Our Doctor of Nursing Practice Program ranked #33 in The U.S. News and World Report 2023 Rankings of Top Nursing Programs.
The College of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a clinical practice-oriented leadership curriculum that focuses on evidence-based practice for the improvement of clinical care delivery, program evaluation, patient and population outcomes, and health system leadership/management.
All classes have an online component; some classes require a one- to two-day intensive session on campus. There are no more than three intensives on campus per academic year.
There are five different tracks that students may pursue in either of the DNP pathways. Each track has a focus.
Nationwide, the award of the DNP requires 1,000 post-baccalaureate academically-supervised clinical practicum hours as defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Your transcript will be evaluated to determine the number of clinical hours required for the DNP program.
As a DNP student at the College of Nursing, you will be required to complete credit hours in a clinical setting under the supervision of a nursing professional. These clinical experiences are an integral part of our mission as a college and provide students with a comprehensive education, functioning as integration of practice and coursework. Students have a wide variety of clinical settings and nursing environments in which to complete their clinical hours. Instructions for signing up and more information on the clinical experiences are available in the student clinical education section.
Please note, that all students completing clinical hours must meet very specific requirements concerning immunizations, background checks, etc.
The DNP prepares advanced practice nurses to assume such roles as:
