Mar 28, 2024  
Graduate Catalog | 2017-2018 
    
Graduate Catalog | 2017-2018 Previous Edition

Nursing: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, M.S.N.


These advanced practice registered nurses will be prepared to function as Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (AGACNP).  Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners provide evidence-based care to acutely ill adults with urgent and emergent complex health issues and critically ill adults with life threatening, rapidly changing physiological and pathophysiological conditions.  Graduates with this concentration will be eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioner (AANP) examination for Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners.  The AGACNP program is a full-time, campus-based program.

Additional Admission Requirements


  1. Unencumbered license as a Registered Nurse in North Carolina
  2. BSN degree from nationally accredited program; the RN-to-MSN option is not available to NP applicants
  3. One year of professional nursing practice in acute or critical care
  4. Overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last degree and 60 hours of nursing coursework
  5. Completion of an undergraduate statistics course with a grade of C or above
  6. Statement of Purpose explaining the applicant’s career goal and preparation in relation to primary care and family practice, and qualities making them a strong applicant (see the School of Nursing website at nursing.uncc.edu for required elements of the Statement of Purpose).  (Note: Statement of Purpose should not exceed two double-spaced typed pages.)
  7. References should be from professional colleagues and should speak to clinical knowledge and expertise and one’s ability to function as a member of the healthcare team.  At least one reference from a supervisory person is preferred.

Application is competitive.  Students are admitted annually in the Fall semester.  See the School of Nursing website at nursing.uncc.edu for application deadline. 

Degree Requirements


The program requires completion of 47 credit hours in approved courses including:

Additional Degree Requirements


  1. A minimum of 600 hours of supervised clinical experience as a Nurse Practitioner student is required.
  2. Students may receive no more than one C grade in any graduate course. The second C will result in suspension from the program.
  3. In order to progress in the specialty, a grade of B or above is required in the following courses:
  4. Faculty advising is required.

Research Opportunities


Students who choose to do so have the opportunity to serve as Research Assistants on faculty research projects. Students may have an opportunity to choose a mentored research experience in their Synthesis courses.