Best AGNP Programs in New York for 2026

This is New York University's master's-level pathway to the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner role, built for working RNs who already hold a BSN and an active license. It runs out of a large private research university with more than 56,000 students, pairing graduate coursework with in-person clinical training in New York City.

Graduate tuition is listed at $62,796 per year, and admission is competitive: NYU accepts 9 percent of applicants and graduates 88 percent of the students it enrolls. Its 91.8 Hakia Score, the basis for its ranking here, reflects that mix of selectivity and completion. The financial case is direct: adult-gerontology NPs earn a national BLS median of $132,300, which is $43,400 a year more than the $88,900 a staff RN earns; over a ten-year stretch that gap adds up to $434,000, well beyond the cost of the degree.

Stony Brook University runs this master's-level adult-gerontology NP program inside New York's public university system, pairing graduate coursework with in-person clinical hours arranged in the region. It fits working RNs who hold a BSN and an active license and want to specialize at a public-tuition price point.

In-state tuition is $7,070 per year, with non-residents paying $28,880. Admission is more open here: Stony Brook admits 49 percent of applicants and graduates 76 percent of its students, and its 88.7 Hakia Score is the basis for its ranking. The value math is hard to argue with: an adult-gerontology NP earns a national BLS median of $132,300, or $43,400 a year more than a staff RN's $88,900. For a New York resident, that annual pay jump covers a full year of tuition roughly six times over.

The University of Rochester offers this master's-level route to the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner credential at a mid-sized private research university of about 11,900 students. Graduate coursework is paired with in-person clinical training, and the program is aimed at licensed RNs who already hold a BSN.

Graduate tuition is listed at $65,870. Rochester admits 40 percent of applicants and graduates 85 percent of the students it enrolls, and its 88.6 Hakia Score is the basis for its place in this ranking. The payoff is concrete: adult-gerontology NPs earn a national BLS median of $132,300, which is $43,400 a year above the $88,900 a staff RN earns, a gap that compounds to $434,000 over a decade of practice, far more than the price of the degree.

This is New York University's Doctor of Nursing Practice route to the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner role, the practice-doctorate counterpart to its master's-level track. It sits at a large private research university with more than 56,000 students and combines doctoral coursework with in-person clinical training in New York City. The DNP is the terminal practice degree, built for RNs who want the highest clinical credential in the field.

Tuition is listed at $62,796 per year. NYU is highly selective, admitting 9 percent of applicants, and graduates 88 percent of its students; the DNP pathway earns an 87.5 Hakia Score, the basis for its ranking here. The economics favor the move regardless of degree level: adult-gerontology NPs earn a national BLS median of $132,300, which is $43,400 a year more than the $88,900 a staff RN earns, or about $434,000 more across a ten-year career.

Stony Brook University runs its adult-gerontology nurse practitioner path through one of New York's public research campuses, a 26,689-student institution where graduate coursework and clinical training are completed on campus rather than through a fully online format. Admission runs at 49 percent, and 76 percent of students who enroll go on to graduate.

The value case is direct. In-state tuition is $7,070, one of the more affordable routes into the specialty for New York residents; out-of-state students pay $28,880. Adult-gerontology nurse practitioners earn a national BLS median of $132,300 a year, $43,400 above the $88,900 a staff RN makes. For a resident, that raise recovers a full year of $7,070 tuition in under nine weeks and adds up to more than $1 million over a 25-year career versus staying at the bedside. A Hakia Score of 82.9 ranks it fifth among New York's adult-gerontology nurse practitioner programs for 2026.

CUNY Hunter College offers the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner path as a 42-credit program leading to a master of science degree. Its clinical training is concentrated in one combined didactic and clinical practicum course run only during a 12-week summer session, late May to mid-August, meeting on campus roughly once a week (about 5 to 6 hours) alongside 210 precepted clinical hours; the program is explicit that students need real scheduling flexibility for that stretch. Coursework shares the advanced-practice core with Hunter's other graduate nursing specializations, including an Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist MS.

Admission is built for experienced nurses: a BSN with a minimum 3.0 GPA both cumulative and in the nursing major, completed statistics and undergraduate research coursework, a current New York State RN license, at least two years of full-time post-baccalaureate RN experience, two letters of recommendation, and a roughly 500-word statement of purpose. In-state tuition is $6,930 and out-of-state is $14,880; Hunter's own tuition comparison on the page puts its cost near $11K against $72K at Columbia and $70K at NYU. Set against a national BLS median of $132,300 for adult-gerontology nurse practitioners, $43,400 over a staff RN's $88,900, in-state tuition is recovered in about eight weeks of the raise. Admission runs at 54 percent, 57 percent of students graduate, and a Hakia Score of 82.3 ranks it sixth in New York for 2026.

Hofstra University's adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (AGACNP) program sits inside the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies, tying it to the Northwell Health system. It offers four entry points: an MS AGACNP, a DNP AGACNP, a combined DNP AGACNP/Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) dual-role pathway, and a post-master's advanced certificate. Teaching runs on the PEARLS model, a case-based, flipped-classroom approach built around small-group, student-led case sessions.

The published outcomes are strong: the program page reports a 100 percent AGACNP national certification pass rate for 2024 and a 95 percent employment rate for the Class of 2024. Tuition at the private university is $56,545, above New York's public options, so the case rests on those outcomes and the payoff. Adult-gerontology nurse practitioners earn a national BLS median of $132,300, $43,400 more than a staff RN's $88,900; that annual raise recovers the full $56,545 tuition figure in about sixteen months and adds up to more than $1 million over a 25-year career. Admission runs at 68 percent, 69 percent of students graduate, and a Hakia Score of 81.4 ranks it seventh in New York for 2026.

Adelphi University offers the adult-gerontology nurse practitioner path in an online format, run through what the school describes as the first school of nursing established on Long Island. The National League for Nursing recognizes Adelphi as one of only seven nursing programs in the country for advancing the science of nursing education, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked its graduate nursing program among the nation's best grad schools for nursing.

Tuition at the private university is $46,784. The return frames the investment: adult-gerontology nurse practitioners earn a national BLS median of $132,300 a year, $43,400 above the $88,900 a staff RN makes, so the raise recovers the full tuition figure in about thirteen months and adds up to more than $1 million over a 25-year career versus staying at the bedside. The online format fits working RNs who arrange clinical hours near home; admission runs at 66 percent and 67 percent of students graduate. A Hakia Score of 79.3 ranks it eighth in New York for 2026.