The University of Minnesota School of Nursing offers 2 AGPCNP pathways:
- BSN-DNP
- Post-Graduate Certificate (for nurses who already hold a DNP or are completing UMN’s Post-Master’s DNP)
Both pathways use a hybrid format based on the Twin Cities campus, with required campus sessions every semester. The School of Nursing arranges clinical placements. The DNP is not open to F-1 visa holders.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (Resident) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP | $78,455 (3-year plan); $91,732 (4-year plan) | 3 years full-time or 4 years part-time | 80 |
| Post-Graduate Certificate | $39,831–$41,038 | 5 semesters (about 2 years) | Up to 34 (set by gap analysis) |
Tuition estimates apply UMN’s 2026–2027 School of Nursing rate ($1,207 per credit, identical for residents and non-residents, capped at $10,863 in any semester of 9 or more credits) to each published program plan, semester by semester.
Few AGPCNP programs at a large public research university charge out-of-state students exactly what residents pay. UMN’s DNP and post-graduate certificate rate is $1,207 per credit regardless of residency, and the flat charge for 9+ credit semesters cuts the three-year DNP to about $78,455. Placements are arranged by the school through a network of more than 200 health site partners, so students do not have to find their own preceptors.
The cost of that model is travel. Every DNP student comes to campus for a multi-day session each semester, and AGPCNP students add two more one- to two-day visits per semester starting in year two. That schedule realistically limits the program to nurses in Minnesota or within easy travel distance of Minneapolis.
UMN offers a residency-neutral, school-placed BSN-DNP at about $78,000, but its campus schedule rewards applicants who can reach Minneapolis several times a semester.
Quick Facts
| Program Types | BSN-DNP; Post-Graduate Certificate |
| Format | Hybrid; summer terms required |
| Campus Attendance | Multi-day session each semester; two extra 1–2 day visits per semester from year two (AGPCNP) |
| Clinical Hours | 840 direct patient care hours; 1,340 total including DNP project and course activities (DNP) |
| Clinical Placement | Arranged by the School of Nursing; 200+ health site partners |
| Distinctive Coursework | Three AGPCNP professional seminars; 9 credits of older-adult content; two 240-hour practica in the final year |
| Licensure Required | RN license by program start (DNP); RN and APRN licenses (certificate) |
| Start Term | Fall |
| Tuition | $1,207/credit, same for residents and non-residents (2026–2027) |
| Accreditation | CCNE |
BSN-DNP: Adult Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
The BSN-DNP AGPCNP specialty costs an estimated $78,455 on the three-year full-time plan or $91,732 on the four-year plan, for residents and non-residents alike. It requires 80 credits. Applicants need a nursing degree and an RN license by the start of the program; no prior APRN preparation is required.
A published conflict worth knowing about. The UMN Online program page lists 82 credits and 1,000 clinical hours. The university catalog requires 32 DNP core credits plus 48 AGPCNP specialty credits, a total of 80, and the School of Nursing’s April 2026 program plans match it course for course. This page uses 80 credits. The catalog does not state clinical hours; the program plans list 1,340 (840 direct patient care plus 500 project and course hours), and this page uses that figure.
BSN-DNP Curriculum
The three-year plan front-loads foundations. Year one (27 credits) has no practicum: students complete the advanced practice core (physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics, health assessment, diagnostic reasoning) alongside DNP theory, statistics, and evidence appraisal.
Clinical work starts in year two and runs five consecutive semesters. Assessment and Management I and II pair with 120-hour practica, along with a 3-credit women’s reproductive health course. DNP project planning and implementation begin in the same year, so students carry project work alongside their first clinical rotations.
Year three shifts toward older adults. The two largest practica (240 hours each) run in the final fall and spring, paired with Advanced Nursing Care of Older Adults. Combined with Health Care of Older Adults in year two, the plan includes 9 credits of older-adult coursework plus 8 credits of gerontology-focused practicum. Three 1-credit AGPCNP professional seminars run across the program. The catalog describes the last practicum as a final internship in which students may focus on a sub-specialty such as oncology, cardiology, or palliative care.
The four-year plan spreads the same 80 credits over 11 terms. Years one and two carry 1 to 8 credits per term and contain only core and foundational science courses, a load many working nurses can manage. Clinical work starts in year three: the three 120-hour practica run that fall, spring, and summer, and the two 240-hour practica run in year four. Fall of year three (12 credits) is the heaviest term in either plan.
The catalog groups the AGPCNP specialty as a single 48-credit block; it is split into three groups below for readability.
