Georgia State University’s Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions offers five nurse practitioner population focuses: family (FNP), psychiatric-mental health (PMHNP), adult-gerontology primary care (AGPCNP), pediatric primary care (PNP-PC), and adult-gerontology acute care (AGACNP). Four of them run as an MSN, a BSN to DNP, and a post-master’s certificate. AGACNP is offered only as a certificate for practicing family and adult-gerontology NPs.
The online MSN and certificates charge one per-credit rate to every student, wherever they live. Three policies shape the decision more than any single specialty detail:
- One price for every state. Online MSN and certificate students pay $464 per credit regardless of residency, about $22,300 in tuition for a 48-credit MSN.
- Online, but not campus-free. Coursework is online, with required on-campus sessions in Atlanta and monthly live classes in some tracks.
- Start terms differ by specialty. PMHNP admits in fall only, PNP-PC and AGACNP in spring only, and FNP and AGPCNP in both.
Quick facts
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Nursing School | Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions |
| Location | Atlanta, GA |
| NP Specialties | FNP, PMHNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP, PNP-PC |
| Degree Options | MSN and BSN to DNP (FNP, PMHNP, AGPCNP, PNP-PC); post-master’s certificate (all five); RN-to-MSN bridge |
| Format | Mostly Online: online coursework with required campus sessions in Atlanta |
| Clinical Placement | Coordinator and faculty assist; students help find preceptors; paid placement services prohibited |
| Entry Points | BSN (MSN, DNP); ADN or diploma RN (RN-to-MSN bridge); nursing master’s (certificates) |
| Minimum GPA | 2.75 (MSN); 3.0 (DNP) |
| RN License | Any U.S. state plus a Georgia application (MSN); active Georgia license (certificates) |
| Tuition | $464 per credit for online MSN and certificate students, all residencies |
| Accreditation | CCNE (master’s, post-master’s certificate, and DNP) |
Comparing Georgia State’s NP programs
Every MSN track is 48 credits: a 22-credit advanced practice core and a 26-credit specialty sequence. Certificates repeat the specialty sequence and waive core courses that match prior graduate work, so their length depends on the applicant.
| Pathway | Credits | Clinical hours | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) | |||
| MSN | 48 | 585 | BSN or RN-to-MSN bridge; fall or spring |
| BSN to DNP | 87 | 1,000 | BSN; fall or spring |
| Post-master’s certificate | 26–42 | 585 | Nursing master’s; fall or spring |
| Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMHNP) | |||
| MSN | 48 | 590 | BSN and psychiatric experience; fall only |
| BSN to DNP | 87 | 1,000 | BSN; fall or spring |
| Post-master’s certificate | 26–43 | 500 | Nursing master’s; fall only |
| Adult-Gerontology Primary Care (AGPCNP) | |||
| MSN | 48 | 500 | BSN or RN-to-MSN bridge; fall or spring |
| BSN to DNP | 87 | 1,000 | BSN; fall or spring |
| Post-master’s certificate | 23–39 | 500 | Nursing master’s; fall or spring |
| Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (AGACNP) | |||
| Post-master’s certificate | 23–37 | 500 | FNP or adult-gero NP master’s; spring only |
| Pediatric Primary Care (PNP-PC) | |||
| MSN | 48 | 600 | BSN and pediatric experience; spring only |
| BSN to DNP | 87 | 1,000 | BSN; fall or spring |
| Post-master’s certificate | 26–43 | 600 | Nursing master’s and pediatric experience; spring only |
MSN and certificate figures come from GSU’s program pages and catalog. The BSN to DNP totals of 87 credits and 1,000 clinical hours come from GSU’s DNP page, which does not break hours out by specialty. FNP course listings sum to 585 hours, while GSU’s full-time plan lists a 500-hour minimum.
What stands out about Georgia State’s NP programs
- Residency-neutral pricing. Out-of-state online students pay the same $464 per credit as Georgia residents, which is rare for a public university.
- Five specialties, three entry levels. Only Emory matches GSU’s five NP specialties in Georgia, and GSU adds an RN-to-MSN bridge for associate-degree nurses.
- Medical training inside the psych track. The PMHNP MSN includes an adult primary care course and a combined medical and psychiatric course for children.
- A ranked FNP master’s. U.S. News ranked GSU’s online FNP master’s No. 8 for 2026.
