University of South Florida (USF) Health College of Nursing offers five graduate pathways tied to Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner practice:
- MSN – 57 credits
- MSN with Occupational Health Nursing subspecialty – 76 credits
- BSN-DNP – 77 credits
- BSN-DNP with Occupational Health Nursing subspecialty – 96 credits
- MSN-DNP (post-master’s, 31-credit minimum) – for nurses already licensed and certified as APRNs
All of them run through USF’s Tampa campus in a hybrid format. USF admits for fall only, requires an unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30, and requires clinical work to be completed in Florida. A sixth concentration, the BSN-DNP in Oncology Nursing/Adult-Gerontology Primary Care, has been on hold since the Fall 2021 admission cycle.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition (Resident) | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN AGPCNP | $24,592 | 7 semesters full-time, 8 part-time | 57 |
| MSN AGPCNP + Occupational Health | $32,789 | 11 semesters | 76 |
| BSN-DNP AGPCNP | $33,220 | 9 semesters full-time, 10 part-time | 77 |
| BSN-DNP AGPCNP + Occupational Health | $41,417 | 14 semesters | 96 |
| MSN-DNP (post-master’s) | $13,374 | 7 semesters | 31 minimum |
Tuition estimates multiply USF’s published graduate rate of $431.43 per credit (Florida resident) by each program plan’s credit total. Non-resident figures appear in the Tuition section. USF’s $37 per-term flat fee is listed separately.
- Why choose it: 780 supervised direct clinical hours and a college-run statewide preceptor network, at $431.43 per credit.
- Trade-off: Monthly campus activities in Tampa, Florida-only clinicals with Florida-licensed preceptors, a Florida RN license, and fall-only, lockstep entry.
Quick Facts
| Program Types | MSN, BSN-DNP, post-master’s DNP; Occupational Health Nursing subspecialty available at both MSN and DNP level |
| Format | Hybrid. Coursework largely online, with on-campus classes or activities roughly once per month |
| Campus | Tampa, FL |
| Clinical Hours | 780 direct hours in the MSN and BSN-DNP plans (180 x 3 plus a 240-hour immersion). The post-master’s DNP instead requires a minimum of 8 practicum credits |
| Clinical Placement | USF recruits volunteer preceptors statewide and clinical faculty conduct site visits. A formal placement-responsibility policy is not published |
| Clinical Locations | Florida only |
| Licensure Required | Unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30; U.S. RN license before admission. The post-master’s DNP also requires APRN licensure by the end of the first semester and national APRN certification |
| Start Terms | Fall only, beginning in August |
| Transfer Credit | Maximum 12 credits, evaluated credit-for-credit. Clinical courses are not transferable |
| Tuition | $431.43/credit resident, $921.74/credit non-resident, plus $37 per term in flat fees |
| Accreditation | CCNE (baccalaureate, master’s, DNP, post-graduate APRN certificate); USF institutionally accredited by SACSCOC |
Master of Science in Nursing – AGPCNP
The MSN AGPCNP runs 57 credits, with an estimated $24,592 in resident tuition or $52,539 non-resident. USF’s full-time plan completes it in 7 semesters, roughly two years and four months of continuous enrollment including summers; the part-time plan takes 8. Entry requires a BSN and a 3.0 nursing GPA. Unlike both DNP pathways, it carries no undergraduate statistics prerequisite.
MSN Curriculum
The plan divides into three stages. Semesters one through three build the advanced practice core: pathophysiology, health assessment, pharmacology and diagnostic reasoning, alongside role, research, health promotion and informatics coursework. Semesters four through six pair a didactic primary care management course with its clinical corequisite, so didactic and clinical content advance together rather than sequentially. Semester seven is a transition seminar plus a 240-hour clinical immersion.
Two features stand out against comparable primary care plans. NGR 6067, a one-credit course in advanced cardiac monitoring, is unusual coursework for a primary care population focus. And the closing immersion is a full 240-hour course rather than a final rotation folded into a management course, which makes the last semester function more like a supervised residency.
Semesters 1–3, advanced practice core (27 cr.):
- NGR 6143 – Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners (4 cr.)
- NGR 6703 – Advanced Nursing Role & Leadership (2 cr.)