Advanced practice core (14 credits)
- NURS 5222 Advanced Human Physiology (2 credits)
- NURS 5226 Advanced Human Pathophysiology (2 credits)
- NURS 5228 Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nursing (2 credits)
- NURS 5229 Clinical Pharmacotherapeutics (4 credits)
- NURS 5200 Advanced Holistic Health Assessment for the Advanced Practice Nurse (3 credits)
- NURS 6111 Introduction to Diagnostic Reasoning (1 credit)
AGPCNP specialty courses (17 credits)
- NURS 6501 Assessment and Management of Health for APNs I (3 credits)
- NURS 6502 Assessment and Management of Health for APNs II (3 credits)
- NURS 6305 Reproductive and Sexual Health Care (3 credits)
- NURS 7502 Health Care of Older Adults for Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner: Acute and Chronic Management (2 credits)
- NURS 6407 Advanced Nursing Care of Older Adults (3 credits)
- NURS 7120, 7121, 7122 Professional Seminars I–III: AGPCNP (1 credit each)
AGPCNP practica (17 credits)
- NURS 7241 AGPCNP Practicum I (3 credits, 120 hours)
- NURS 7242 AGPCNP Practicum II (3 credits, 120 hours)
- NURS 7243 AGPCNP Practicum III (3 credits, 120 hours)
- NURS 7244 Advanced Nursing Care of Older Adults for AGPCNPs (4 credits, 240 hours)
- NURS 7245 Advanced Nursing Practicum in Adult-Gerontology Health (4 credits, 240 hours)
DNP core (32 credits)
- NURS 7000 Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice (2 credits)
- NURS 7104 Scholarly Writing for Advanced Nursing Practice (1 credit)
- NURS 6200 Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing Interventions (3 credits)
- NURS 7600 Evaluating Evidence to Improve Nursing Practice (3 credits)
- NURS 7230 Advanced Nursing for Public, Population, and Planetary Health (3 credits)
- NURS 5115 Nursing Informatics and Digital Health Technologies (3 credits)
- NURS 7610 Nurses Leading Change and Innovation to Transform Healthcare (3 credits)
- NURS 7205 Healthcare Economics and Finance in Advanced Nursing Practice (3 credits)
- Statistics: EPSY 5261, PUBH 6414, or STAT 5021 (3 credits)
- DNP project courses (8 credits): NURS 7100 Quality Improvement and Implementation Science in Health Care (3), NURS 7102 Scholarly Dissemination (2), and NURS 7110, 7111, 7112 Project Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation/Dissemination (1 each)
View the current AGPCNP program plans or the university catalog entry.
BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements
- 840 direct patient care hours across five practicum courses
- 500 additional hours for the DNP project and other required course activities, for 1,340 total hours
- Hour distribution: three 120-hour practica (fall, spring, summer), then two 240-hour practica (fall, spring); these fall in years two and three of the 3-year plan, or years three and four of the 4-year plan
- Settings named in the catalog: primary and ambulatory care, hospitals, group practices, nursing homes, transitional care, assisted living, and specialty practices
- Final practicum may focus on a sub-specialty (the catalog cites oncology, cardiology, and palliative care)
- Placement responsibility: the School of Nursing arranges placements and matches students with preceptors based on their interests; students are not required to find their own
- Placement network: more than 200 health site partners
- Geographic limits on placement: not clearly published
School-arranged placement removes the single largest source of delay in many NP programs. UMN does not publish where placements can be made, however. Because students already travel to campus several times a semester, the program appears built around students placed within Minnesota and the surrounding region. For applicants living farther away, whether the school can arrange a placement near home is an open question the published materials do not answer.
The 840 direct care hours sit well above the 500 supervised hours long used as the floor for NP certification eligibility. The heaviest rotations fall at the end of the program, when students have completed all didactic management courses.
BSN-DNP Admissions
- Baccalaureate or entry-level master’s degree in nursing
- 3.0 GPA (the catalog lists it as the preferred undergraduate GPA; UMN Online lists it as a minimum); a 3.0 is also required to graduate
- RN license by the start of the program; internationally educated nurses must obtain a Minnesota license by the end of their second semester
- Three references, at least one from someone who has evaluated your professional or academic performance
- Personal statement (up to four double-spaced pages) and a diversity, equity, and inclusion essay (500 words or fewer); generative AI is prohibited
- Resume or CV and a copy of your nursing license
- All transcripts sent to NursingCAS (not to UMN)
- English proficiency per Graduate School requirements for non-native speakers
- U.S. citizens and permanent residents only; the program does not meet F-1 visa requirements
- Interviews by invitation only; not all applicants are interviewed
- No GRE; no minimum work experience or prerequisite courses are published
- Fall start; priority deadline December 1, 2026, with decisions by early February; rolling review afterward (dates and deadlines)
Applications verified after the priority date are reviewed on a rolling basis, with decisions in six to eight weeks, but any specialty can close or move to a waitlist once it fills. Applicants who miss December 1 risk losing a full year. Need-based scholarships also require a FAFSA by February 1 for a fall start. See UMN’s application instructions.
