YSU's post-master's AGACNP certificate, full route and advanced placement
Youngstown State University's post-master's certificate in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner lets a master's-prepared nurse qualify for acute care NP practice without a second MSN. The full route is 37 credits; NPs already qualified in another specialty are considered for a shorter advanced placement route that YSU lists at 18 credits in one place and 19 in others. Both finish with NURS 7071 through NURS 7075, the five acute care practicums, and both call for a current ACLS certification before clinicals.
Plan your acute care certificate practicums
Share your route, your city and the term your first practicum opens.
Which route fits your master's
Two groups use this certificate. Master's-prepared nurses without NP preparation take the full 37 credits, advanced practice sciences included. Nurses whose MSN already includes nurse practitioner qualifications, a family NP moving into hospital medicine for instance, are considered automatically for advanced placement, which keeps only the acute care specialty courses and the practicums.
YSU's online pages put the full certificate at as few as 22 months and advanced placement at as few as 16, both online in 7-week terms, with starts at the opening of each of the two fall and two spring terms. The graduate handbook holds certificate applicants to the admission requirements of the matching MSN concentration, and for AGACNP that includes a year of recent critical care experience in an emergency department, ICU or intermediate acute care unit.
| Full certificate | Advanced placement | |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | 37 | 18 in the catalog text, 19 in its course table and on the online page |
| Core courses | NURS 6902, NURS 6903 and NURS 6904 (the last two unless completed previously), NURS 6917, NURS 6918, NURS 7003 | None listed |
| Acute care specialty | NURS 7037, NURS 7039, NURS 7041 | The same three courses |
| Practicums | NURS 7071 to NURS 7075 | The same five practicums |
| Hours on the certificate pages | 540 | 540 |
18 or 19 credits, and 37 or fewer
YSU's catalog calls the advanced placement route an 18-hour option, then lists NURS 7037, NURS 7039, NURS 7041 and five 2-credit practicums, which add up to 19. The online advanced placement page also says 19. Budget your time and tuition for 19 unless YSU tells you otherwise in writing.
The full route has its own loose ends. YSU's online AGACNP certificate page lists 37 credit hours, yet by our arithmetic its posted tuition total matches 36 credits at the page's per-credit rate, so ask the online admissions team which figure your bill will reflect. The catalog marks NURS 6903 and NURS 6904 as required unless completed previously, while the handbook cautions that a certificate student's current specialty can mean retaking any of the three P's. A transcript review before your first term decides which way that cuts for you.
ACLS, Exxat and the practicum sequence
The certificate's catalog page requires a current ACLS certification before clinical practicums begin. That sits on top of the BLS card, immunizations, annual drug screen and annual background check the graduate handbook asks every student to maintain. All of it lives in Exxat, and everything must be in place at least 30 days before your first practicum (Exxat guide).
The practicums match the MSN's: five 2-credit courses in strict order, one per 7-week term, each needing a B. Supervision starts direct in NURS 7071, the middle of the sequence reaches intensive care and specialty units, and NURS 7075 ends with indirect supervision of acutely and critically ill patients. Every site has to be acute care. The AGACNP practicums guide takes each course in turn.
540 hours on the certificate pages, 750 on the MSN page
The catalog's certificate page and both online certificate pages describe a 540-hour acute care practicum. That number fits the older AGACNP design of three practicums. The current sequence has five, and the MSN program page and the FAQ credit each of them with 150 hours, 750 altogether. The FAQ's 180-hours-per-term pace adds a third number to the mix.
Certificate and MSN students register for the same NURS 7071 to NURS 7075 courses, so the gap is worth settling before you build a work schedule around it. Ask your clinical faculty how many hours your cohort is held to, and use the clinical hours planner to compare both totals term by term. Your paid shifts never count toward the total, even when you train at the hospital that employs you.