- NGR 6803 – Research and Evidence Based Practice (3 cr.)
- NGR 6002C – Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan (4 cr.)
- NGR 6172 – Advanced Pharmacology and Therapeutics (4 cr.)
- NGR 6638 – Health Promotion Across Diverse Populations (3 cr.)
- NGR 6064C – Diagnostic Reasoning and Procedures for the APRN (3 cr.)
- NGR 6067 – Advanced Cardiac Monitoring for the APRN (1 cr.)
- NGR 6875 – Digital Health & Informatics for Healthcare Transformation (3 cr.)
Semesters 4–7, AGPCNP specialty and systems coursework (30 cr.):
- NGR 6207 – Primary Care Management of Adolescents to Older Adults (3 cr.)
- NGR 6207L – AGPCNP Clinical Management I (3 cr., 180 hrs.)
- NGR 7772 – Health Systems, Economics & Financial Planning (3 cr.)
- NGR 6244 – Primary Care Management of Adults to Older Adults (3 cr.)
- NGR 6244L – AGPCNP Clinical Management II (3 cr., 180 hrs.)
- NGR 6733 – Quality Improvement and Evaluation Strategies for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 cr.)
- NGR 6291 – AGPCNP Special Topics (3 cr.)
- NGR 6291L – AGPCNP Clinical Management III (3 cr., 180 hrs.)
- NGR 6884 – AGPCNP Transition Seminar (2 cr.)
- NGR 6215L – AGPCNP Clinical Practice Immersion (4 cr., 240 hrs.)
A College of Nursing comprehensive examination is required at the end of the program. See USF’s full-time program plan, part-time program plan, or the Graduate Catalog.
MSN Clinical Requirements
- 780 supervised direct clinical hours, summed from the hour counts USF publishes on each clinical course in its program plan
- NGR 6207L, NGR 6244L and NGR 6291L – 180 hours each, in consecutive semesters
- NGR 6215L Clinical Practice Immersion – 240 hours in the final semester
- Placement: USF recruits preceptors across Florida and describes students being placed in settings from urban centers to rural communities. Clinical faculty conduct site visits
- Locations: Florida only
- Settings: large hospitals, community clinics and private offices
- Preceptor qualifications: master’s degree in the specialty area, one year or more of advanced-level practice, and a current unencumbered Florida license as an APRN, MD, DO or PA. Preceptors are unpaid volunteers
- Preceptors may request students by semester level, language spoken, or relevant RN background
- Clear Level 1 and Level 2 background checks are required for clinical placement. USF states it cannot guarantee placement where a background check is not clear
The hour total matters for two reasons. National certification requires 500 direct patient care hours, so USF’s 780 leaves substantial margin, and the load is concentrated: spread over a typical 15-week term, the three clinical management courses work out to about 12 hours a week and the immersion to about 16. Those weekly figures are a calculation from the published hour totals, not a USF-published schedule, but they set a realistic expectation for anyone planning to keep working while enrolled.
USF does not publish a policy statement assigning preceptor sourcing to students, and nothing in its published preceptor materials does so. That said, because the preceptor network is statewide rather than local, a placement within short driving distance of home is not assured. Applicants should also note that the Florida-only rule is structural rather than administrative: preceptors must hold Florida licenses, so completing hours in another state is not a workaround.
MSN Admissions
- BSN or equivalent foreign degree
- 3.0 minimum nursing GPA, plus USF Graduate Admissions’ B-average requirement
- Current unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30; a U.S. RN license before admission
- Three letters of recommendation, from a nursing faculty member or clinical instructor, a nursing supervisor, and an advanced provider (APRN, PA, MD or DO). Letters from friends, family or coworkers are not accepted
- Current resume or CV
- GRE not required; competitive scores from the past five years may be submitted
- Both a USF Graduate Admissions application and a NursingCAS application
- Level 1 and Level 2 background checks and drug screening after admission; proof of current health insurance
- Mandatory College of Nursing graduate orientation
- F-1 visa holders are not eligible, because of federal limits on online study
- Fall entry only, beginning in August
- Fall 2027 cycle: USF graduate application opens June 2, 2026; NursingCAS opens January 1, 2027 and closes May 1, 2027; verified status required by May 15, 2027
A published conflict worth knowing about. USF’s MSN application-process section states that the university application deadline for fall master’s entry is February 15, which does not match the Fall 2027 deadline table on the same page showing the USF application opening June 2, 2026 and NursingCAS closing May 1, 2027. This page uses the dated deadline table, since it is cycle-specific and the February 15 line is generic. The prior version of this profile listed a February 15 priority deadline and a July 1 final deadline; neither appears in USF’s current published table.
