The University of Arizona College of Nursing offers 2 Acute Care Nurse Practitioner tracks:
- Doctor of Nursing Practice – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
- Graduate Certificate – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Estimated Cost | Estimated Duration |
|---|---|---|
| DNP – AGACNP | $73,710 | About 2.5 years |
| Graduate Certificate – AGACNP | $31,590–$36,855 | About 1.5–2 years |
Signature features include the Resident Intensive Summer Experience (RISE), structured clinical immersion weeks, and a strong focus on caring for acutely and critically ill adult and older adult patients in high-acuity settings.
DNP – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
The estimated cost for the DNP – AG-ACNP program is approximately $73,710 and would take about 2.5 years to complete full time.
Estimate based on 70 credits × $1,053 per credit.
DNP Curriculum
The DNP AGACNP curriculum covers 70 credits that combine DNP core content, advanced practice science, and AGACNP specialty courses.
Students progress from statistics, theory, and evidence-based practice into policy, leadership, and informatics, then into advanced physiology, pharmacology, assessment, and acute care–focused diagnosis and management.
Key required courses include:
NURS501: Advanced Physiology & Pathophysiology
Examines physiologic and pathophysiologic phenomena across the lifespan including cellular/molecular physiology, immunology, neurophysiology, and cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and digestive systems.
NURS572: Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics for Nursing
Clinical pharmacology covering common medications across the lifespan with focus on chronic and acute disease management, drug selection, dosage titration, adverse effects, and geriatric prescribing considerations.
NURS574: Pharmacology in Acute Care
Develops competency in pharmacotherapeutic assessment, prescription, and evaluation for acutely or critically ill adults and older adults using evidence-based management approaches.
NURS609A: Advanced Health and Physical Assessment
Comprehensive history, physical, and mental health examination skills leading to differential diagnoses development. Incorporates wellness assessment, screening, and chief complaint evaluation.
NURS615: Adult-Gerontology: Diagnosis & Management of Chronic & Acute Illness I
Develops theoretical and clinical competencies in evidence-based diagnosis and management of acute and chronically ill adults, including frail older adults, across the care continuum with supervised practicum.
NURS616: Adult-Gerontology: Diagnosis & Management of Chronic & Acute Illness II
Continues acquisition of acute, critical, and chronic illness management skills with emphasis on interprofessional decision-making across the adult-older adult spectrum with supervised practicum.
NURS617: Clinical Residency: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Supervised clinical experience applying APN concepts and evidence-based decision-making to patient care management within specialty scope of practice as part of interdisciplinary teams.
NURS629: Statistical Inference for Evidence-based Practice
Examines statistical inference principles and their application to analysis and interpretation for answering practice questions. Students gain quantitative data interpretation experience.
NURS642: Health Policy and Economics
Explores health policy history, development, implementation, and evaluation. Includes comparative analysis of U.S. and international healthcare systems and policy competency in advanced practice nursing.
NURS646: Healthcare Informatics: Theory & Practice
Theoretical basis of healthcare informatics emphasizing data/information/knowledge management and processing, healthcare technology, national regulations, and organizational issues.
NURS652: Methods for Scholarly Inquiry
Foundational research methodologies for obtaining and evaluating evidence to solve clinical problems including literature searching, quantitative research evaluation, needs assessment, surveys, and focus groups.
NURS680: Women’s Health in Advanced Practice Nursing
Addresses women’s health from adolescence through older adulthood emphasizing preventive health, common conditions management, integrative nursing practices, and sociopolitical/cultural factors.
NURS682: Cardiac Rhythm Analysis & Interventions
Cardiac electrophysiology in normal and pathological states including mechanisms, diagnoses, ECG monitoring, and evidence-based management of cardiac ischemia and arrhythmias.
NURS684: Adult-Gerontology Traumatic Injury and Emergent Illness
Evidence-based diagnosis and management of traumatic injury and emergent conditions across the adult-older adult spectrum and care continuum.
NURS685: Clinical Issues in the Care of Acutely Ill Older Adults
Advanced practice nursing care of older adults with complex health problems in acute settings. Focuses on aging processes, risk factors, diagnostic reasoning, and evidence-based interventions for diverse populations.
NURS688: Organizational Leadership and Finance in Health Systems
Integrates change management theory with healthcare systems, emotional intelligence, executive leadership strategies, and healthcare business/finance principles for practice initiatives and quality improvement.
NURS695B: DNP Forum Introduction to doctoral education addressing ethics, science, scholarship, and leadership for DNP-prepared nurses. Includes APA formatting and scholarly writing skills.
NURS695C: Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare Teams
Overview of interprofessional collaboration competencies including roles/responsibilities, communication practices, teamwork, values/ethics, and patient/family-centered care in community and population settings.
NURS704: Philosophy and Theory for the DNP
Philosophical and theoretical foundations of nursing knowledge for advanced practice inquiry. Emphasizes middle-range theory for practice knowledge and development of conceptual frameworks for doctoral inquiry.
NURS751: Evidence-Based Practice
Methods for finding, translating, and evaluating evidence for optimal healthcare outcomes. Covers research evaluation, practice guidelines, meta-analyses, evidence translation into policy, and dissemination.
