Florida Southern College offers two Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner pathways through the Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences:
- MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Post-Master’s Certificate – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Both require a Florida RN license. A compact license from another state does not satisfy the requirement. FSC states that courses may be delivered in live, hybrid, or online formats but does not publish which courses fall into which category.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN – AGPCNP | $27,880 tuition; ~$31,000 with required fees | 5 semesters (~2 years) | 41 |
| Post-Master’s Certificate – AGPCNP | $680/credit; total varies | Varies by gap analysis | Varies |
MSN tuition multiplies FSC’s 2026–2027 rate of $680 per credit by the 41-credit program-sheet total, then adds the mandatory $550 per-semester program fee across five semesters, per-semester technology fees, and the one-time CastleBranch package.
- Why choose it: A Clinical Placement Coordinator assigns every site and preceptor, and students may still arrange their own if they prefer.
- Trade-off: The 540-hour clinical minimum sits just 40 hours above the 500-hour certification floor.
Quick Facts
| Program Types | MSN, Post-Master’s Certificate |
| Format | Hybrid. FSC says courses may run live, hybrid, or online but does not publish the mix |
| Campus | Lakeland, FL |
| Credit Hours | 41 (MSN); varies by gap analysis (certificate) |
| Clinical Hours | 540 minimum |
| Clinical Placement | Assigned by FSC’s Clinical Placement Coordinator; students may arrange their own if they prefer |
| Population Focus | Late adolescence through frail older adults, primary care settings |
| Licensure Required | Florida RN license. A compact license from another state does not qualify |
| Start Term | Spring. Next published start January 12, 2027 |
| Transfer Credit | Up to two graduate-level courses (MSN) |
| Tuition | $680 per credit (2026–2027) |
| Accreditation | CCNE |
MSN – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
The MSN AGPCNP track requires 41 credits and a minimum of 540 clinical practice hours, designed for completion in five semesters. Tuition is $27,880, or roughly $31,000 once mandatory program and technology fees are counted. The next published start date is January 12, 2027. Applicants must hold an active Florida RN license at the point of application.
Three conflicts between FSC’s own published sources. The downloadable AGPCNP program sheet and the program webpage disagree in ways that affect what an applicant prepares:
- Course list. The program sheet includes NUR 6500 Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice (1 credit) and does not list NUR 5300 Advanced Diagnostic Methods and Procedures. The webpage curriculum table lists NUR 5300 and omits NUR 6500. The program sheet’s courses sum to exactly its stated 41-credit total; the webpage table publishes no credit values, so it cannot be checked. This page follows the program sheet
- Prerequisites. The program sheet requires three undergraduate courses at C or better: Basic Health Assessment, Evidence-Based Practice or Nursing Research, and Elementary Statistics or Biostatistics. The webpage admission list names only Statistics or Biostatistics
- Video responses. The program sheet requires three recorded videos of no more than two minutes each. The webpage describes a virtual interview at faculty discretion and by invitation only, with no mention of videos
Prepare for the stricter version of each. Completing two extra prerequisites and recording three videos costs far less than discovering at the deadline that they were required.
MSN Curriculum
FSC publishes the 41 credits as a single flat requirement list rather than splitting them into a core and a specialty track. The shape of the program becomes clear when the courses are grouped by function.
Three Advanced Practice Nurse courses at 6 credits each carry all the clinical hours. That is 18 of the 41 credits, close to half the program, spent in practicum. The remaining coursework is lifespan-general advanced practice content: pharmacology, pathophysiology, health assessment, evidence translation, health promotion, informatics, and leadership, none of it specific to adult-gerontology.
Only two courses are adult-gerontology specific by title, and they total 4 credits: Care of the Older Adult and Frail Elderly (2 credits) and Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice Role – AGPCNP (2 credits). Specialty learning at FSC happens primarily in clinical placement rather than in dedicated didactic coursework. Applicants who prefer to build population-specific knowledge in the classroom before reaching patients should compare this against programs that run separate gerontology, primary care, and women’s health courses.