Two rules in USF’s shared admission list are easy to misread. The one-year critical care or high-acuity experience requirement applies only to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care concentration, not to AGPCNP. And applicants may apply to only one degree program, MSN or DNP, per cycle, which means choosing between the master’s and the doctorate is effectively a one-year decision given fall-only entry.
Applicants with fewer than 12 months of RN experience at the start date are placed on an alternate plan with a lighter course load. USF does not publish how many extra semesters that adds.
MSN AGPCNP with Occupational Health Nursing Subspecialty
The occupational health subspecialty takes 76 credits over 11 semesters, roughly three years and nine months, with an estimated $32,789 in resident tuition or $70,052 non-resident. It produces the same AGPCNP certification eligibility as the standard MSN and adds occupational health preparation through the USF College of Public Health. USF states that tuition and fees may be covered depending on available grant funding.
A published conflict worth knowing about. USF’s subspecialty program page states 74 credit hours. The 2026 program plan it links states 76, and that document’s semester-by-semester course list adds to 76. This page uses 76, because the plan’s stated total reconciles with its own course list and the program page’s figure does not.
Occupational Health MSN Curriculum
The plan is the 57-credit AGPCNP curriculum plus 19 credits of occupational health and public health coursework. Four of the added courses come from the College of Public Health, which is what makes the subspecialty more than a badge on a nursing degree.
The sequencing is worth studying before committing. USF front-loads the occupational health block into semesters one and three, ahead of advanced pharmacology, and the first AGPCNP clinical course does not arrive until semester eight. In the standard MSN it arrives in semester four. A student who wants clinical exposure early will wait roughly a year longer for it here.
Added coursework (19 cr.):
- PHC 6423 – Environmental & Occupational Health Law (3 cr.)
- PHC 6355 – Principles of Occupational Safety (3 cr.)
- PHC 6345 – Health, Safety & Environmental Management and Administration (3 cr.)
- PHC 6934 – Foundations of Occupational Health & Safety (3 cr.)
- NGR 6650 – Occupational Health Nursing I (2 cr.)
- NGR 6651 – Occupational Health Nursing II (2 cr.)
- NGR 6351 – Occupational Medicine for Advanced Nurse Practitioners (3 cr.)
See the full-time program plan. USF notes that course numbers and titles are subject to change.
Occupational Health MSN Clinical Requirements
Clinical requirements are identical to the standard MSN: the same four courses, the same 780 direct hours, the same Florida-only placement. The 19 added credits are didactic. A student choosing this track is buying subject-matter preparation and potential grant funding, not additional supervised practice.
Occupational Health MSN Admissions
Admission requirements match the standard MSN, and USF directs applicants to the same MSN admission page. The grant funding USF references is not described in terms of eligibility criteria or award amounts on the program page, so its availability in any given cycle is not something an applicant can confirm in advance from published sources.
Doctor of Nursing Practice – AGPCNP (BSN to DNP)
The BSN-DNP AGPCNP runs 77 credits, with an estimated $33,220 in resident tuition or $70,974 non-resident. The full-time plan takes 9 semesters, about three years; the part-time plan takes 10. Beyond the MSN requirements, applicants must complete a 3-credit undergraduate statistics course with a grade of B or better before the program starts.
BSN-DNP Curriculum
Four blocks make up the plan: the same advanced practice core the MSN uses, a doctoral core, the identical AGPCNP specialty and clinical sequence, and a four-phase DNP Project. A DNP Qualifying Exam must be completed before DNP Project Phase I is finished, which places the gate in semester six of the full-time plan rather than at the end.
