University of South Florida offers 3 acute care nurse practitioner tracks:
- MSN AGACNP
- BSN to DNP AGACNP
- Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate AGACNP
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN AGACNP | $24.6K | 2.3 years (7 semesters) | 57 |
| BSN-DNP AGACNP | $33.2K | 3 years (9 semesters) | 77 |
| Certificate | $10.4K | 1.3 years (4 semesters) | 24 |
Tuition and duration are both calculated rather than published.
USF’s post-master’s certificate is the MSN’s specialty sequence in full: the same eight courses, 24 credits, and 780 clinical hours, for $10,354 instead of $24,592. It carries no federal financial aid, because USF classifies it as non-degree seeking.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MSN, BSN to DNP, post-master’s graduate certificate |
| Population Focus | AGACNP (adults and older adults) on all three tracks |
| Format | Hybrid |
| Campus Visits | On-campus classes or activities approximately once per month, in Tampa |
| Clinical Hours | 780 clock hours across four practicum courses, on every track |
| RN Experience | 12 months full-time critical care or high-acuity, before the program starts |
| Distinctive Coursework | NGR 6067 Advanced Cardiac Monitoring for the APRN, a standalone 1-credit course |
| License Requirements | Unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30; US RN license before admission |
| Start Terms | Fall only for the MSN and DNP; fall or spring for the certificate |
| Tuition | $431.43 per credit at the Florida resident graduate rate |
| Certification | ANCC AGACNP-BC or AACN ACNPC-AG |
| Accreditation | CCNE, covering the post-graduate APRN certificate as well |
| State Restrictions | F-1 visa holders are not eligible for MSN or DNP admission |
Requirements Shared Across All Tracks
All three tracks run the same eight-course AGACNP specialty sequence, so the clinical, campus, and experience requirements below apply identically to each.
Clinical Requirements
- Total clock hours: 780, across four practicum courses
- Course sequence: NGR 6210L, NGR 6232L, and NGR 6211L at 180 hours each, then NGR 6219L Clinical Practice Immersion at 240 hours
- Hours per practicum credit: 60, consistent across all four courses
- Immersion: the 240-hour immersion falls in the final semester of every track
- Purpose of the experience gate: USF states the 12-month critical care requirement as a professional practice requirement for clinical placement
- Placement model: USF does not publish whether the college or the student secures clinical sites and preceptors
- Preceptor standard: not published
- Transfer credit: clinical courses cannot be transferred in, and the overall transfer cap is 12 credits
Campus Requirements
- Cadence: on-campus classes or activities approximately once per month
- Location: USF Health College of Nursing, Tampa
- Volume: roughly three to four campus days per semester at that cadence
- Year-round: graduate programs continue through summer, so the cadence does not pause
- Orientation: College of Nursing graduate orientation is mandatory for all admitted students
USF labels its graduate clinical programs hybrid, not online. A monthly commute to Tampa is a recurring obligation for the full length of every track.
RN Experience and Licensure
- Required experience: 12 months of full-time critical care (ICU) or high-acuity patient care before the program starts
- Scope: this requirement applies to the AGACNP concentration only, not to USF’s other NP concentrations
- Evaluation: faculty assess clinical experience case by case
- RN license: unencumbered Florida license by October 30, with a US RN license held before admission
- Certificate applicants: current Florida APRN license plus national certification in another advanced practice specialty
- Background screening: Level 1 and Level 2 checks and drug screening after an admission offer
You should know: applicants admitted with fewer than 12 months of RN experience are placed on an alternate plan with a lighter course load, which lengthens time to completion.
You should know: students on an F-1 visa are not eligible for admission to the MSN or DNP, because federal rules limit online study and USF delivers much of the coursework that way.
MSN AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the MSN Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at USF is approximately $24,592 (57 credits at $431.43/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 2.3 years.
MSN Curriculum
- Structure: 57 credits on a lock-step plan, seven semesters full-time or eight part-time
- NGR 6143: Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners (4 credits, fall)
- NGR 6002C: Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan (4 credits, spring)
- NGR 6064C: Diagnostic Reasoning and Procedures for the APRN (3 credits, summer)
- NGR 6067: Advanced Cardiac Monitoring for the APRN (1 credit, summer)
- NGR 6210 and 6210L: Acute Care Management of Adolescents to Older Adults, plus Clinical Management I (6 credits, fall)
- NGR 6232 and 6232L: Acute Care Management of Adults and Older Adults, plus Clinical Management II (6 credits, spring)
- NGR 6211 and 6211L: AGACNP Special Topics, plus Clinical Management III (6 credits, summer)
- NGR 6219 and 6219L: AGACNP Transition Seminar, plus Clinical Practice Immersion (6 credits, fall)
- Exit requirement: a College of Nursing comprehensive examination at the end of the program
Specialty coursework begins in semester four for a full-time student and semester five part-time. More curriculum details are available here.
MSN Admissions
- Degree: BSN or a foreign equivalent
- GPA: 3.0 minimum nursing GPA, plus USF’s graduate B-average standard
- Recommendations: three letters, from a nursing faculty member or clinical instructor, a nursing supervisor, and an advanced practice provider
- Testing: GRE optional, and scores must be within five years if submitted
- Applications: both the USF Graduate Admissions application and NursingCAS
- Cycle: NursingCAS opens January 1 and closes May 1, with verified status due May 15
- Entry: fall only, beginning each August
BSN to DNP AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the BSN-DNP Adult Gerontology Acute Care concentration at USF is approximately $33,220 (77 credits at $431.43/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 3 years.
