Doctor of Nursing Practice (Post-MS)
Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice
Overview
The Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is designed for Registered Nurses with a Master's who are already advanced practice nurses: nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives.
Nurse administrators, health policy experts and informatics specialists may apply as well. Those who are not advanced practice nurses should apply to the RN-to-DNP program.
Advanced practice nurses who hold a Master's in a related field may be required to take additional courses.
This innovative, flexible program:
- Allows full or part-time study, a mix of online and classroom instruction, and course schedules designed to accommodate busy professionals
- Offers concentrations in:
- Advanced clinical practice
- Education
- Global health
- Informatics
- Nursing administration
- Includes an intensive, semester-long clinical residency in your concentration, culminating in an applied-practice capstone project;
The Post-Master's DNP program can be completed in six semesters, taking two to three courses a semester.
See the program's admission process for prerequisites and other admission requirements.
Curricular goals of the Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program
At the forefront of change, the DNP program builds on your competencies, expanding your focus of nursing leadership to encompass complex systems of care for an increasingly diverse patient population.
The program provides you with the scientific knowledge base and leadership skills to contribute to improved health care outcomes through scholarship, policy and practice.
The new terminal degree supports the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) 2004 decision that advanced practice nursing education should move from the master’s to the doctoral level by 2015.
