San Diego State University offers 2 adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner tracks:
- BSN to DNP
- Post-Masters DNP (MSN to DNP)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSN to DNP – AGPCNP | $72.6K-$93.7K | 3 years (7 semesters) FT / 4 years (9 semesters) PT | 70 |
| Post-Masters DNP | $41.0K-$51.5K | 16-20 months (4-5 semesters) | 36 |
Tuition and semester counts are calculated from published rates and course sequence plans, not published totals.
The SDSU School of Nursing secures every clinical placement, so students never search for preceptors. Doctoral tuition is billed at a flat semester rate, which makes the four-year part-time plan cost roughly $21,000 more than the three-year plan for identical coursework.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BSN to DNP; Post-Masters DNP |
| Population Focus | Adult-Gerontology Primary Care (AGPCNP) |
| Format | Campus. Graduate nursing courses primarily in person; some core courses executive/hybrid |
| Clinical Hours | 1,000 required in both tracks |
| Clinical Placement | School of Nursing secures all placements |
| RN Experience | Two years full-time minimum |
| License Requirement | Current, unencumbered California RN license |
| Start Terms | Fall only; applications October 1 to April 1 |
| Tuition | Flat doctoral rate of $10,566 per fall or spring semester |
| Transfer Credit | Up to 12 graduate units |
| Accreditation | CCNE accredits SDSU’s BSN and MSN; DNP status not published |
Requirements Shared Across Both Tracks
Clinical Requirements
- Total hours: 1,000 supervised clinical hours are required for graduation in both tracks
- Placement responsibility: the School of Nursing secures all clinical placements; students are not asked to find their own sites or preceptors
- Practicum sequence (BSN to DNP): NURS 818, NURS 820, and NURS 821, totaling 17 units across three terms
- Transferred hours (Post-Masters): clinical hours earned in a prior master’s degree in nursing count toward the 1,000
- Hour composition: SDSU does not publish a split between AGPCNP direct patient care hours and DNP project hours
School-arranged placement is the strongest reason to look at SDSU. Most NP programs make students negotiate their own preceptors, and a failed search can cost a semester. SDSU assigns sites, which also means students accept placements across the San Diego region rather than choosing them.
Campus Requirements
- Primary delivery: graduate nursing courses are held mainly in person at the San Diego campus
- Hybrid exception: certain core courses may be offered in an executive/hybrid format
- Post-Masters DNP: executive/hybrid model with pre-scheduled class dates that require in-person attendance
- Cadence: SDSU does not publish the number of on-campus days per term for either track
RN Experience and Licensure
- Experience: minimum of two years of full-time RN experience, required at application
- License: current California Board of Registered Nursing RN license, unencumbered and unrestricted, with no disciplinary action pending
- Post-Masters certification: NPs and CNSs must hold national board certification in their specialty to be eligible
You should know: the California license requirement applies at admission, not at graduation. An RN licensed only in another state must obtain California licensure before applying, which rules out most out-of-state applicants who were planning to relocate later.
Admissions Requirements Shared by Both Tracks
- Degree: bachelor’s or master’s in nursing from an institution with regional and national nursing accreditation
- GPA: 3.0 minimum
- Prerequisite: statistics (STAT 250 or equivalent) with a grade of C or better
- References: two letters from professionals familiar with the applicant’s practice and potential for scholarship and leadership
- Essay: written statement of purpose
- Interview: may be required before admission
- Testing: GRE not required
- Application: two parts, Cal State Apply plus the School of Nursing application through Slate, sent within 72 hours of the first submission
- Cycle: October 1 to April 1 for the following fall; Cal State Apply opens August 1
- Transfer credit: SDSU limits graduate transfer credit to 12 units
Be aware: SDSU’s DNP admission criteria state the GRE is not required, while the application instructions on the same page tell applicants to send GRE scores directly from ETS. The admission criteria are the more specific statement, and SDSU’s graduate nursing page says the GRE is no longer required at any CSU campus.
BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice – AGPCNP
The estimated tuition for the BSN to DNP AGPCNP track is approximately $72,550 on the three-year plan and $93,682 on the four-year plan, both covering the same 70 units. The program is designed for three years full-time or four years part-time.
BSN to DNP Curriculum
The 70 units divide into 27 units of doctoral core, 37 units of AGPCNP specialty coursework, and 6 units of DNP project seminar taken one unit at a time across six terms.
- NURS 501 and 501L: Advanced Health Assessment and Lab (3 + 2 units)
- NURS 610: Advanced Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice (3 units)
- NURS 658: Clinical Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 units)
- NURS 817 and 818: Adult and Geriatric Primary Care I (3 units) with Primary Care Practicum I (6 units)
- NURS 819 and 820: Primary Care II (3 units) with Primary Care Practicum II (5 units)
- NURS 858 and 821: Primary Care III Theory (3 units) with Primary Care Practicum III (6 units)
- NURS 895: DNP Project Seminar (1 unit per term, 6 units total)
- Doctoral core: implementation science, epidemiology, health policy, leadership, healthcare finance, quality and program evaluation, curriculum development, and clinical information systems (27 units)
Specialty content starts late in both plans. Three-year students take their first AGPCNP course in the fourth semester; four-year students wait until the sixth. The four-year plan also splits Practicum III into two 3-unit terms rather than one 6-unit term.
More curriculum details are in the three-year plan, the four-year plan, and the SDSU course catalog.
BSN to DNP Admissions
Beyond the shared requirements above, this track has no additional published criteria. Applicants must meet all requirements for AGPCNP certification eligibility and demonstrate preparation sufficient for doctoral study.