The doctoral coursework is where the two degrees actually diverge. The DNP substitutes NGR 7769, a four-credit course in quality improvement and implementation science, for the MSN’s three-credit NGR 6733, and adds biostatistics and epidemiology, interprofessional leadership, and the DNP Advanced Role course. The AGPCNP clinical sequence is unchanged.
The arithmetic is the useful part. The doctorate costs 20 credits more than the master’s, about $8,629 in additional resident tuition, and two additional semesters. Doing the MSN first and returning later for the 31-credit post-master’s DNP costs roughly $37,966 in resident tuition across 14 semesters, against $33,220 across 9 for the direct route. A BSN-prepared nurse who already expects to want a doctorate saves money and about a year and a half by going straight through.
Doctoral core (18 cr.):
- NGR 7768 – Doctor of Nursing Practice Advanced Role (2 cr.)
- NGR 7766 – Interprofessional Practice and Health Systems Leadership (3 cr.)
- NGR 7846 – Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice (4 cr.)
- NGR 7769 – Quality Improvement and Implementation Science (4 cr.)
- NGR 7772 – Health Systems Policy, Economics & Financial Planning (3 cr.)
- NGR 6875 – Digital Health & Informatics for Healthcare Transformation (3 cr.)
DNP Project (12 cr.): NGR 7955C, 7956C, 7957C and 7958C, Phases I through IV, 3 credits each, running from semester six through semester nine.
Advanced practice core and AGPCNP sequence (47 cr.): NGR 6143, 6002C, 6172, 6638, 6803, 6064C and 6067, followed by the same NGR 6207/6207L, 6244/6244L, 6291/6291L, 6884 and 6215L sequence described under the MSN.
See USF’s full-time program plan, part-time program plan, or the Graduate Catalog.
BSN-DNP Clinical Requirements
- 780 supervised direct clinical hours, the same four courses as the MSN: 180 hours each in NGR 6207L, 6244L and 6291L, plus 240 in NGR 6215L
- Clinical courses begin in semester five of the full-time plan and semester seven part-time
- DNP Project Phases I–IV add project work alongside the final four semesters of clinical coursework
- All clinical activity completed in Florida, under the same statewide preceptor network and placement conditions as the MSN
USF’s current BSN-DNP plan does not publish a separate indirect or practicum hour total. An earlier version of this profile cited 500 indirect hours; that figure does not appear in USF’s current published materials and has been removed rather than carried forward. The direct-hour requirement is the one USF documents course by course.
The scheduling pressure is real in the back half. From semester six onward, full-time students carry a didactic course, a 180-hour clinical, and a DNP Project phase simultaneously. Semester eight pairs the 240-hour immersion with Project Phase III. Anyone planning to work substantial hours through the doctorate should look closely at those four terms specifically.
BSN-DNP Admissions
- BSN or equivalent foreign degree; 3.0 minimum nursing GPA plus USF’s B-average requirement
- Undergraduate statistics course (3 credits, grade of B or better) completed before the program starts
- Current unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30; a U.S. RN license before admission
- Three letters of recommendation, same sources as the MSN
- Current resume or CV; GRE optional
- Both a USF Graduate Admissions application and a NursingCAS application
- Level 1 and Level 2 background checks and drug screening after an admission offer
- F-1 visa holders are not eligible
- Fall entry only. Fall 2027 cycle: USF graduate application opens February 16, 2026; NursingCAS opens January 1, 2027 and closes May 1, 2027; verified status required by May 15, 2027
The statistics prerequisite is the requirement most likely to cost an applicant a year. It must be complete before the program starts, not before applying, but a nurse who discovers the gap in April of the application year has one summer to close it. Transfer credit is capped at 12 credits, evaluated credit-for-credit and only after full admission, and clinical courses are never transferable, so prior graduate nursing coursework will not shorten the clinical sequence.
BSN-DNP AGPCNP with Occupational Health Nursing Subspecialty
The occupational health DNP runs 96 credits over 14 semesters, close to four years and nine months of continuous enrollment, with an estimated $41,417 in resident tuition or $88,487 non-resident. It is the longest AGPCNP pathway USF offers and the only one carrying a second certification outcome.
