Ohio State University AGPCNP Programs (Adult Gerontology)

The Ohio State University College of Nursing offers three Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) pathways:

MSN (Master of Science in Nursing)
BSN-DNP (BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice)
Post-Master’s Study Option (non-degree, for master’s-prepared APRNs)

All three can be completed online or on campus. Online MSN and BSN-DNP students make one required campus visit in each of their final three semesters. Ohio State admits online students once a year for Autumn, and applicants must hold an active RN license and live in a state where Ohio State is authorized to enroll them. Graduates are prepared to care for adolescents (age 13+), adults, and older adults.

Program Tracks Overview

Program	Est. Tuition (Resident)	Est. Duration	Credit Hours
MSN AGPCNP	$63,948	About 5 semesters full-time; 8 semesters part-time	53
BSN-DNP AGPCNP	$95,270	About 4 years part-time (11 semesters); full-time plan not published	79
Post-Master’s Study Option	$30,017–$32,627	Varies by prior coursework	25 minimum (varies)

Estimates use Ohio State’s 2026-2027 distance-learning nursing rates ($1,021.13 instructional fee plus $33.94 general fee per credit) plus the $250-per-credit nursing program fee, applied to Ohio State Online’s published part-time plans with the Registrar’s 8-credit semester cap; the post-master’s range uses Ohio State Online’s 25-credit minimum.

Ohio State charges online non-residents nearly the resident price, but distance students must help source their own preceptor leads and accept that clinical travel has no stated limit.

The cost of that access is clinical logistics. Ohio State’s Clinical Placement Office assigns sites, but out-of-state students must supply a list of preceptor leads, placement decisions are final with no second placement offered, and the college states there is no limit on how far students may need to travel, including to Ohio. Add three campus trips and a required year of adult acute care RN experience, and the program asks more of applicants than its online label suggests.

Quick Facts

Program Types	MSN, BSN-DNP, Post-Master’s Study Option (non-degree)
Format	Online or on campus; online students attend one campus visit in each of the final three semesters (MSN and BSN-DNP)
Clinical Hours	600 minimum precepted hours; BSN-DNP adds 412.5 immersion hours (1,012.5 total)
Clinical Placement	Assigned by the Clinical Placement Office and faculty; out-of-state students must submit preceptor leads; no stated travel limit
Population Focus	Adolescents (13+), adults, and older adults
RN Experience	MSN and BSN-DNP: 1 year full-time adult acute care RN experience; ICU or high-acuity strongly preferred
Start Term	Autumn only for online students; deferrals not allowed
Tuition	$1,055.07 per credit (2026-2027 distance rate) plus $250-per-credit nursing program fee; flat $200 per semester for non-residents
Accreditation	CCNE

Master of Science in Nursing – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP

The online MSN AGPCNP costs an estimated $63,948 in tuition and program fees for Ohio residents ($65,548 for non-residents) on the published part-time plan. It requires 53 credits. Ohio State says most students finish in about five semesters full-time or eight semesters part-time. Applicants need a BSN and at least one year of full-time RN experience in adult acute care. The College of Nursing also describes the AGPCNP specialization on its own site.

MSN Curriculum

The 53 credits divide into three blocks: a 13-credit core in quality improvement, evidence-based practice, leadership, population health, and policy; a 15-credit advanced practice block built on the three Ps plus clinical reasoning; and 25 credits of practicum. Three of the core courses carry doctoral (NRSPRCT 8000-level) numbers and also appear in the BSN-DNP plan.

Ohio State has no standalone primary care management courses. Each practicum carries 3 didactic credits alongside its clinical credits, so specialty content is taught inside the clinical sequence. On the part-time plan, year one covers the core, year two covers pathophysiology, assessment, and pharmacology, and the three practicums run in consecutive semesters starting the summer of year two. Those final three semesters carry 9, 9, and 10 credits, a full-time load even for part-time students.

Core Courses (13 credits):

NURS 7483: Quality Improvement and Informatics (3)
NURS 7780: Evidence Based Nursing Scholarship (3)
NRSPRCT 8406: Leadership, Role, and Collaboration for the DNP (3)
NRSPRCT 8490: Health Promotion, Theory, and Population Health (2)
NRSPRCT 8500: Nursing Policy for Doctoral Nursing Practice (2)

Advanced Practice Courses (15 credits):

NURS 7410: Advanced Health Assessment (3)
NURS 7415: Clinical Reasoning with Diagnostic Methods for Advanced Nursing Practice (2)
NURS 7450: Pathophysiology of Altered Health States (5)
NURS 7470: Advanced Pharmacology in Nursing (4)
NRSPRCT 8895: Advanced Practice Nursing: Final Professional Seminar (1)

Clinical Practicums (25 credits):

NURS 7228.01: AGPCNP Clinical Practicum I (7: 3 didactic, 4 clinical)
NURS 7228.02: AGPCNP Clinical Practicum II (9: 3 didactic, 6 clinical)
NURS 7228.03: AGPCNP Clinical Practicum III (9: 3 didactic, 6 clinical)

See the AGPCNP plan of study in the 2026-2027 MSN handbook.