SDSU is not currently admitting students to its master’s programs during the transition to the DNP. A BSN-prepared applicant who wants an AGPCNP credential from SDSU has one route and no master’s-level exit option.
Post-Masters Doctor of Nursing Practice
The estimated tuition for the Post-Masters DNP is approximately $40,978 over four semesters or $51,544 over five, for the same 36 units. This track is a doctoral completion pathway for nurses who already hold a master’s degree, and NPs and CNSs must already hold national board certification in their specialty.
This is not a route to AGPCNP certification. It carries no NP specialty coursework and no new population focus, so an RN seeking a first NP credential needs the BSN to DNP track instead. An AGPCNP already certified through a master’s program uses this track to add the doctorate.
Post-Masters DNP Curriculum
All 36 units are doctoral core and project work. The four-semester plan runs 9 units per term across fall, spring, summer, and fall.
- NURS 620: Foundations of Nursing Leadership (3 units)
- NURS 800: Implementation Science (3 units)
- NURS 816: Epidemiology, Population and Global Health (3 units)
- NURS 608: Issues and Policies in Healthcare (3 units)
- NURS 802: Healthcare Quality and Program Evaluation (3 units)
- NURS 803: Nursing Curriculum Development in Academia and Practice (3 units)
- NURS 725: Healthcare Finance (3 units)
- NURS 826: Clinical Instruction Strategies in Nursing (3 units, four-semester plan only)
- NURS 895: DNP Project Seminar (2 to 4 units per term, 12 to 15 units total)
The two plans are not interchangeable in content. The five-semester version drops NURS 826 and redistributes those units into additional project seminar credit.
More curriculum details are in the four-semester plan and the five-semester plan.
Post-Masters DNP Admissions
- Certification: NPs and CNSs must hold current national board certification in their specialty
- Gap course: applicants whose master’s program did not include advanced physiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment must add NURS 727, Integrated Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Clinical Assessment for Nursing Leadership (3 units), in their spring semester
- Clinical hours: prior master’s clinical hours transfer toward the 1,000-hour requirement
NURS 727 raises the program to 39 units and adds a semester’s worth of coursework to an already dense schedule. Master’s graduates from leadership, education, or informatics tracks are the ones most likely to need it.
Tuition
SDSU charges doctoral nursing students a flat rate of $10,566 per fall or spring semester, regardless of unit load. For Fall 2026 that figure is $9,095 in basic tuition plus $1,471 in mandatory campus fees. Summer terms bill on a separate schedule, roughly $9,154 for 6 units and $9,280 for 9 units.
| Program | Credits | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| BSN to DNP – AGPCNP (3-year plan, 7 semesters) | 70 | $72,550 |
| BSN to DNP – AGPCNP (4-year plan, 9 semesters) | 70 | $93,682 |
| Post-Masters DNP (4 semesters) | 36 | $40,978 |
| Post-Masters DNP (5 semesters) | 36 | $51,544 |
Totals are estimates built from the Fall 2026 and Summer 2026 rate tables against the published course sequence plans. They exclude future increases, and the CSU Board of Trustees has approved 6% annual tuition increases through the current multi-year plan, so an entering student should expect to pay more than these figures.
Time is the main cost variable here, not units. Because billing is per semester rather than per unit, the four-year plan costs about $21,000 more than the three-year plan for the same 70 units, and the five-semester Post-Masters plan costs about $10,600 more than the four-semester version. Part-time pacing at SDSU is a scheduling accommodation, not a savings strategy.
Non-resident students pay an additional $471 per unit, adding roughly $32,970 to the 70-unit track and $16,956 to the 36-unit track. Non-residents in SDSU doctoral programs are exempt from the separate Out-of-State and International Student Fee. The Bursar’s tuition page publishes the current schedules.
Financial Aid
SDSU does not publish scholarships specific to DNP or AGPCNP students. General graduate aid runs through the university’s financial aid office.
Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?
Best suited for: a California-licensed RN in the San Diego area who can attend daytime classes on campus and wants the school to handle all 1,000 hours of clinical placement.
Placement is arranged, not assigned to the student. The School of Nursing secures every clinical site across all three practicum courses. Students trade site choice for the certainty that a placement exists.
The three-year plan is the cheaper plan. Flat semester billing means part-time study costs more, not less, for the same degree.
A California RN license is required to apply. Out-of-state nurses must complete California licensure before submitting an application, and coursework is in person in San Diego.
Doctoral entry only. SDSU has paused master’s admissions during its transition to the DNP, so there is no shorter MSN route to the AGPCNP credential here and no published master’s exit point.
Nurses who need evening, distance, or genuinely lower-cost part-time study, or who want a master’s-level credential first, will find SDSU a poor structural fit.
Accreditation
CCNE accredits SDSU’s baccalaureate and master’s nursing programs. The School of Nursing accreditation page does not list the DNP, and the DNP program page describes the degree as approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and pending CCNE accreditation with a review scheduled for March 2026. SDSU has not published the result of that review.
This matters more than a routine accreditation note. ANCC and AANPCB both require graduation from an accredited program, so applicants should confirm the DNP’s current CCNE status before enrolling.
SDSU states that the AGPCNP track prepares graduates to sit for the AGPCNP-BC exam through ANCC or the AGNP-C exam through AANPCB. Both tracks are campus-based in San Diego and require California RN licensure, so out-of-state distance enrollment is not an option.
More AGPCNP Programs in California
- Azusa Pacific University - Azusa
- Loma Linda University - Loma Linda
- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco
- West Coast University - Anaheim