States, preceptors and the PA question
Online AGACNP certificate students may live and train in four states, and YSU's certificate pages, catalog, handbook and map all agree on them: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Wherever you train, you need an RN license in good standing for that state. The AGACNP advanced placement page points you to YSU's licensure disclosures page to check eligibility in your state, but that page carries no determination for the NP programs, so check with the board where you plan to practice (state rules).
The 2026-27 handbook accepts certified APRNs, physicians, certified nurse-midwives and, on the AGACNP track only, PAs who hold a master's and a license in the state where you train. The older FAQ excludes PAs, so settle the question with your clinical faculty first. For an FNP moving into acute care, the PA option can widen the pool on hospital teams where PAs work alongside physicians and NPs.
How we help certificate students reach acute care
YSU highly encourages students to line up their own preceptors and needs each preceptor submitted two months ahead of the practicum. For an NP whose network sits in primary care, the harder part is getting through a hospital's door: most large Ohio systems' student pages require an affiliation agreement with the school first, and YSU's FAQ warns that a new agreement may not be finished by your start date (affiliation agreements). Our work for you:
- A preceptor plan across
NURS 7071toNURS 7075that moves from general acute care toward the ICU and specialty exposure the middle practicums ask for - Hospitalists, intensivists, emergency and specialty clinicians near you, away from your own unit and supervisor, in a state YSU accepts
- Credentials, site details and any affiliation agreement question settled ahead of YSU's two-month deadline, with ACLS and Exxat items kept current
- The following term's preceptor arranged before this one wraps up, and a new search opened at once if someone steps away
The final say on each preceptor and site belongs to YSU's clinical faculty, and the request they receive from you will be complete and well matched. Tell us your route and first practicum term.
Questions YSU students ask
Which certification exam follows YSU's AGACNP certificate?
YSU's catalog names the ANCC certification exam for the AGACNP track, and the graduate handbook lists AACN and ANCC. CCNE's accreditation of YSU's post-graduate APRN certificate programs runs to the end of 2032, and YSU reports that its post-graduate certificate students passed certification at 100% in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Practicing in Ohio then requires Ohio Board of Nursing licensure as an APRN.
Can I do AGACNP certificate hours in urgent care?
YSU's online FAQ lists urgent care and stand-alone emergency departments among acceptable acute care settings, alongside intensive care, internal medicine, emergency and trauma, and specialty services. Because the later practicums call for high-acuity units, an urgent care site suits some terms better than others. Confirm any site with your clinical faculty before you submit the preceptor request.
Can the hospital where I work as an FNP host my AGACNP hours?
Yes, as long as the practicum happens off your own unit and patient care area, with someone other than your immediate supervisor as preceptor, and outside the hours you are paid for. An FNP employed in a hospital's outpatient clinic, for example, could train with that hospital's ICU or hospitalist team.
How long can I take to finish the AGACNP certificate?
The graduate catalog sets a six-year limit for coursework toward a program or certificate, while the nursing handbook's stricter four-year limit is written for the MSN, so ask your advisor which applies to your certificate. Separately, a break from practicum courses lasting more than 365 days sends you back to repeat the practicums you had finished.
When should I start looking for acute care preceptors?
At admission, as YSU's FAQ advises. Hospital calendars run well ahead of YSU's two-month deadline: Cleveland Clinic, whose graduate student page includes YSU among the schools it will consider, takes applications for placements running January through mid-May only from July 1 to September 30. Other Ohio systems set similar windows.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.
YSU asks you to secure your preceptor. We find one near you.
Tell us your YSU track, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the practicum, check YSU's rules and hand you what the preceptor request needs, two months ahead, with the next term's preceptor already in view.
- Primary care preceptors for FNP practicums
NURS 7061toNURS 7065, acute care for AGACNPNURS 7071toNURS 7075 - Outside your own unit and away from your supervisor, in a state YSU accepts
- Across Ohio, from the Mahoning Valley to Cincinnati, and in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.