counties hold an in-state tuition agreement, and the specialty coordinator or recruiter determines status.
- Enrollment deposits are non-refundable and are forfeited if you do not register in the semester of acceptance.
Residency is what should shape an out-of-state decision here. At $888 per credit, the DNP crosses $63,900 in tuition alone, roughly $26,000 above the resident figure for the same 770 acute care clinical hours. For nurses in the six border states, the in-state rate applies and that gap disappears.
See the official tuition page for more details.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
Best suited for Arkansas and border-state nurses who want an AGACNP credential from the state’s academic health center and want to pick their credential level on cost rather than clinical depth.
One specialty core, three price points. The 22-credit certificate, 45-credit MNSc, and 72-credit DNP all run NURS 51854, 52853, and 53852 with the same three practicums. At $525 per resident credit that is $11,550, $23,625, and $37,800 for the same acute care preparation. The doctorate adds 27 credits of systems, policy, analytics, and project work plus 350 hours of advanced nursing clinical practice. It does not add acute care patient contact hours.
An accessible entry point for nurses without ICU tenure. UAMS requires 2,000 verified RN hours before the fourth-semester advanced health assessment course and recommends two years of clinical experience without requiring it. No published requirement names ICU, emergency, or critical care time.
That opens the door wider than most acute care programs, and it cuts both ways: a strong ICU nurse gains no admissions advantage from that background.
The regional campus network shortens the travel. Core courses are online, on-campus classes are telecommunicated statewide, and laboratory work happens in Little Rock or at a UAMS Regional Campus. The published onsite obligation is a day of orientation tied to core courses and another tied to specialty courses. For a nurse in Fayetteville or Jonesboro, that is a materially lighter commitment than a Little Rock-only program.
The scholarship exclusion is a real cost. UAMS’s largest published nursing award funds four primary care and psychiatric tracks and shuts out acute care students. If funding is central to your decision, that exclusion should weigh against the $525 resident rate rather than be treated separately from it.
The verdict comes down to whether you need the letters. If you already hold a graduate nursing degree and want AGACNP certification at the lowest defensible cost, the certificate delivers the full specialty sequence for $11,550 in resident tuition, with more practicum credit than either degree carries. If you hold only a BSN, the MNSc reaches the same 770 hours and the same certification exams for $23,625 at a 2.85 GPA floor, while the DNP costs $14,175 more and asks for a 3.00. Nurses who specifically want doctoral systems training, or who plan to teach or lead, have the clearest case for the doctorate. Nurses whose decision hinges on funding should compare programs that do not exclude acute care students from their largest scholarship, and pediatric acute care applicants have no ACNP option at UAMS at all.
Accreditation and Certification
Nursing accreditation. The UAMS College of Nursing’s Master of Nursing Science, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs are all accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education through December 2035, with the current cycle beginning April 2025. The explicit inclusion of the post-graduate APRN certificate program matters for certificate applicants, because ANCC requires the certificate program itself to hold accreditation, not merely the parent college.
Institutional accreditation. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That is what makes UAMS credits transferable and its degrees recognized for licensure and employment, and it is a prerequisite for federal financial aid eligibility.
Certification eligibility. All three pathways carry an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care population focus, which maps to the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam (AGACNP-BC) and the AACN Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam (ACNPC-AG). UAMS states that graduates are eligible to sit for national certification in their chosen specialty on completion of required coursework, and the 770 specialty clock hours in the MNSc and DNP plans of study exceed the ANCC minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours.
Additional ACNP Programs for Arkansas Residents
- Arkansas State University - Jonesboro