Nursing Practice (DNP)

The BSN to DNP curriculum is a 78 semester-hour (minimum of 1182 clinical hours) program of learning that prepares nurses for entry into advanced practice with a clinical focus in the Family Nurse Practitioner area of specialization as well as DNP competencies. Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) courses are mostly face to face. You should expect to be on campus or in clinical 2 days per week for full-time students and 1 day for part-time students. FNP graduates are eligible to sit for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) or American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) National Family Nurse Practitioner Certification exam. The DNP courses are completely online with synchronous and asynchronous delivery.

Plan of Study

The MSN to DNP is designed for nurses who hold a master's degree in advanced nursing practice: nurse practitioner, nurse midwifery, clinical nurse specialist, nursing informatics, nursing administration or nursing leadership. The MSN to DNP curriculum is a 33 semester-hour (minimum of 510 clinical hours) program of learning designed to equip advanced nursing practice with DNP competencies in their area of specialization. This curriculum requires 2 years beyond the MSN program completion (5 semesters: fall, spring, summer, fall, and spring). All courses are completely online with synchronous and asynchronous delivery.

Plan of Study

• Nurse Practitioner
• Psychiatric Nurse
• Nurse Educator
• Certified Nurse-Midwife
• Nurse Anesthetist
• Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Chief Nursing Officer

• Advanced Pathophysiology
• Advanced Pharmacology
• Health Care Policy, Organization and Finance
• Organizational and Systems Leadership in Health Care

The Doctorate of Nursing Practice, or DNP, prepares graduates to translate evidence-based care into practice, to improve systems of care, and to measure patient, population, and community outcomes.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree was adopted by the Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in response to a number of societal, scientific, and professional developments. Among these, the nursing shortage and the crisis in the health care system have collectively called for a major paradigm shift that will empower the advanced practice nurse to respond to these developments as they evolve over time. The DNP degree represents the attainment of the highest level of preparation in specialty nursing practice.

You can apply to the DNP program with either a bachelor’s or master’s in nursing degree. The BSN must be from a nationally accredited program and if you apply while in the last year of your BSN program, you must demonstrate you meet graduation requirements. The master’s degree must have a major in advanced practice nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from a nationally accredited program and also if you apply while in the last year of your MSN program you would need to demonstrate that you meet graduation requirements.

The BSN to DNP option generally takes three years and courses are offered in 6 semesters and 2 summers. The MSN to DNP option generally takes 18 months and can be completed in 4 semesters. Part-time study is available for both options.

Some of your courses may be provided online, but the majority of DNP courses are delivered using an executive model. For these courses face-to-face course meetings are scheduled 4 times per semester on a Thursday through Saturday and the remainder of the course work is completed online.

No. A capstone scholarly project is required which is a synthesis of courses taken in the DNP program and the practice immersion experiences. Students will prepare a manuscript describing the capstone project, which is reviewed and evaluated by an academic committee, and will publicly present the project findings.

In the BSN to DNP option, students can plan to be on campus two days per week for the first two years. In year three and for the MSN to DNP option the executive educational model includes on campus class meetings four times a semester on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. While you will be on campus a total of 12 days, you actually travel to campus only four times during the semester. 

In the first two years BSN to DNP students typically participate in clinical experiences 2 days per week. In year 3 for BSN to DNP students and year 1 for MSN to DNP students clinical experiences typically can be completed in 1 day per week. Clinical experiences can be completed locally if students negotiate a clinical site. For MSN to DNP students, these experiences may be completed in your place of employment or a local negotiated clinical site.

The tuition information can be found on the Student Accounts and Cashiering website pages.

Yes. You must complete the FAFSA application to see if you qualify for grants and/or loans. You should also check the College Foundation of NC website.

Application Deadline
To be considered for early admission to the Graduate Nursing program, applicants must submit a complete application by February 15th for Fall admission. The final date to be considered for Fall admission is June 30th.

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Once a year, in the Fall semester. Please note only completed applications will be considered for admission.