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Full Description

The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Nursing is the terminal degree for nurses who want to advance their knowledge of nursing practice, gain leadership and technology skills and become clinical scholars. Students develop leadership skills to affect health outcomes for individuals and populations by translating scientific evidence into clinical interventions, managing healthcare systems and collaborating with other health care providers.

The Nursing major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Executive Nurse concentration prepares nurse leaders for the role of nurse executive at the highest level of healthcare administration.
• The Systems Leadership concentration prepares advanced practice and clinical experts to lead interprofessional teams focused on evidence-based practice, quality improvement and translational research.

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

• Previous degree:
  • Executive Nurse concentration – master's degree in nursing or a related field
  • Systems Leadership concentration – one of the following: (1) bachelor's degree in nursing¹ or (2) master's degree in nursing
• Minimum overall 3.000 GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Official transcript(s)
• Completion of an undergraduate- or graduate-level statistics course with a minimum C grade
• Active, unrestricted registered nurse license in the state in which the student's practica will be completed
• Résumé or curriculum vitae that demonstrates professional experience in nursing
• Essay (300 words) describing professional goals and reasons for seeking the professional practice doctorate
• Three letters of reference from healthcare professionals or academic faculty who can speak to the applicant's professional and academic abilities
• Pre-admission interview
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:²
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

Students selected for admission to the nursing program must meet the College of Nursing's . Priority admission to the Nurse Executive concentration will be given to candidates who hold American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) certification or American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Executive certification or who have experience in nursing management or administration.

¹

Post-baccalaureate students admitted to the System's Leadership concentration also will be admitted to the M.S.N. degree in one of the advanced practice registered nurses concentrations. This dual admit will allow students to complete M.S.N. coursework and enroll in some D.N.P. coursework after successfully completing their first two full-time semesters of graduate study. Students must first complete M.S.N. coursework, earn the M.S.N. degree and obtain APRN national certification before they can continue with D.N.P. coursework and earn the D.N.P. degree.

²

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores may be considered for conditional admission.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester
  • Priority deadline: March 1
• Spring Semester
  • Priority deadline: November 1
• Summer Term
  • Priority deadline: March 1

Applications submitted by these deadlines will receive the strongest consideration for admission.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Develop and implement systems-focused care and innovative strategies to promote positive, sustainable health and fiscal outcomes across the healthcare continuum.
2. Provide population-focused, advanced nursing care to diverse populations within a variety of settings based on evidence, ethics, theory and professional standards.
3. Provide leadership and interprofessional collaboration to plan, implement and evaluate programs of care delivery to improve outcomes for individuals, populations and aggregates.
4. Synthesize and translate evidence for implementation and dissemination for equitable, evidence-based and inclusive healthcare outcomes.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

¹

NURS 70016 is required for students who have not completed graduate coursework in advanced assessment, advanced pharmacology and advanced physiology. Students who have previously completed the course will be waived the requirement and may graduate with 34 credit hours.

²

Students must complete a minimum of 7 credit hours (525 clock hours) of NURS 70592 in a clinical setting. Students who are unable to complete and successfully defend their scholarly project after being enrolled for 7 credit hours (525 clock hours) must continuously enroll in 1 credit hour of NURS 70592 each semester, for up to three semesters, until the scholarly project is successfully defended. The In-Progress (IP) administrative mark will be assigned to the course until the scholarly project is successfully defended, at which time all IP marks will be changed to the Satisfactory (S) grade.

Executive Nurse Concentration Requirements

Systems Leadership Concentration Requirements

Progression Requirements

Student who do not earn a minimum B grade in a course must repeat it and cannot take other courses that require that course as a prerequisite until the course is successfully repeated. Students who do not earn a minimum B grade in the second attempt may be dismissed from the D.N.P. degree.

Graduation Requirements

• Minimum B grade in all courses
• Completion of minimum 500 practicum hours for post-master's students. Post-baccalaureate students are required to complete additional hours based upon their selected concentration.
• Submission and defense of a scholarly project to a committee that includes, at minimum, the student's academic advisor and two other doctoral-prepared members. The project must result in a manuscript suitable for publication.

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

• Delivery:
  • Fully online

The D.N.P. degree in Nursing at ºÚÁÏÍø is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.