MSN Clinical Requirements

Total: 600 precepted clinical hours, published as minimums
Distribution: 150 hours (Practicum I), 225 hours (Practicum II), 225 hours (Practicum III), in three consecutive semesters
Settings: ambulatory primary care and specialty clinics, community settings, long-term care, and inpatient settings, with NPs, family practice and internal medicine physicians, and specialists
Placement responsibility: assignments come from the Clinical Placement Office working with faculty; students consult the office before contacting any site or preceptor
Out-of-state students: must develop a list of leads; the college tries to place them in their region but says they may need to travel to Ohio
Travel: no stated distance limit
Timeline: preferences surveyed in October before the clinical year; most students are assigned about a month before the semester; contracts with large health systems can take 3 to 6 months
Guarantee: preferences are considered but not guaranteed; placement decisions are final and no second placement is offered
Restrictions: no family members as preceptors during the clinical year
Campus visits: one in each of the final three semesters for in-person skills evaluation, with dates set in advance

The online program page says practicums take place near each student’s home. The College of Nursing clinical placement policy is more conditional. Ohio State does place students rather than leaving them to find preceptors alone, which is a real advantage. But a distance student without strong local leads carries the risk of an assignment far from home, and because the office will not arrange a second placement, turning one down is not a practical option.

The three campus visits fall in the same semesters as the practicums. Students should plan for travel to Columbus while also carrying their heaviest clinical load.

MSN Admissions

BSN from an ACEN-, CCNE-, or CNEA-accredited program
Active RN license
Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in the last relevant degree
At least one year of full-time RN experience in adult acute care; ICU or other high-acuity experience strongly preferred
Current resume or CV
Purpose and goals statement, up to three single-spaced pages
Three letters of recommendation, at least two academic if possible
Recorded online video interview
Official transcripts (Ohio State coursework exempt)
Residence in an authorized state
Deadline: October 16, 2026 for Autumn 2027 (applications open August 3, 2026; Round 2 opens October 17, 2026)
Start term: Autumn only (Autumn 2027 begins August 24, 2027); deferrals not allowed

The adult acute care experience requirement is the rule most likely to disqualify applicants. Nurses whose experience is entirely in clinics, home health, or other outpatient settings do not meet it as written, even though this is a primary care track.

Timing matters too. The October deadline falls about ten months before the August start, and a missed cycle means waiting a full year. Ohio State Online tells MSN applicants to select “Nursing – MS – Traditional MS” in the application rather than the “Online” option, which belongs to a different program. The statistics prerequisite listed on earlier versions of this page does not appear on the current online program page.

BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP

The BSN to DNP AGPCNP costs an estimated $95,270 in tuition and program fees for Ohio residents ($97,470 for non-residents). It requires 79 credits over a published part-time plan of 11 semesters, about four years. Ohio State does not publish a full-time plan or full-time length. Applicants may hold a BSN or MSN and need the same year of adult acute care RN experience as MSN applicants.

BSN-DNP Curriculum

The BSN-DNP uses the same advanced practice block and the same three practicums as the MSN, in the same relative position: summer of year two through spring of year three. The difference is 26 additional credits. Year one replaces the MSN’s two master’s-level core courses with a doctoral evidence-based practice sequence, and the plan adds health care economics, informatics, scholarly writing, and a 1-credit course called MINDSTRONG.

The final three semesters belong to the DNP project. DNP Systems Application I–IV (15 credits) carry the immersion hours, and two Final Document Project courses close the program. Practicum III and Systems Application I overlap in the spring of year three, which makes that the plan’s heaviest term at 12 credits.

Doctoral Core (selected):

NRSPRCT 8781: Method/Measurement for the Evaluation for Evidence-Based Nursing (2)
NRSPRCT 8480: Evidence Based Quality Improvement for the DNP (2)
NRSPRCT 8785: Foundations of Evidence Based Practice (2)
NRSPRCT 8786: Implementation and Evaluation of Evidence Based Practice (2)
NRSPRCT 8605: Healthcare Economics and Finance for the DNP (2)
NRSPRCT 8610: Health Informatics and Technology for the DNP (2)
NRSPRCT 8890 and 8891: DNP Professional Seminar: Scholarly Writing I and II (1 each)
NURS 5115: MINDSTRONG (1)

Advanced Practice and Practicums: NURS 7450, 7410, 7470, and 7415, plus Practicums I–III (NURS 7228.01–.03; 7, 9, and 9 credits), identical to the MSN.