Adult/Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Postgraduate Certificate
The AGPCNP post-graduate certificate costs an estimated $39,831–$41,038. The published plan requires 34 credits over five semesters (about two years), and a gap analysis can reduce it. It is open only to nurses who already hold a DNP in a clinical specialty, or an MSN in a clinical specialty combined with concurrent enrollment in UMN’s Post-Master’s DNP.
A labeling inconsistency. UMN’s certificate program plans page labels this document a “3-Year” plan, but the plan itself spans five semesters, from fall of year one through spring of year two. This page uses the semester layout in the plan.
A published conflict on eligibility. The certificate’s catalog entry states that a DNP in a clinical nursing specialty is required. The School of Nursing’s certificate overview page also accepts an MSN in a clinical specialty if the applicant enrolls concurrently in UMN’s Post-Master’s DNP. This page treats the DNP as the standard route because the catalog and the program plan both describe it that way, and presents the MSN route as an alternative published by the School of Nursing.
Post-Graduate Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the BSN-DNP specialty sequence without the DNP core. It contains the same two management courses, women’s reproductive health, three professional seminars, older-adult coursework, and all five practica. It does not include the advanced practice core (physiology, pharmacology, health assessment), which the plan assumes students completed in their first APRN program.
UMN states that adjustments are based on an analysis of previous APRN coursework in another specialty. NURS 7120 can be waived for students who already hold NP certification. The catalog entry lists no course requirements or credit total, and a minimum credit total after gap analysis is not published.
- NURS 6501 Assessment and Management of Health for APNs I (3 credits)
- NURS 6502 Assessment and Management of Health for APNs II (3 credits)
- NURS 6305 Reproductive and Sexual Health Care (3 credits)
- NURS 7502 Health Care of Older Adults for AGNP (2 credits)
- NURS 6407 Advanced Nursing Care of Older Adults (3 credits)
- NURS 7120, 7121, 7122 Professional Seminars I–III: AGPCNP (1 credit each)
- NURS 7241, 7242, 7243 AGPCNP Practica I–III (3 credits each)
- NURS 7244 and 7245 advanced adult-gerontology practica (4 credits each)
View the certificate program plan or the university catalog entry.
Post-Graduate Certificate Clinical Requirements
- 840 practicum hours: 120 hours each in NURS 7241, 7242, and 7243; 240 hours each in NURS 7244 and 7245
- Practicum hours run in every semester of the plan
- Placement responsibility for certificate students: not separately published; the AGPCNP specialty page states the school arranges placements for its students
- Campus attendance for certificate students: not separately published; the catalog lists the certificate as hybrid with summer terms required
Certificate students complete the same 840 direct care hours as DNP students. For an APRN changing population focus, that is the full specialty clinical load, not a reduced version.
Post-Graduate Certificate Admissions
- Entry-level nursing degree (BSN, BAN, post-baccalaureate certificate, or entry-level MN)
- DNP in a clinical specialty (CNS, NP, CNM, or CRNA) from an accredited program; the School of Nursing also accepts an MSN in a clinical specialty with concurrent enrollment in UMN’s Post-Master’s DNP
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in the most recent degree
- Valid, unencumbered U.S. RN license and U.S. APRN license
- Two references (an Admission Reference Form and a personal letter from each of two individuals), two essays, a resume or CV, and all transcripts
- English proficiency for non-native speakers: TOEFL 79 (reading 19, writing 21) or IELTS 6.5; no GRE
- Limited seats; the specialty coordinator and faculty select students, and UMN advises applicants to contact coordinators before applying
- Application through NursingCAS; review begins December 2 and continues on a rolling basis until capacity is reached
- Not available to F-1 visa holders because of the hybrid format
The DNP requirement is the rule that matters most. An MSN-prepared FNP or PMHNP cannot enroll in the certificate alone; they must also enroll in UMN’s Post-Master’s DNP, which adds cost and time. The plan describes its intended students as holding both a DNP and APRN certification. See certificate application instructions.