DNP Curriculum
The AGACNP specialty sequence and its 780 clinical hours are identical to the MSN. The extra 20 credits are doctoral coursework and the DNP project.
- NGR 7768: Doctor of Nursing Practice Advanced Role (2 credits, first semester)
- NGR 7766: Interprofessional Practice and Health Systems Leadership (3 credits)
- NGR 7846: Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice (4 credits)
- NGR 7769: Quality Improvement and Implementation Science (4 credits)
- NGR 7955C through 7958C: DNP Project Phases I to IV, 3 credits each, one per semester across the final four terms
- Qualifying exam: must be completed before DNP Project Phase I is finished
- Practice hours: the 2026 plan does not publish practicum hours for the four project courses
The 2026 plan of study contains no elective credits. More curriculum details are available here.
DNP Admissions
- Prerequisite: an undergraduate statistics course, 3 credits, with a B or better before the program starts
- Cycle: the USF graduate application opens well ahead of NursingCAS, which runs January 1 to May 1
- Entry: fall only
- One application per cycle: applicants may apply to the MSN or the DNP, not both
- Switching: an admitted MSN student who later wants the DNP must reapply through the full doctoral process
All other requirements match the MSN, including the 12-month critical care gate.
Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate AGACNP
The estimated tuition for the Post-Master’s AGACNP Certificate at USF is approximately $10,354 (24 credits at $431.43/credit). The program can generally be completed in about 1.3 years.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the MSN’s specialty block, unchanged: NGR 6210 and 6210L, NGR 6232 and 6232L, NGR 6211 and 6211L, and NGR 6219 and 6219L, across four semesters. Clinical requirements are the same 780 hours described in the shared section.
You should know: USF’s certificate landing page still lists a superseded 21-credit sequence with 540 clinical hours and no transition seminar or immersion. The 2026 program plan showing 24 credits and 780 hours matches the current MSN and DNP plans and is the figure used here.
Certificate Admissions
- Degree: MSN or DNP from an accredited institution
- Certification: current national certification in another advanced practice specialty
- Coursework validation: pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment completed within the past 10 years
- Licensure: current Florida APRN license
- Recommendations: two letters, preferably from a clinical supervisor and a healthcare provider
- Start terms: fall and spring
- Time limit: all requirements within five years of admission
You should know: the certificate is a non-degree-seeking program, so enrolled students are not eligible for federal financial aid. The full $10,354 has to come from savings, an employer, private loans, or a scholarship.
Tuition
Florida resident graduate students pay $431.43 per credit hour. Flat per-term charges add roughly $37 in activity, athletic, and student union fees.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| MSN AGACNP | 57 | $24,592 |
| BSN to DNP AGACNP | 77 | $33,220 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate | 24 | $10,354 |
Be aware: non-residents pay a substantial out-of-state surcharge on top of the resident rate, and USF’s trustees approved a 15 percent increase to the graduate out-of-state fee effective fall 2026, taking it to $537.01 per credit. Check the current rate schedule for the combined non-resident figure before budgeting.
Admitted students receive an estimated list of additional program expenses, usually $1,000 to $2,500 per year, covering items such as background checks, uniforms, equipment, and course software.
Financial aid
The College of Nursing lists more than 50 nursing scholarships through USF AwardSpring, which opens each December. Florida’s LINE grant funds scholarships and certification costs for eligible students.
Degree-seeking students may also use the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, which forgives 85 percent of up to $35,000 after four years of full-time nurse faculty work. Full details are on USF’s scholarships and financial aid page.
Why Choose This ACNP Program?
Certificate economics. The post-master’s certificate delivers the MSN’s complete specialty sequence, all 24 credits and all 780 clinical hours, for $10,354.
Equal clinical hours across all three tracks. A DNP student logs the same 780 specialty clock hours as an MSN student. The doctoral premium buys systems coursework and a project.
USF devotes a standalone one-credit course, NGR 6067 Advanced Cardiac Monitoring for the APRN, to rhythm interpretation in the summer term before specialty coursework opens.
Critical care screening at the front door. Twelve months of ICU or high-acuity practice is required before the program starts, and USF applies that gate to the AGACNP concentration alone among its NP concentrations.
This suits a Tampa-area critical care nurse who can absorb a monthly campus day for two to three years. Nurses who need a fully online program, or who cannot fund a certificate without federal loans, should look elsewhere in Florida.
Accreditation and Certification
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredits USF’s baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, and separately accredits the post-graduate APRN certificate. That last point matters for certificate applicants, since ANCC requires certificate-holder eligibility to rest on an accredited post-graduate program.
The University of South Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The College of Nursing holds Florida Board of Nursing approval, and the USF Health Simulation Consortium is accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare across assessment, research, system integration, and teaching.
All three tracks carry an adult-gerontology acute care population focus. Graduates are eligible to sit for the ANCC Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner exam or the AACN ACNPC-AG exam. MSN students must also pass a College of Nursing comprehensive examination before graduation.
Research More Acute Care NP Options in Florida
- Barry University - Miami Shores
- Nova Southeastern University - Fort Lauderdale
- University of Central Florida - Orlando
- University of Florida Health - Gainesville
- University of Miami - Coral Gables