University of Central Florida offers 2 acute care nurse practitioner tracks:
- BSN to DNP AGACNP
- Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (FL) | Est. Tuition (Non-Res) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $27.0K | $93.2K | 3 years full-time (9 semesters) or 4 years part-time (12 semesters) | 73 |
| Certificate | $8.5K | $29.4K | About 1.5 years (4 semesters, part-time) | 23 |
Tuition is calculated rather than published, and the certificate duration is derived from the published term sequence.
UCF secures every clinical site and preceptor for both tracks, and its plan of study reports clinical hours course by course, separating 600 direct clinical hours from the DNP’s 1,200-hour total. Both tracks confine clinical placement to nine Central Florida counties, and DNP students must live in Florida for the duration of the program.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN to DNP; post-master’s graduate certificate for licensed APRNs |
| Population Focus | Adult-gerontology acute care (AGACNP), patients 18 and older |
| Format | Hybrid. Online coursework with live labs and on-campus simulation days |
| Campus Visits | Live lab courses plus one simulation day per clinical course each semester |
| Clinical Hours | DNP 1,200 total, 600 of them direct. Certificate 660 |
| Clinical Placement | UCF assigns all sites and preceptors. Students do not find their own |
| RN Experience | No minimum published for either track |
| Distinctive Coursework | NGR 6230L Diagnostics and Skills for the Care of the Critically Ill |
| License Requirements | DNP: Florida RN before start. Certificate: Florida APRN license |
| Start Terms | DNP fall only, February 1 deadline. Certificate spring only, September 1 |
| Tuition | $369.65 per credit in state, $1,276.48 non-resident, fees included |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC or AACN ACNPC-AG |
| Accreditation | CCNE, covering the post-graduate APRN certificate program |
| State Restrictions | DNP students must reside in Florida. Clinicals in nine counties |
Requirements Shared Across All Tracks
Clinical Requirements
- Placement model: UCF graduate internship coordinators secure clinical sites, and the program director reviews the assignments
- Student responsibility: none. Students are not required to locate sites or preceptors
- Geographic limit: Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Lake, Brevard, Osceola, Flagler, northern Indian River, and Marion counties
- Setting: hospital and acute care environments
- Clock hours per credit: 60 patient-contact hours per clinical credit, so a 3-credit clinical course carries 180 hours
- Simulation: each AGACNP clinical course requires a one-day on-campus simulation workshop per semester
- DNP total: 1,200 clinical hours, of which 600 are marked direct clinical hours in the plan of study
- Certificate total: 660 clinical hours across four semesters
The DNP’s 1,200 hours are not all patient contact. The plan of study flags 600 hours in the three AGACNP clinical courses as direct. The remaining 600 sit in two labs (240 hours) and the four DNP project courses (360 hours).
You Should Know: The certificate delivers 660 clinical hours against the DNP’s 720 specialty hours, on roughly a third of the credits. The DNP’s advantage in direct AGACNP contact is 60 practicum hours, not the 540-hour gap the headline totals suggest.
Campus Requirements
- Lab courses: NGR 6230L and the advanced assessment lab are taught live and require on-campus attendance
- Certificate lab cadence: one day per week, published for the certificate labs only
- Simulation days: one day per semester for each AGACNP clinical course, three semesters in both tracks
- DNP intensives: one-day virtual events twice yearly, fall and spring. These are not campus visits
- Board reviews: live on-campus certification exam reviews, optional and recommended
- Location: UCF College of Nursing, 6825 Lake Nona Blvd, Orlando
RN Experience and Licensure
- RN experience: UCF publishes no minimum RN, acute care, or ICU experience requirement for either track
- DNP licensure: unencumbered Florida or Florida multistate RN license, held before the program begins
- DNP certification: current ACLS at application
- Certificate licensure: Florida APRN license plus current national certification in the applicant’s existing specialty
- Residency: DNP students must reside in and be physically located in Florida throughout the program
You Should Know: Each track admits once a year, in different terms. A missed February 1 DNP deadline or September 1 certificate deadline costs a full year, and there is no alternate entry point.
BSN to DNP AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the BSN to DNP AGACNP track at UCF is approximately $26,984 for Florida residents and $93,183 for non-residents (73 credits at $369.65 and $1,276.48 per credit). The program runs nine semesters full-time or twelve part-time, with a fall start.
DNP Curriculum
- Total: 73 credits, combining DNP core coursework, the advanced practice core, and the AGACNP specialty sequence
- NGR 6210: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I (3 credits)
- NGR 6230L: Diagnostics and Skills for the Care of the Critically Ill (2 credits, 120 clinical hours)
- NGR 7175: Advanced Pharmacology for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (3 credits)
- NGR 6211 and 6211L: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care II with clinical (6 credits, 180 direct hours)
- NGR 6212 and 6212L: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care III with clinical (6 credits, 180 direct hours)
- NGR 6215L: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Practicum (4 credits, 240 direct hours)
- NGR 7003 and 7003L: Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning with lab (4 credits, 120 hours)
- Project sequence: NGR 7855C, 7911C, 7912C, and 7913C carry 360 of the 1,200 hours and end in a public presentation
- Specialty entry point: semester five full-time, semester eight part-time
More curriculum details are available here.