Program requirements (41 credits)
- NUR 5120 – Leadership, Role Development, and Advocacy for Advanced Nursing Practice (2)
- NUR 5150 – Advanced Pharmacology Across the Life Span (3)
- NUR 5200 – Advanced Pathophysiology Across the Life Span (3)
- NUR 5220 – Advanced Health Assessment and Differential Diagnoses Across the Life Span (3)
- NUR 5250 – Evidence Translation and Quality Improvement for Advanced Nursing Practice (3)
- NUR 5400 – Health Promotion, Clinical Prevention, and Population Health (2)
- NUR 5450 – Informatics and Health Care Technologies (2)
- NUR 6110 – Advanced Practice Nurse I (6)
- NUR 6160 – Advanced Practice Nurse II (6)
- NUR 6660 – Advanced Practice Nurse III (6)
- NUR 6430 – Care of the Older Adult and Frail Elderly (2)
- NUR 6500 – Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice (1)
- NUR 6510 – Transition to Advanced Nursing Practice Role, AGPCNP (2)
FSC allows the MSN to transfer in up to two graduate-level courses. Applicants with more than two prior graduate courses have the rest evaluated by the MSN program director, who decides which transfer and which are better repeated at FSC. Full requirements appear in the 2026–2027 academic catalog.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- Minimum clinical practice hours: 540
- Hours are carried by the three Advanced Practice Nurse courses (NUR 6110, 6160, and 6660)
- Placement responsibility: FSC’s Clinical Placement Coordinator assigns all sites and preceptors. Students are not required to find their own, but may do so if they prefer
- Practice focus: adults across the full adult lifespan including late adolescence, through frail older adults, in primary care settings
- No geographic restriction on clinical placement is published
- Access to FSC’s Simulation and Clinical Learning Center on the Lakeland campus
- Criminal background check, ten-panel drug screen, and proof of immunization required before clinicals begin
The two-way placement policy is the practical draw. A nurse with no connections gets assigned a site. A nurse already working somewhere that would make a strong clinical placement can propose it instead. Programs that forbid self-sourcing, as Florida Atlantic does, close off the second option entirely.
540 hours is the number to weigh against that convenience. It clears the 500-hour certification minimum by 40 hours, leaving little margin if a rotation falls through or a site ends early. FSC does not publish a per-course hour breakdown, so applicants cannot see how the 540 distributes across the five semesters when planning work schedules.
MSN Admissions
- BSN from a regionally accredited institution and a CCNE-, CNEA-, or ACEN-accredited nursing program
- Minimum 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework
- Proof of current active RN licensure in the State of Florida. A Nurse Licensure Compact license from another state does not meet this requirement
- Undergraduate prerequisites at C or better: Basic Health Assessment, Evidence-Based Practice or Nursing Research, and Elementary Statistics or Biostatistics (see the conflict noted above)
- Official transcripts of all academic work
- Current resume of educational and work experience
- Three recorded video responses of two minutes or less, covering five-year goals, timing, and anticipated challenges (see the conflict noted above)
- Virtual or personal interview at faculty discretion, by invitation
- Criminal background check, ten-panel drug screen, and proof of immunization if admitted
- No GRE required
The Florida licensure rule is the hard gate. FSC states explicitly that a compact license issued by another state does not satisfy it, which rules out multistate-licensed nurses who have not converted to a Florida license. Note that FSC applies a different standard to its non-NP tracks, where licensure in the state where clinical hours will be completed is sufficient. Nurse practitioner applicants get no such latitude.
Prerequisites must be complete at the undergraduate level, and FSC specifies that credits earned through alternative award arrangements cannot be used to satisfy them.
Post-Master’s Certificate – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
The post-master’s certificate serves MSN-prepared nurses adding AGPCNP as a specialty. Tuition is the same $680 per credit, but FSC publishes no credit total, duration, or overall cost, because the plan of study is built individually from a gap analysis after admission. AGPCNP is one of three certificate tracks FSC offers alongside FNP and PMHNP.
Certificate Curriculum and Clinicals
After admission, FSC reviews prior transcripts and course syllabi and builds an individualized program of study. The gap analysis requires, at minimum, transcripts and syllabi for any course a student wants credited, and FSC may request additional documentation.
Four graduate-level courses must be complete before a student enters clinical coursework: Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Health Assessment, and Research. Nurses whose MSN was in education, administration, or informatics may not have all four and will need to take the missing ones, which FSC offers.
- FSC requires the practice hours corresponding to the chosen track. For AGPCNP that is the same 540-hour minimum the MSN carries
- Hours may be partially satisfied by prior graduate clinical experience approved during the gap analysis, or completed during the certificate
- The Clinical Placement Coordinator assigns sites and preceptors on the same terms as the MSN
- Completion of the individualized plan is what establishes eligibility to sit for the national certification exam
The gap analysis happens after admission, not before, so applicants cannot price or schedule this pathway in advance. A nurse coming from an FNP or another primary care MSN may need very little. A nurse coming from a non-clinical MSN could face most of the 41-credit curriculum plus the full 540 hours, at which point the MSN route deserves a direct comparison.
Certificate Admissions
- BSN and MSN, both from regionally accredited institutions with CCNE, CNEA, or ACEN nursing accreditation
- Minimum 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework
- Active Florida RN license. A compact license from another state does not qualify
- C or better in undergraduate Statistics or Biostatistics
- Graduate-level Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Health Assessment, and Research before clinical courses
- Official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Current resume
- Virtual interview at faculty discretion, by invitation
Note that the GPA requirement points at undergraduate work, not the master’s. FSC does not publish a separate graduate GPA minimum for the certificate.
