DePaul University’s School of Nursing, part of the College of Science and Health, offers 3 AGPCNP pathways:
- MSN (BSN entry, or RN with a non-nursing bachelor’s)
- DNP (BSN or MSN entry)
- Post-Graduate Certificate
All three run online on a quarter calendar with four start terms a year, and DePaul names no campus visits. Students find their own preceptors, need an RN license in the state where they complete practicum, and cannot complete practicum in nine states.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN AGPCNP | $57,084 | Not published | 67 quarter hours |
| DNP AGPCNP | $84,348 | Not published | 99 quarter hours |
| Post-Graduate Certificate AGPCNP | $36,636 | 60 weeks (about 6 quarters) | 43 quarter hours |
Tuition estimates multiply DePaul’s 2026–2027 College of Science and Health graduate rate of $852 per quarter hour by each pathway’s catalog total. DePaul charges the same rate in every state. A quarter hour is two-thirds of a semester hour.
DePaul’s AGPCNP certificate stands apart because it asks for a graduate degree and an RN license, not prior NP certification. A nurse with a master’s in education, leadership, or informatics can enter the same three-practicum sequence the MSN and DNP students complete, with federal aid available.
The trade-off is clinical support and volume. DePaul expects students to find their own preceptors, publishes 500 clinical hours for the MSN (the certification minimum), and publishes no hour total for the DNP or certificate.
Any RN with a graduate degree can enter DePaul’s online AGPCNP certificate, but every student finds their own preceptors for a 500-hour MSN-level clinical sequence.
Quick Facts
| Program Types | MSN, DNP, post-graduate certificate |
| Format | Online; DNP coursework is asynchronous; no campus visits named |
| Start Terms | Fall, winter, spring, and summer |
| Clinical Hours | MSN: 500. DNP and certificate: not published |
| Clinical Placement | Student-secured, completed in the student’s home community |
| Licensure Required | Unencumbered RN license in the practicum state |
| Excluded Practicum States | AZ, CA, CO, LA, MN, NV, NY, TN, WA |
| Tuition | $852 per quarter hour (2026–2027), all states |
| Accreditation | CCNE (MSN, DNP, post-graduate APRN certificate) |
MSN Specialty, Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Track
The Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Track costs an estimated $57,084 for 67 quarter hours. DePaul does not publish a completion time. It sits inside the online RN to MS in Nursing program, which admits BSN-prepared RNs and associate-degree RNs who already hold a bachelor’s in another field.
MSN Curriculum
The catalog splits the MSN into three blocks: 26 quarter hours that count toward both the BSN and MSN, a 12-quarter-hour graduate core, and a 29-quarter-hour AGPCNP track. The track runs three practicum courses in consecutive quarters, each paired with a primary care content course, and adds a 5-quarter-hour gerontology pharmacotherapeutics course that the FNP track does not carry.
- Shared BSN/MSN block (26): theory, research, ethics, informatics, NSG 428 Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice (4), NSG 464 Health Assessment for Advanced Practice (6)
- Graduate core (12): NSG 481 Biostatistics and Epidemiology, NSG 484 Pharmacology for Advanced Practice, NSG 598 Graduate Research Synthesis
- NSG 474 Primary Care of the Adult and Older Adult (4)
- NSG 478 Clinical Management of Acute and Chronic Illnesses in Primary Care (4)
- NSG 493 Advanced Gerontological Nursing and Pharmacotherapeutic Implications (5)
- NSG 488 Professional Issues and Research in Population-Based Advanced Practice Nursing (4)
- NSG 483, 487, 490 Practicum in Population-Based Nursing Practice I–III (4 each)
View the MSN Specialty catalog.
A published conflict worth knowing about. The MSN Specialty catalog page lists each track at 16 to 30 quarter hours, while the AGPCNP track’s own course list sums to 29 and the full degree to 67. This page uses the course-by-course total. Whether a BSN-prepared student is charged for all 26 shared quarter hours is not published.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 500 clinical hours, stated by the catalog as the program’s culminating total
- Three practicum courses, NSG 483, 487, and 490 (12 quarter hours)
- Placement: students find their own preceptors and sites; DePaul states that post-licensure students are expected to do so
- Clinicals take place in the student’s home community
Five hundred hours is exactly the national certification floor. A dropped rotation leaves a student below eligibility rather than merely behind, and with student-secured placement, the backup plan is the student’s to build.
MSN Admissions
- BSN from an ACEN-, CNEA-, or CCNE-accredited program, or an ADN plus a bachelor’s in another field (three bridge courses added)
- ADN-prepared RNs without a bachelor’s must complete a BSN first
- Unencumbered RN license in the practicum state
- Minimum 2.75 GPA
- Statistics prerequisite with a C or better
- NursingCAS application, two recommendations (one from a direct supervisor), 2–3 page personal statement, CV
Doctor of Nursing Practice, Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Track
The DNP Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Track costs an estimated $84,348 for 99 quarter hours. It admits BSN- and MSN-prepared nurses, and MSN holders may transfer up to 12 quarter hours completed within five years, which would lower the estimate to about $74,124. DePaul does not publish a completion time.