DNP Admissions
- Degree: BSN from a regionally accredited institution with a CCNE or ACEN accredited nursing program
- Alternate route: RNs holding a non-nursing bachelor’s may apply after completing UCF’s prerequisite nursing courses
- Prerequisite: a passed undergraduate statistics course
- Certification: current ACLS at application
- Application materials: transcripts from every institution attended, a CV, three professional recommendations, and a 500-word essay
- Interview: may be required by the faculty admissions committee
- Deadline: February 1 annually, fall entry only
- Testing: no GRE
- Work guidance: full-time students are advised to work part-time only
You Should Know: The Florida residency rule covers the whole program, not just clinical terms. An out-of-state applicant must obtain a Florida RN license before starting and relocate, and non-resident tuition applies until residency is established.
Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate
The estimated tuition for the post-master’s AGACNP certificate at UCF is approximately $8,502 for Florida residents and $29,359 for non-residents (23 credits at the same per-credit rates). The cohort runs part-time across four semesters, with a spring start.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the DNP’s specialty sequence without the doctoral wrapper. It uses the same seven courses (NGR 6210, 6230L, 7175, 6211, 6211L, 6212, 6212L) and the same placement and simulation rules described in the shared section above.
- Total: 23 credits and 660 clinical hours over four semesters
- NGR 6215L: the practicum runs at 3 credits and 180 hours, one credit and 60 hours below the DNP version
- Omitted: DNP core coursework, the advanced health assessment lab, and the project sequence
- Progression: graduates may continue into UCF’s post-master’s Advanced Practice DNP
- Source conflict: UCF’s February 2026 certificate comparison flyer lists 22 credits and 600 clinical hours; the program page, the graduate catalog, and the plan of study all state 23 and 660
More curriculum details are available here.
Certificate Admissions
- Degree: BSN plus an MSN or DNP from a regionally accredited institution
- Licensure: current APRN license in the state of Florida
- Certification: current board certification as a nurse practitioner, midwife, nurse anesthetist, or clinical nurse specialist, with a graduate degree in that specialty
- Exclusion: nurses already prepared as AGACNPs are not eligible
- Prerequisites: a passed undergraduate statistics course plus the program prerequisite courses
- Deadline: September 1 annually, spring entry only
- Testing: no GRE
You Should Know: Certificate students already working in an acute care role may apply existing work hours toward clinical hour totals after a gap analysis with the program director. Enrollment in every clinical course, all assignments, and faculty evaluation still apply.
Tuition
UCF charges graduate students $369.65 per credit hour for Florida residents and $1,276.48 for non-residents under the 2026-2027 schedule. Both figures are the tuition and fees total for one credit hour, so the activity, transportation, health, athletic, technology, capital improvement, and financial aid fees are already inside them.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | 73 | $26,984 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate | 23 | $8,502 |
Non-resident totals come to roughly $93,183 for the DNP and $29,359 for the certificate at list rates.
Be aware: A distance learning course fee of $18 per credit hour is charged on a course-by-course basis and is not in the totals above. UCF also lists material and supply, equipment, and online proctoring fees that vary by course.
See the official graduate tuition and fee schedule for more details.
Financial Aid
The College of Nursing awards more than 80 scholarships a year through a single application cycle in mid-spring. Enrolled graduate certificate students are eligible alongside MSN, DNP, and PhD students, which is not true at every school. Details are on the College of Nursing scholarships and aid page.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
School-assigned placement. UCF coordinators secure every clinical site and preceptor, and the program director reviews each assignment. Students in both tracks are told directly that they are not required to find their own.
Published hour breakdown. The plan of study reports clinical hours course by course and marks which 600 of the DNP’s 1,200 hours are direct clinical hours, a split most programs leave inside a single headline number.
Certificate economics. Licensed APRNs get the full AGACNP specialty sequence and 660 clinical hours for 23 credits and about $8,502 in state, then may roll into UCF’s post-master’s DNP later.
Work hours can count. Certificate students already practicing in acute care can bring hours into their clinical totals through a gap analysis, though every clinical course still has to be taken and passed.
Accredited simulation center. The Helene Fuld Health Trust STIM Center holds Society for Simulation in Healthcare accreditation in teaching, education, and research, and an INACSL standards endorsement.
Choose the DNP if you hold a BSN and want the doctorate and the extra 60 practicum hours. Choose the certificate if you are already a board-certified APRN in Florida and want the acute care credential at roughly a third of the cost.
Accreditation and Certification
The baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at the UCF College of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The certificate’s accreditation is named explicitly, which matters because ANCC requires it for certificate holders sitting the exam.
The University of Central Florida is accredited institutionally by the Higher Learning Commission. From 1970 to 2026 the institutional accreditor was the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The College of Nursing is also approved by the Florida Board of Nursing.
Both tracks carry an adult-gerontology acute care population focus covering patients 18 and older. Graduates are eligible to sit for the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam (AGACNP-BC) or the AACN Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Adult Gerontology exam (ACNPC-AG).
UCF is an NC-SARA approved institution and publishes a licensure disclosure for each program. It states that it cannot confirm the educational and licensure requirements of other states or territories, so applicants planning to practice outside Florida should verify eligibility with that state’s board before enrolling.
Review Additional In State Acute Care NP Programs
- Barry University – Miami Shores
- Nova Southeastern University – Fort Lauderdale
- University of Florida Health – Gainesville
- University of Miami – Coral Gables
- University of South Florida – Tampa