Occupational Health DNP Curriculum
The plan combines the full 77-credit BSN-DNP structure with the same 19 credits of occupational health and public health coursework used in the MSN subspecialty: PHC 6423, PHC 6355, PHC 6345, PHC 6934, NGR 6650, NGR 6651 and NGR 6351. As in the MSN version, the public health block occupies semesters one and three, and the first AGPCNP clinical course does not arrive until semester ten.
That sequencing has a practical consequence. A student enters primary care clinical training more than three years after starting, having completed pathophysiology in semester two and pharmacology in semester seven. The didactic foundation is thorough, but the gap between core science coursework and clinical application is unusually long.
See the full-time program plan. USF notes that course numbers and titles are subject to change.
Occupational Health DNP Clinical Requirements and Funding
Clinical hours are identical to the standard BSN-DNP: 780 direct hours across NGR 6207L, 6244L, 6291L and the 240-hour NGR 6215L immersion, all completed in Florida. The subspecialty adds no clinical volume.
What it does add is a second credential and a funding channel. USF states graduates are eligible to sit for the Certified Occupational Health Nurse and Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist exams offered by the American Board of Occupational Health Nurses, in addition to AGPCNP certification through ANCC or AANPCB. The program is supported by the Sunshine Education and Research Center, funded through the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and USF states that funding may be available for eligible applicants. Eligibility criteria and award amounts are not published.
The honest framing for an applicant: nineteen extra didactic credits and roughly five extra semesters buy an occupational health credential that matters in industrial, corporate and workers’ compensation settings, and are hard to justify for anyone heading into general primary care. The possibility of grant coverage changes that calculation considerably, but it is not a guarantee USF publishes.
Occupational Health DNP Admissions
USF directs applicants to the standard DNP admission requirements, including the undergraduate statistics prerequisite and the Florida RN licensure deadline. No additional occupational health experience or coursework is listed as a prerequisite.
Post-Master’s DNP (MSN to DNP)
USF’s post-master’s DNP requires a minimum of 31 credits, with an estimated $13,374 in resident tuition or $28,574 non-resident. The published program plan completes it in 7 semesters, roughly two years and four months. Eligibility is narrow: a BSN, an MSN from a CCNE- or ACEN-accredited program, APRN licensure before the end of the first semester, and national certification in an area of advanced practice.
This pathway does not produce AGPCNP certification eligibility. USF’s published MSN-DNP plan contains no AGPCNP concentration coursework and none of the AGPCNP clinical management courses. It is a doctoral completion for nurses who already hold APRN licensure and national certification, AGPCNPs among them. A master’s-prepared nurse certified in a different population focus who wants to add AGPCNP certification would need a post-graduate certificate, and USF’s post-graduate APRN certificates are currently offered only in Psychiatric-Mental Health and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care.
A published conflict worth knowing about. USF’s DNP page states the post-master’s program requires a minimum of 31 credits including at least 8 practicum credits and 4 project credits. The published program plan shows 31 credits with 12 credits of DNP Project, Phases I through IV, and no separately labeled practicum course. USF does not publish how the 8 practicum credits map onto the plan. The reading most consistent with both sources is that practicum hours sit inside the project courses, which matches USF’s statement that practicum hours directly support the DNP project. This page reports both figures rather than reconciling them.
Post-Master’s DNP Curriculum
The plan is doctoral coursework front-loaded into three semesters, followed by four semesters of project work. It follows a lock-step sequence, and students receive their specific plan on accepting admission.
- NGR 7768 – Doctor of Nursing Practice Advanced Role (2 cr.)
- NGR 7846 – Biostatistics & Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice (4 cr.)
- NGR 6875 – Digital Health & Informatics to Transform Healthcare (3 cr.)
- NGR 7769 – Quality Improvement and Implementation Science (4 cr.)
- NGR 7766 – Interprofessional Practice and Health Systems Leadership (3 cr.)
- NGR 7772 – Health Systems, Economics & Financial Planning (3 cr.)
- NGR 7955C, 7956C, 7957C, 7958C – DNP Project I through IV (3 cr. each)
A DNP Qualifying Exam must be completed before DNP Project Phase I is finished. One oddity in USF’s published plan: semesters six and seven are both labeled Summer, which appears to be a document error rather than two consecutive summer terms. The credit total and course sequence are otherwise internally consistent at 31 credits.