- Entry gates that vary by track. PMHNP requires psychiatric experience, PNP-PC a year of pediatric experience, and the AGACNP certificate a family or adult-gerontology NP master’s.
Which Georgia State NP program fits your goal?
- FNP: Primary care across the lifespan, with separate adult, pediatric, women’s health, and gerontology coursework
- PMHNP: Psychiatric care across the lifespan, for nurses who already have psychiatric experience
- AGPCNP: Primary care for adults and older adults, including a women’s health clinical course
- AGACNP: A certificate for FNPs and adult-gerontology NPs moving into acute care
- PNP-PC: Primary care for children and adolescents, for nurses with pediatric experience
Family Nurse Practitioner
Credits 26–87 · Clinical hours 585 · MSN · BSN to DNP · Certificate
The FNP MSN organizes clinical training by population, with 135-hour courses in adult, pediatric, and women’s health and a 180-hour advanced practicum, plus a separate gerontology course. It admits in fall and spring and takes about two years full-time.
Applicants need a year of recent clinical experience, and an interview is part of admission. The FNP certificate requires the full 26-credit specialty sequence and all clinical hours, even when core courses are waived. Graduates can sit for ANCC or AANPCB certification.
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Credits 26–87 · Clinical hours 500–590 · MSN · BSN to DNP · Certificate
The PMHNP MSN runs 20 months full-time across five semesters, with 590 clinical hours. Alongside the psychiatric sequence, students complete a 5-credit adult primary care course and a 6-credit course in medical and psychiatric care for children.
Admission is fall only, with a May 15 deadline. Applicants need a year of recent psychiatric clinical experience or 250 to 500 volunteer hours at a psychiatric site. The certificate requires 500 clinical hours, and several of its courses run in only one semester a year.
Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
Credits 23–87 · Clinical hours 500 · MSN · BSN to DNP · Certificate
The AGPCNP MSN carries 500 clinical hours across three courses: adult health (180 hours), ambulatory women’s health (140 hours), and a senior practicum (180 hours). It admits in fall and spring and includes a free elective.
The 500-hour total meets the certification minimum without exceeding it. The certificate accepts nurses with any nursing master’s, not only APRNs, and requires an active Georgia RN license. Graduates can sit for ANCC or AANPCB certification.
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
Credits 23–37 · Clinical hours 500 · Certificate only
GSU offers AGACNP only through its post-master’s certificate. It is open to nurses with a master’s as a family or adult-gerontology NP, one to two years of related RN experience, and an active Georgia RN license.
The certificate admits in spring only, with a November 1 deadline. Its 500 clinical hours run across three courses, and 135 of them sit in a course that can transfer from a prior master’s. Graduates are eligible for the ANCC AGACNP-BC exam.
Pediatric Primary Care
Credits 26–87 · Clinical hours 600 · MSN · BSN to DNP · Certificate
The PNP-PC MSN has the most clinical hours of GSU’s master’s tracks: 600 across three sequential courses in common, chronic, and advanced child health. A clinical placement coordinator assists with sites.
Applicants need at least a year of recent pediatric clinical experience. The MSN and certificate admit in spring only, with a November 1 deadline. GSU offers no pediatric acute care track. Graduates are eligible for PNCB certification (CPNP-PC).
BSN to DNP and post-master’s DNP
GSU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice has two entry points. It is a hybrid program with a one-day campus intensive at the start of each fall and spring semester, and it does not appear on GSU’s residency-neutral rate list.
- BSN to DNP: 87 credits and 1,000 clinical hours, with NP preparation in FNP, PMHNP, AGPCNP, or PNP-PC
- Admission: a BSN with a 3.0 GPA, one to two years of RN experience, and no GRE; fall (June 30) and spring (November 15) starts
- Post-master’s DNP: 39 credits for nurses who already hold an MSN; it does not add a population focus
- Tuition: not published as a program total; GSU points applicants to its graduate cost calculator
Clinical placement
GSU assists with placement but does not guarantee it. For the FNP, PMHNP, and PNP-PC tracks, faculty handle clinical paperwork and agency contacts, and a clinical placement coordinator helps match sites. Students are expected to help find preceptors through their own networks.
- No paid placement: students may not pay preceptors or use fee-based placement services.
- Licensure: a Georgia RN license is required for clinical courses.