NURS752: Evaluation Methodologies for Safety & Quality Improvement
Principles and methods for assessing healthcare safety/quality and evaluating intervention outcomes. Includes experimental designs, survey methods, performance measurement, cost-benefit analysis, and reporting methods.
NURS753: Population Health for DNPs
Fundamental concepts in clinical epidemiology, clinical prevention, and population health including key competencies, delivery models, and evidence-based nursing models for evaluating practice issues and social trends.
NURS922: DNP Project
Practice inquiry research including library research, field observation, or project development and implementation.
More curriculum info available here.
DNP Clinicals
DNP AGACNP students complete at least 720 supervised clinical hours focused on high-acuity adult and geriatric patients.
Clinical rotations begin after successful completion of NURS 609A Advanced Health and Physical Assessment and run through the final clinical year.
Students attend on-campus Clinical Immersion sessions three times during the clinical year and complete their clinical preceptorships in approved locations, with an emphasis on complex acute and critical care management.
The required DNP Project ties clinical practice issues to measurable improvements in quality, safety, or population health outcomes.
DNP Prerequisites & Admissions
- BSN, post-baccalaureate BSN, MS-MEPN, or MSN from a regionally accredited institution
- Minimum 3.0 GPA in the most recent nursing degree
- Current, unencumbered RN license (and APRN license for post-master’s DNP applicants)
- At least 1 year (1,800+ hours) of RN clinical experience before the clinical year; experience must match the specialty focus
- Two professional references (such as supervisor, faculty member, or program director)
- Current CV using the DNP Applicant CV template
- Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions
- Completed applications to both NursingCAS (College of Nursing) and GradApp (Graduate College) when invited
- Ability to attend required on-campus intensives and complete clinical hours in authorized states
Admission is competitive, and meeting minimum criteria does not guarantee acceptance.
Graduate Certificate – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP)
The estimated cost for the Graduate Certificate – AG-ACNP program is approximately $31,590–$36,855 and would take roughly 1.5–2 years to complete part time.
Estimate based on about 30–35 credits × $1,053 per credit.
Certificate Curriculum
The AGACNP graduate certificate is a part-time, four-semester pathway for MSN-prepared nurses seeking an additional acute care specialty. The plan of study includes at least 30–35 credits focused on advanced assessment, pharmacology, and complex adult-gerontology management. Required courses include:
- NURS 609A – Health Assessment
- NURS 501 – Advanced Physiology & Pathophysiology
- NURS 574 – Pharmacology in Acute Care
- NURS 615 – Adult-Gerontology Diagnosis & Management of Chronic & Acute Illness I
- NURS 682 – Cardiac Rhythm Analysis & Interventions
- NURS 572 – Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics
- NURS 616 – Adult-Gerontology Diagnosis & Management of Chronic & Acute Illness II
- NURS 680 – Women’s Health in Advanced Practice Nursing
- NURS 684 – Adult-Gerontology Traumatic Injury and Emergent Illness
- NURS 685 – Clinical Issues in the Care of Acutely Ill Older Adults
- NURS 617 – Clinical Residency: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Substitutions can be approved by the program advisor based on each student’s previous graduate coursework and experience.
More curriculum details are available here:
https://catalog.arizona.edu/programs/AGACNCRTG
Certificate Clinicals
Certificate students complete a minimum of 720–810 supervised clinical hours, with rotations beginning after NURS 609A Health Assessment. Campus-based skills sessions complement online coursework, and a Clinical Skills Intensive before the second fall semester helps students refine health assessment and acute care procedures. Clinical sites are arranged to emphasize high-acuity adult and older adult care in hospitals and other acute care settings, and successful completion qualifies graduates to sit for AGACNP national board certification.
Certificate Prerequisites & Admissions
- Master of Science in Nursing with an advanced practice specialty from a regionally accredited institution
- Current, unencumbered RN license and documented RN experience in an acute care setting
- Competitive graduate GPA (generally 3.0 or higher in prior nursing coursework)
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
- Professional references and current CV as required by the College of Nursing
- Successful completion of both the NursingCAS application and the University of Arizona Graduate College application when invited
- Ability to attend required on-campus RISE and clinical immersion activities and to complete clinical hours in authorized states
The certificate is not offered every year, so applicants are advised to confirm availability with the College of Nursing Office of Student Affairs.
Tuition
For the AGACNP DNP and Graduate Certificate tracks, the listed program rate is approximately $1,053 per credit, with no separate out-of-state tuition surcharge for online coursework.
University-wide online graduate tuition ranges from $650 to $1,332 per credit, depending on the specific program.
See the official tuition page for more details
Accreditation
The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Arizona College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Graduates of the AGACNP DNP and Graduate Certificate tracks are prepared to pursue national Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification through ANCC or AACN.
Other Nursing Programs
The University of Arizona also offers a broad range of nursing degrees and certificates, including:
- Nursing – Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Nursing – Collaborative Education BSN
- Nursing – Master of Science
- Nursing – Doctor of Nursing Practice (multiple specialties)
- Nursing – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Graduate Certificates such as Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Health Care Informatics, Nursing Rural Telehealth, Diagnosis and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Gender-Based Violence, and others.
Additional ACNP Programs for Arizona Residents
- Arizona State University - Tempe
- Grand Canyon University - Phoenix