Tuition
For 2026–2027, UMN charges $1,207 per credit for the DNP and for School of Nursing post-graduate certificates, including the AGPCNP certificate. The rate is the same for Minnesota residents and non-residents. Any semester of 9 or more credits is billed at a flat $10,863.
The UMN Online program page still lists $1,100 per credit. One Stop’s 2026–2027 rate table is newer and is the university’s official tuition schedule, so this page uses $1,207. One Stop’s general graduate rate ($1,827 resident, $2,894 non-resident) does not apply to these programs.
The flat-rate band matters. The three-year DNP plan puts 10 to 13 credits in each fall and spring, so 69 credits are billed as 54. That saves about $18,105 compared with paying per credit. The four-year plan reaches 9 credits in only two semesters (fall of years three and four), so 58 of its 80 credits are billed per credit. It costs about $91,732, or $13,277 more than the three-year plan for the same degree.
Estimated Total Tuition
| Pathway | Resident | Non-Resident |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP, 3-year plan (80 credits) | $78,455 | $78,455 |
| BSN-DNP, 4-year plan (80 credits) | $91,732 | $91,732 |
| Post-Graduate Certificate (34 credits) | $41,038 | $41,038 |
| Post-Graduate Certificate with NURS 7120 waived (33 credits) | $39,831 | $39,831 |
Figures are calculated from published rates and program plans, not published by the university.
Fees and Financial Support
- Program-specific and course fees: not itemized on the School of Nursing pages reviewed
- Teaching assistant appointments cover tuition on a sliding scale: about 30% at a 15% appointment, 50% at 25%, 60% at 30%, and 100% at 50%
- School of Nursing scholarships use one application, submitted after admission
- Many scholarships consider need; file the FAFSA by February 1 for a fall start
See the official tuition page for more details or the School of Nursing’s cost and financial support page.
Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?
Best suited for: BSN-prepared RNs within reach of Minneapolis who want doctoral preparation with school-arranged primary care placements, either full-time or on a part-time four-year plan.
Residency-Neutral Pricing With a Full-Time Discount
At $1,207 per credit for everyone, UMN removes the out-of-state penalty common at public universities. The banded rate rewards full-time study: the three-year DNP costs about $78,455, while the four-year plan costs about $91,732. The extra $13,277 buys two years of part-time coursework before clinicals begin, which can let a nurse keep working full-time longer.
No Preceptor Search
The School of Nursing arranges every placement through more than 200 partner sites and matches students with preceptors by interest. For applicants who have watched peers spend months cold-calling clinics, that is a substantive advantage. The unknown is geography: UMN does not publish where it can place students.
A Campus Schedule That Narrows the Applicant Pool
Hybrid here means real travel. Each semester starts with a multi-day campus session (UMN’s DNP page calls it a one-week session; the UMN Online page describes four days, Tuesday through Friday). From year two, AGPCNP students return two more times per semester for one to two days. Over three years, that adds up to well over a dozen trips. A nurse living within driving distance absorbs this easily. A nurse several states away faces significant airfare, lodging, and missed shifts.
Older-Adult Depth at the End of the Program
The final year is built around older adults: Advanced Nursing Care of Older Adults plus two 240-hour practica. With 840 direct care hours and three AGPCNP professional seminars, the clinical preparation is substantial. Applicants who want a primarily adult rather than geriatric orientation should review the plan to confirm the balance suits them.
The Verdict
The strongest case for UMN belongs to a BSN-prepared RN in Minnesota or a neighboring state. That student gets a doctorate, school-arranged placements, and a price that is the same whether they live in Minnesota or not, with the lowest cost going to those who can study full-time. Nurses who already hold an MSN and only want AGPCNP certification should compare options, since UMN requires concurrent Post-Master’s DNP enrollment. Anyone who cannot travel to Minneapolis several times a semester should also look at programs with fewer campus requirements.
Accreditation
The University of Minnesota’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Graduates are prepared to sit for national AGPCNP certification through ANCC or AANPCB. UMN states that completing the certificate’s required coursework and practice hours provides eligibility to take certification examinations.
The School of Nursing pages reviewed do not publish a state-by-state authorization or placement list for these programs. Because placements are school-arranged and campus attendance is frequent, applicants outside Minnesota should verify their own state’s APRN licensure requirements before applying. Program details are on the School of Nursing DNP page.
Other AGPCNP Programs in Minnesota
- Rasmussen University - Bloomington
- St. Catherine University - St. Paul
- Walden University - Minneapolis