Top Online Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Programs (2026)
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Registered nurses aspiring to become adult-gerontology nurse practitioners must earn a master of science in nursing (MSN), a post-master’s certificate, or a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) with an adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP) or adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (AGACNP) specialization, followed by a professional certification such as AGACNP-BC for acute care, or AGPCNP-BC for primary care.
Nurse practitioners are classified as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs); most hold a master’s degree. While there’s a growing movement to move the educational requirement to the doctoral level, an advanced nursing degree with a nurse practitioner specialization remains the educational standard, meaning both MSN- and DNP-prepared registered nurses may work as NPs, so long as they complete a nurse practitioner program and earn a related professional certification.
Online adult-gerontology nurse practitioner (AGNP) programs have become commonplace, and today aspiring AGNPs can find a selection of programs at the masters and doctoral levels. Alternatively, MSN-prepared registered nurses can pursue a post-master’s AGNP certificate to enter the field.
While most adult-gerontology NP programs are designed for RNs holding at least a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), some will accommodate RNs with an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. Online AGNP programs offer most or all coursework online, and require a minimal number of campus visits, most frequently for orientation and clinical practice. Many allow (and sometimes assist in finding) preceptorships in a location near a student’s area of residence.
Read on to learn more about top online adult-gerontology NP programs, and click on a school to view its full profile, which has details on admissions, tuition, and program and clinical requirements.
Online AGNP Program Rankings (2025-2026)
The NPSchools.com staff gathered program data for all online AGNP programs accepting students at the outset of the 2025-2026 academic year. Those programs are listed here and ranked by our AdvanceU score, which factors in cost, admissions flexibility, and program variety. This in-depth nurse practitioner program database comprises 1,305 online NP programs at the MSN, DNP, and post-master’s certificate levels. To qualify as “online” for our purposes, each program must require nine or fewer campus visits.
The tuition numbers listed below represent the estimated total tuition cost for the program, not per semester or year.
At NPSchools.com, our aspiration is to ensure the accuracy of the data on our website. Should you find an error or a missing program, please contact us to bring it to our attention.
Adult-Gerontology NP Career and Salary
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are among the most in-demand occupations in the burgeoning healthcare sector. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that nurse practitioner positions are expected to grow 40 percent between 2024 and 2034, a rate that’s much faster than the national average for all occupations at 3 percent (BLS 2025). This amounts to an increase of 128,400 job openings by 2034 (BLS 2025).
Additionally, the BLS (2025) shows that most nurse practitioners work with patients in physicians’ offices (46 percent) or hospitals (25 percent). Increased access to medical care through the Affordable Care Act and the aging population are two of the main reasons these healthcare environments need more nurse practitioners to fulfill patient care, administrative, and research-based healthcare needs.
According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), in 2023, about 21.6 percent of nurse practitioner students study gerontology, including adult-gerontology primary care (AGPCNP), adult-gerontology acute care (AGACNP), general adult-gerontology (AGNP), and general adult (ANP) practice areas.
AGNPs often collaborate with healthcare teams to create a workable healthcare plan for their patients, keeping in mind the long-term benefits of the plan as well as the feasibility of patient compliance. AGNPs can assess, diagnose, and treat patients, including young adults, adults, older adults, and elderly adults. They prescribe medications, conduct patient education at the patient, family, and community levels, operate and monitor medical equipment, and make recommendations for further care.
The median annual wage for nurse practitioners specifically is $129,210 (BLS 2024).