DNP Project Sequence:

NRSPRCT 8896: DNP Systems Application I (2)
NRSPRCT 8897: DNP Systems Application II (3)
NRSPRCT 8898.01 and 8898.02: DNP Systems Application III and IV (5 each)
NRSPRCT 8998.01 and 8998.02: DNP Final Document Project I and II (1 each)

See the BSN to DNP sample plans of study in the DNP handbook.

BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements

Clinical hours: 600 (16 clinical credits across the three practicums)
Immersion hours: 412.5 (11 immersion credits in Systems Application I–IV)
Total practice hours: 1,012.5
Practicum placement: same Clinical Placement Office process, lead requirements, and travel terms described for the MSN
Campus visits: one in each of the final three semesters for in-person learning and clinical skills evaluation, pre-scheduled

A published inconsistency worth knowing about. The College of Nursing placement page lists BSN to DNP students in its APRN placement process but also says the Clinical Placement team does not find placements for DNP students. It does not say whether that refers to the DNP immersion and project work. Ohio State does not clearly publish who arranges immersion sites.

On the published part-time plan, the final three semesters are the project semesters, after the practicums end. Ohio State describes the campus visits as clinical skills evaluations but does not explain that timing.

BSN-DNP Admissions

Earned BSN or MSN
Active RN license
Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in the last relevant degree
At least one year of full-time RN experience in adult acute care; ICU or other high-acuity experience strongly preferred
Resume or CV, purpose and goals statement (up to three pages), three letters of recommendation, recorded video interview, official transcripts
Supplemental application for current or former Ohio State graduate students
Residence in an authorized state
Deadline: October 16, 2026 for Autumn 2027 (applications open August 3, 2026)
Start term: Autumn only; deferrals not allowed

The BSN-DNP accepts MSN holders, but Ohio State does not publish how prior master’s coursework would shorten this plan. Master’s-prepared nurses who are not APRNs are directed by the post-master’s page to the Traditional MS or BSN-DNP, with prior coursework reviewed for possible waivers.

Post-Master’s Study Option – Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP

The Post-Master’s Study Option is a non-degree pathway for nurses who already hold an MSN and are certified as APRNs. Ohio State Online bases its estimates on a minimum of 25 credits, about $30,017–$32,627 in tuition and program fees for Ohio residents. Length depends on an individual plan built after admission. Ohio State Online lists the AGPCNP specialization as available online or on campus.

A published conflict worth knowing about. The College of Nursing post-master’s page lists Round 1 deadlines for both Summer 2027 and Autumn 2027. The Ohio State Online post-master’s page says online students are admitted once a year for Autumn. Online applicants should plan on an Autumn start, since that page governs the distance option.

Post-Master’s Curriculum

After admission, the specialty director and academic dean review prior master’s coursework, and students submit syllabi to request waivers. Students then complete any remaining Ohio State coursework, the AGPCNP specialty courses, and precepted clinicals. Ohio State does not call this a gap analysis, but it works the same way.

The 25-credit minimum matches the credit total of the three AGPCNP practicums (NURS 7228.01–.03). Ohio State does not publish a fixed AGPCNP certificate course list. Students without a prior equivalent of advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical reasoning, or the final professional seminar should expect those courses to be added.

Post-Master’s Clinical Requirements

Clinical hours for the certificate are not separately published; the AGPCNP practicum sequence carries 600 minimum precepted hours
Clinical placements usually take place during business hours
Placement responsibility for post-master’s students is not clearly published; the placement policy page names Graduate Entry and BSN to DNP students

Business-hours clinicals across the practicum sequence will be hard to combine with a full-time APRN job. Certified APRNs adding this specialty should plan for reduced work hours during the clinical semesters.

Post-Master’s Admissions

MSN from a CCNE-, ACEN-, or CNEA-accredited program
Current APRN certification (applicants finishing the MSN or APRN certification may apply if both are complete by August 1 before enrollment)
Active, unencumbered RN license in the state of practice, required by August 1 before the program begins
Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in the last relevant degree; lower GPAs may be considered through holistic review
Resume or CV, purpose and goals statement, recorded video interview, two letters of recommendation, all college transcripts
Deadline: October 16, 2026 (Round 1); Round 2 opens October 17, 2026
Start term: Autumn for online students; deferrals not allowed

The APRN requirement is the deciding rule. An MSN in education, leadership, or informatics does not qualify; Ohio State sends those applicants to the Traditional MS or BSN-DNP instead. The post-master’s pages do not list the adult acute care experience requirement that applies to the MSN and BSN-DNP.