See the program plan or the Graduate Catalog.
Post-Master’s DNP Practicum Requirements
- Minimum 8 practicum credits and 4 project credits within the 31-credit minimum
- Practicum hours directly support the DNP project and may include direct patient care, immersion experiences, or other clinical activities approved by the DNP Director
- All practicum work must be completed in Florida
- USF does not publish an hour equivalent for practicum credits in this program
The Florida requirement is the constraint most likely to surprise applicants. A practicing APRN in another state cannot complete this DNP from home, even though the coursework is largely online and the practicum is project-driven rather than a clinical rotation.
Post-Master’s DNP Admissions
- BSN and an MSN from an institution with a CCNE- or ACEN-accredited nursing program
- 3.0 minimum nursing GPA plus USF’s B-average requirement. Where an applicant holds both a bachelor’s and a graduate degree, the graduate credentials and GPA are the determining factor
- APRN licensure required before completion of the first semester. USF states applicants who already hold APRN licensure are considered competitive
- National certification in an area of advanced practice is required
- Current unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30
- Undergraduate statistics course (3 credits, grade of B or better) before the program starts
- Three letters of recommendation, same sources as the other pathways; resume or CV; GRE optional
- Both a USF Graduate Admissions application and a NursingCAS application
- F-1 visa holders are not eligible
- Fall entry only, on the same DNP deadline schedule as the BSN-DNP
USF describes 31 credits as a minimum and issues each admitted student a specific plan, but does not publish what raises a plan above the minimum or how prior master’s coursework is evaluated against it. An earlier version of this profile described a gap analysis conducted at admission; that language does not appear in USF’s current published materials and has been removed.
Tuition
USF’s published graduate rate is $431.43 per credit hour for Florida residents and $921.74 per credit hour for non-residents. Both figures are all-in per-credit totals covering state, local and other fees, not base tuition with charges to be added afterward.
USF assesses a higher programmatic rate for certain high-cost graduate programs. The College of Nursing does not publish a programmatic surcharge for its MSN or non-anesthesia DNP tracks, so the estimates below use the standard graduate rate. The University Controller’s Office publishes the current rate table each academic year.
Estimated Total Tuition
| Pathway | Credits | Resident | Non-Resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN AGPCNP | 57 | $24,592 | $52,539 |
| MSN + Occupational Health | 76 | $32,789 | $70,052 |
| BSN-DNP AGPCNP | 77 | $33,220 | $70,974 |
| BSN-DNP + Occupational Health | 96 | $41,417 | $88,487 |
| Post-Master’s DNP | 31 | $13,374 | $28,574 |
These totals are calculated from USF’s published per-credit rate and each program plan’s credit total. USF does not publish program totals for these tracks.
Residency is the single largest cost variable. Non-resident status adds $490.31 per credit, which is $37,754 across the 77-credit BSN-DNP and $47,070 across the 96-credit occupational health DNP. Since every pathway requires a Florida RN license by October 30 and completes all clinical work in Florida, most enrolled students will be Florida-domiciled in any case, but the gap is large enough that residency classification deserves resolving before a first term is billed.
Fees Beyond Tuition
- $37.00 per term in flat fees regardless of credit load: $7 Activities & Service, $10 Athletic, $20 Student Union. That is $259 over a 7-semester plan and $518 over a 14-semester plan
- $1,000 to $2,500 per year in College of Nursing expenses, USF’s own estimate, covering CPR training, background checks, drug screening, textbooks, course software, clinical uniforms and equipment
- Level 1 and Level 2 background checks and drug screening after admission
- Proof of current health insurance
- Travel to Tampa roughly monthly, and travel to clinical sites that may sit outside the local area. USF does not publish a cost estimate for either
Financial Support
- More than 50 nursing scholarship opportunities through USF AwardSpring, with applications typically opening in December. Students must be admitted to USF before applying
- The federal Nurse Faculty Loan Program, up to $35,000, with 85% forgiven after four years of full-time nurse faculty teaching
- Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) state grant funds, used by the College for unmet need, licensure and certification application costs, and additional clinical opportunities
- Grant funding specific to the occupational health pathways, described above
- In 2024–2025 the College awarded more than 380 foundation scholarships totaling $730,000 in private funding
One gap worth naming: the tuition waivers attached to graduate teaching and research assistantships are described for PhD in Nursing Science students, not for MSN or DNP students. See USF’s scholarships and financial aid page.