DNP Curriculum
The DNP combines a 40-quarter-hour doctoral core, a 51-quarter-hour advanced practice core that contains the full MSN-level AGPCNP sequence, and an 8-quarter-hour doctoral specialty of two advanced NP practicums. The doctoral core leans toward health system leadership, with courses in health care finance, economics, program evaluation, and informatics.
- Advanced practice core (51): NSG 400, 428, 464, 474, 478, 484, 488, 493, the three population-based practicums, and NSG 553 Population Health Quality and Safety
- NSG 700 Advanced Practicum for Nurse Practitioners I (4)
- NSG 701 Advanced Practicum for Nurse Practitioners II (4)
- Doctoral core (40): finance, economics, program evaluation, biostatistics, and the three-course evidence-based practice and DNP project sequence
DNP Clinical Requirements
- Total clinical hours: not published
- Five practicum courses: the three MSN-level practicums plus NSG 700 and 701 (20 quarter hours)
- DNP project: NSG 600, 601, and 602, separate from the AGPCNP practicum
- Placement: student-secured
DNP Admissions
- BSN or MSN from an ACEN-, CNEA-, or CCNE-accredited nursing program
- Unencumbered RN license in the practicum state
- Minimum 3.00 GPA in the RN program
- NursingCAS application, two recommendations (one from a direct supervisor), 2–3 page personal statement, CV
- Deadlines: July 15 (fall), November 15 (winter), February 1 (spring), April 15 (summer)
The doctoral GPA floor of 3.00 is higher than the MSN’s 2.75. The DNP program page lists the winter deadline as November 1; the admission page lists November 15.
Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Certificate Online
The Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Certificate costs an estimated $36,636 for 43 quarter hours, completed in 60 weeks of coursework, which DePaul describes as two academic years. It is open to licensed RNs holding any graduate degree.
Certificate Curriculum
The certificate is the MSN’s advanced practice and AGPCNP coursework without the theory, research, ethics, informatics, and biostatistics courses. It includes the three advanced practice sciences, so no prior APRN coursework is assumed.
- NSG 428 Pathophysiology (4), NSG 464 Health Assessment (6), NSG 484 Pharmacology (4)
- NSG 474 Primary Care of the Adult and Older Adult (4)
- NSG 478 Clinical Management of Acute and Chronic Illnesses in Primary Care (4)
- NSG 493 Advanced Gerontological Nursing and Pharmacotherapeutic Implications (5)
- NSG 488 Professional Issues and Research in Population-Based Advanced Practice Nursing (4)
- NSG 483, 487, 490 Practicum I–III (4 each)
Certificate Clinical Requirements
- The same three practicum courses as the MSN
- Total clinical hours: not published for the certificate
- Placement: student-secured
Certificate Admissions
- Licensed RN holding a graduate degree
- Aimed at DePaul graduates and RNs from Illinois and selected other states
- Approved as a Gainful Employment Program; eligible for federal student aid
Tuition
DePaul charges $852 per quarter hour for College of Science and Health graduate coursework in 2026–2027, up from $836 in 2025–2026. The same rate applies in every state. DePaul lists no nursing program fee or differential.
| Pathway | Quarter Hours | Estimated Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| MSN | 67 | $57,084 |
| DNP (BSN entry) | 99 | $84,348 |
| DNP (MSN entry, 12 transferred) | 87 | $74,124 |
| Post-Graduate Certificate | 43 | $36,636 |
Figures are calculated from the published rate and catalog credit totals. DePaul does not publish program totals.
Fees beyond tuition:
- Comprehensive fee: $100 per term part-time, $150 per term full-time
- Student-borne clinical compliance costs: background check, drug screening where required, and compliance tracking
See DePaul’s graduate tuition and fees.
Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?
Best suited for: nurses who want an online AGPCNP with flexible start dates, who already have preceptor contacts, and, for the certificate, who hold a non-NP graduate degree.
A Certificate That Does Not Require NP Certification
The certificate includes pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment, so a nurse with any graduate degree can enter. It also qualifies for federal aid, which many post-graduate certificates do not.
Four Entry Points a Year
DePaul reviews applications for every quarter. A missed deadline costs ten weeks, not a year.
No Campus Travel
DePaul describes DNP coursework as fully online and asynchronous and the MSN as online apart from clinicals. No intensives or immersions are named for any pathway.
The Verdict
DePaul fits nurses who can arrange their own adult primary care preceptors and want an online program they can start any quarter, and especially graduate-prepared nurses without NP credentials. Nurses who want arranged placements, published DNP clinical hours, or a buffer above the 500-hour floor should compare other Illinois options.
Accreditation
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredits DePaul’s MSN, DNP, and Post-Graduate APRN Certificate programs, covering all three AGPCNP pathways. The Higher Learning Commission accredits the university. DePaul states that graduates may sit for adult-gerontology primary care certification through ANCC or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board.
Practicums cannot be completed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, or Washington. See DePaul’s accreditation page.
Other AGPCNP Programs in Illinois
- Bradley University - Peoria
- Chamberlain University - Chicago
- Loyola University Chicago - Maywood
- North Park University - Chicago
- Rush University - Chicago
- University of Illinois Chicago - Chicago