- Unpublished details: GSU does not publish a placement policy for the AGPCNP and AGACNP tracks, or a geographic limit on clinical sites.
The practical trade-off: GSU opens doors in a large Atlanta health care market, but students outside metro Atlanta should plan to find preceptors themselves.
Format and campus requirements
| Program | Format | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
| MSN (all four specialties) | Mostly Online | Online coursework with required on-campus sessions, including lab days in Advanced Health Assessment |
| Post-master’s certificates | Mostly Online | A week on campus at the start, plus in-person skills testing throughout |
| DNP (BSN or post-master’s) | Hybrid | Online classes plus a one-day campus intensive each fall and spring |
The PMHNP and PNP-PC tracks also hold the first class of each semester on campus and meet live online monthly. GSU does not publish how many skills-testing sessions the certificates require.
Admissions
MSN and certificate applicants apply through the Lewis College, with all materials due by the specialty’s deadline.
- Degree: a BSN, or an associate degree or diploma through the RN-to-MSN bridge
- GPA: 2.75 minimum on all undergraduate coursework
- Licensure: an RN license in any U.S. state plus evidence of application to the Georgia Board of Nursing (MSN); an active Georgia RN license (certificates)
- Experience: one to two years of RN practice, preferably in the specialty; PMHNP and PNP-PC set specific experience requirements
- Materials: two recommendations, a résumé, a statement of purpose, and a two-page APA position paper
- Deadlines: May 15 for fall (FNP, PMHNP, AGPCNP); November 1 for spring (FNP, AGPCNP, PNP-PC, and the AGACNP certificate); no summer admission
The RN-to-MSN bridge adds undergraduate general education and two bridge courses before graduate coursework. One of them, NURS 6910, requires a clinical site arranged a full semester before registration.
Tuition
GSU charges online MSN and certificate students one per-credit rate, regardless of where they live.
| Online tuition, per credit (all residencies) | $464 |
| Online learning fee, per semester (6+ credits) | $660 |
| Online learning fee, per credit (1–5 credits) | $110 |
| Application fee | $50 |
| Pathway | Credits | Tuition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN (FNP, PMHNP, AGPCNP, PNP-PC) | 48 | $22,272 | About $25,600 with fees over five full-time semesters |
| Post-master’s certificate | 23–43 | $10,672–$19,952 | Depends on core courses waived |
| BSN to DNP | 87 | Not published | Not on GSU’s residency-neutral rate list |
- No out-of-state premium: the MSN and certificates cost the same for every online student.
- The fee depends on load: semesters of 6 or more credits carry the full $660 online learning fee.
- Certificates may not qualify for federal aid because they are non-degree programs.
These are NPPrograms.com estimates built from GSU’s published rates and credit totals. See GSU’s tuition and fee charts for current figures.
Accreditation and certification
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredits GSU’s baccalaureate, master’s, post-master’s certificate, and DNP programs. Georgia State University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
GSU reports a 97% first-time APRN certification pass rate for 2024, averaged across its specialty tracks. Certification follows the population focus: ANCC or AANPCB for FNP, AGPCNP, and PMHNP, ANCC for AGACNP, and PNCB for PNP-PC.
State authorization
GSU states that its APRN programs do not meet educational licensure requirements in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Its FNP list differs slightly, adding New York, Ohio, and the District of Columbia and dropping Mississippi, Nebraska, and Nevada.
Check GSU’s licensure disclosure against the state where you plan to practice.
Who is Georgia State best for?
May be a strong fit for
- Out-of-state nurses who want public tuition with no nonresident premium
- Nurses within reach of Atlanta for required campus sessions
- Associate-degree RNs ready to bridge into an MSN
- Experienced psychiatric or pediatric RNs heading into PMHNP or PNP-PC
- Practicing FNPs and adult-gerontology NPs adding acute care
- Nurses who want a DNP option in four specialties
Compare other options if
- You need a program with no campus visits
- You live in one of GSU’s 16 excluded states
- You want placements arranged for you
- You lack psychiatric or pediatric experience for those tracks
- You want more than 500 clinical hours in AGPCNP
- You need federal aid for a certificate
Compare more NP programs in Georgia
- Augusta University - Augusta
- Brenau University - Norcross
- Emory University - Atlanta
- Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville
- Georgia Southern University - Statesboro
- Mercer University - Atlanta
- South University - Savannah
- Valdosta State University - Valdosta