Why Choose This AGPCNP Program?
Best suited for: a Florida-licensed RN within monthly driving distance of Tampa who wants high supervised clinical volume at public-university pricing and does not need an asynchronous, fully online program.
Clinical volume well above the certification floor
780 direct hours against a 500-hour national certification minimum is a meaningful margin, and the structure matters as much as the number. Three 180-hour courses run consecutively with their didactic partners, then a standalone 240-hour immersion closes the program. That final term functions as a supervised residency rather than a scattered rotation, which is the difference between graduating certified and graduating ready to see a panel.
A college-run preceptor network instead of a preceptor hunt
USF recruits volunteer preceptors across Florida, screens them against published qualifications, assigns clinical faculty to conduct site visits, and lets preceptors select students by semester level, language or prior RN background. Students arrive with a Clinical Learning Guide that carries individualized goals forward across semesters. USF does not publish a formal placement-responsibility policy, so this is described rather than guaranteed, but nothing in its published materials assigns preceptor sourcing to students. For applicants who have heard how badly that goes at programs which do, it is the most consequential item on this page.
The doctorate is only 20 credits more than the master’s
77 credits against 57, two additional semesters, and about $8,629 more in resident tuition. Taking the MSN now and returning later for the post-master’s DNP costs roughly $37,966 across 14 semesters; going straight through costs $33,220 across 9. For a BSN-prepared nurse who expects to want a doctorate eventually, the direct route saves money and roughly a year and a half. The catch is that USF allows only one application per cycle with fall-only entry, so hedging is not available.
Geography is the gate, not cost
Monthly on-campus attendance in Tampa, Florida-only clinicals with Florida-licensed preceptors, an unencumbered Florida RN license by October 30, fall-only lock-step entry, and continuous enrollment through summers. Transfer credit is capped at 12 and clinical courses are never transferable. None of that is unreasonable, but all of it is fixed. An out-of-state nurse or one who may need to pause for a term should evaluate programs built for that.
The Verdict
The strongest case belongs to a Florida RN, ideally in the Tampa Bay region, who wants maximum supervised clinical time at roughly $431 a credit and would rather be placed than hunt for preceptors. BSN-prepared applicants who already know they want a doctorate have clear arithmetic pushing them toward the BSN-DNP rather than the MSN. Nurses drawn to industrial or corporate practice get something genuinely uncommon in the occupational health subspecialty, particularly if grant funding materializes.
Compare other options if you live outside Florida, cannot reach Tampa monthly, or need asynchronous delivery and multiple entry points. And if you are a master’s-prepared nurse certified in another population focus hoping to add AGPCNP credentials, look elsewhere specifically: USF’s post-master’s DNP does not confer AGPCNP eligibility, and the university offers no AGPCNP post-graduate certificate.
Accreditation
USF’s baccalaureate, master’s, Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate APRN certificate programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The university is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and the College of Nursing holds Florida Board of Nursing approval.
USF states that MSN and BSN-DNP AGPCNP graduates are prepared to sit for the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care certification examination through the ANCC or AANPCB. Occupational health DNP graduates are additionally eligible for the ABOHN occupational health nursing certifications. Passing a national certification exam is the route to Florida APRN licensure.
State authorization is largely moot for these programs. Every pathway requires a Florida RN license, monthly attendance on the Tampa campus, and clinical hours completed in Florida with Florida-licensed preceptors, so these are Florida programs in practice regardless of how much coursework is delivered online. F-1 visa holders are not eligible for the MSN or DNP because of federal limits on online study. See USF’s accreditation page for current details.
More AGPCNP Programs in Florida
- Florida A&M University - Tallahassee
- Florida Atlantic University - Boca Raton
- Florida Southern College - Lakeland
- Palm Beach Atlantic University - West Palm Beach
- University of Central Florida - Orlando
- University of Miami - Miami