Tuition

Ohio State’s 2026-2027 Registrar fee tables set distance-learning MSN and DNP tuition at a $1,021.13 instructional fee plus a $33.94 general fee per credit ($1,055.07 combined). Nursing students also pay a $250-per-credit program fee. Per-credit charges stop at the cost of 8 credits in a semester, so terms above 8 credits cost the same as an 8-credit term.

Residency matters far less online than on campus. Distance-learning non-residents pay a flat $200 non-resident surcharge per semester. On-campus non-residents pay $1,949.44 per credit, which would add tens of thousands of dollars to either degree. Ohio State Online’s own tuition tables are labeled as guides rather than bursar bills; this page uses the Registrar’s table.

Estimated Total Tuition

Pathway	Resident	Non-Resident (Online)
MSN (8-semester plan)	$63,948	$65,548
BSN-DNP (11-semester plan)	$95,270	$97,470
Post-Master’s (25 credits)	$30,017–$32,627	Resident figure plus $200 per semester

Figures are calculated from published rates and plans, not published by Ohio State. They include instructional, general, and nursing program fees. The MSN and BSN-DNP figures apply the 8-credit cap to 49 and 73 billable credits; the post-master’s low end assumes the three practicums are taken in 7-, 9-, and 9-credit semesters. A full-time MSN schedule would bill fewer credits, but Ohio State does not publish a full-time term plan.

Fees Beyond Tuition

Nursing Distance Learning Fee: $248 per semester for online students
Distance Learning Fee: $100 per semester
Calculated semester fees: about $2,784 for the 8-semester MSN and $3,828 for the 11-semester BSN-DNP
Travel: three required campus visits for MSN and BSN-DNP students, plus possible clinical travel; Ohio State does not estimate these costs

Ohio State’s post-master’s page notes that the Traditional MS and BSN-DNP may offer financial aid eligibility, an option the non-degree post-master’s pathway does not clearly share. Eligible Ohio State employees can apply the Faculty and Staff Tuition Assistance Plan to online programs. See Ohio State Online’s tuition and aid page for more details.

Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?

Best suited for: Adult acute care RNs outside Ohio who want near-resident pricing at a large public university and can manage three trips to Columbus and an active role in finding preceptor leads.

A Flat Surcharge Instead of Out-of-State Tuition

Most public universities charge distance non-residents a meaningful premium. Ohio State’s flat $200-per-semester surcharge adds about $1,600 to the MSN and $2,200 to the BSN-DNP. For a nurse in another state, the comparison is effectively against in-state tuition at home.

Placement Support That Still Depends on Your Leads

Ohio State assigns clinical sites, which removes the full preceptor search many online programs leave to students. Out-of-state students still have to bring leads, and the college reserves the right to place them anywhere, including Ohio, with no second placement. Applicants in areas with few primary care preceptors carry the most risk.

An Acute Care Experience Gate on a Primary Care Track

Requiring a year of adult acute care RN experience for the MSN and BSN-DNP narrows the applicant pool. Outpatient, clinic, and community nurses who are natural candidates for primary care practice do not qualify as written and should compare other programs.

MSN or BSN-DNP: 26 Credits and About $31,300 Apart

Both pathways share the same practicums and the same 600 clinical hours, so they lead to the same certification. The BSN-DNP adds 26 credits, 412.5 immersion hours, about three extra semesters, and roughly $31,300 in estimated resident tuition. The doctorate makes sense for nurses targeting leadership, quality, or faculty roles; the MSN is the faster and cheaper route to practice.

The Verdict

Ohio State is a strong option for adult acute care nurses in other states who want public-university pricing without paying out-of-state tuition, and who can travel to Columbus three times and supply preceptor leads. Nurses with only outpatient experience, applicants who cannot risk a distant clinical assignment, and anyone needing a Spring or Summer online start should compare other AGPCNP programs.

Accreditation

Ohio State’s master’s program in nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the College of Nursing lists its master’s, DNP, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs on its accreditation page. The AGPCNP curriculum meets NONPF guidelines, and graduates are eligible for ANCC (AGPCNP-BC) or AANPCB (AGNP-C) certification.

Ohio State participates in NC-SARA and enrolls online students in member states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; California is not a SARA member but is served under separate state law. Applicants must live in an authorized state, so check Ohio State’s current state authorization page before applying.

Other AGPCNP Programs in Ohio

Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland
Kent State University - Kent
University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati
Ursuline College - Pepper Pike

Compare all AGPCNP Programs in Ohio