FSC reports a 100% national certification pass rate for its post-master’s certificate graduates. The college does not publish the cohort size behind that figure, and small certificate cohorts make the number easier to achieve than an equivalent rate across a large MSN class.
Tuition
Florida Southern charges one graduate nursing rate regardless of residency, which removes the in-state and out-of-state gap that dominates cost at public universities. For 2026–2027 that rate is $680 per credit hour, applied to both the MSN and the post-master’s certificate. The rate rose from $675.
The per-credit rate alone understates what the MSN costs. A $550 program fee is charged every semester to all MSN and certificate students, covering clinical placement, experiential learning, and competency resources. Across five semesters that is $2,750 in fees that never appear in a credits-times-rate calculation. FSC also notes the program fee is adjusted periodically.
Estimated Total Cost
| Item | MSN AGPCNP |
|---|---|
| Tuition (41 credits × $680) | $27,880 |
| Program fee ($550 × 5 semesters) | $2,750 |
| Technology fee ($25 to $100 × 5 semesters) | $125 to $500 |
| CastleBranch all-inclusive package (one time) | $224 |
| Estimated total | $30,979 to $31,354 |
Calculated from FSC’s published 2026–2027 rates and the 41-credit program-sheet total. These are estimates, not college-published totals. The $250 enrollment deposit is applied to tuition and is not additional.
The certificate cannot be totaled in advance, since the credit requirement comes out of the gap analysis. At $680 per credit plus $550 per semester enrolled, a certificate needing 20 credits across three semesters would run roughly $15,250 before technology fees.
FSC states that it participates in all major federal aid programs including military funding, and offers tuition deferment to students receiving employer reimbursement. The college does not address federal aid eligibility on its post-master’s certificate pages, which is worth confirming before relying on it for that pathway. Students are also responsible for additional program costs including CastleBranch and Typhon. See the official tuition and costs page.
Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?
Best suited for: Florida-licensed nurses who want clinical placement handled for them without losing the option to arrange their own, and who can reach Lakeland for whatever portion of coursework runs live.
Placement is assigned, but self-sourcing stays open
This is the clearest reason to pick FSC. Nurses without practice connections get sites assigned and skip the preceptor hunt that delays graduation elsewhere. Nurses who already have a strong site in mind, often their own workplace, keep the ability to propose it. Few programs offer both.
540 clinical hours leaves thin margin
FSC’s minimum clears the certification floor by 40 hours. That is enough to sit the exam and enough to graduate, but it is 240 fewer supervised hours than Florida Atlantic requires of its MSN students. Employers hiring new graduates often ask about clinical volume, and a thin margin also means less room to absorb a rotation that ends early.
The delivery format is genuinely undefined
FSC says courses may be delivered live, hybrid, or online, and stops there. It does not publish which courses run which way, how often live sections meet, or whether a fully online path exists. Graduates quoted by the college describe an in-person experience with hands-on classroom assessment practice. Anyone who cannot commute to Lakeland should establish the actual schedule before applying rather than assuming the online option covers the whole degree.
Private pricing, no residency penalty
At roughly $31,000 all in, FSC costs a Florida resident about $9,500 more than Florida Atlantic’s MSN. For a non-resident the comparison inverts sharply, since FSC charges everyone the same rate while public universities add a non-resident premium. The Florida RN licensure requirement limits how useful that is, but a nurse holding Florida licensure while living elsewhere pays no penalty here.
The Verdict
The strongest case for FSC belongs to a Florida-licensed nurse in the Lakeland, Tampa, or Orlando corridor who has a preferred clinical site and wants the freedom to use it, or who has none and wants one assigned. The two-way placement policy and small cohorts are real advantages, and the flat rate means residency never affects the bill.
Applicants who should compare other options: anyone prioritizing clinical volume, where 540 hours is the lowest published figure among Florida AGPCNP programs profiled here. Anyone who needs a confirmed fully online program, since FSC does not commit to one. Anyone without Florida RN licensure, which no amount of compact licensure substitutes for. And anyone weighing cost against a public university, where a Florida resident will pay meaningfully less.
Accreditation
The master’s degree program in nursing and the post-graduate APRN certificate programs at Florida Southern College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The college is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
The AGPCNP curriculum prepares graduates to sit for certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program.
State authorization is not the operative limit here. FSC requires nurse practitioner students to hold an active Florida RN license and states that a Nurse Licensure Compact license from another state does not satisfy it, so eligibility turns on Florida licensure rather than residence. Verify current requirements in the 2026–2027 academic catalog before applying.
More AGPCNP Programs in Florida
- Florida A&M University - Tallahassee
- Florida Atlantic University - Boca Raton
- Palm Beach Atlantic University - West Palm Beach
- University of Central Florida - Orlando
- University of Miami - Miami
- University of South Florida - Tampa