DNP Program | Doctor of Nursing Practice

Our clinically practicing, DNP-prepared faculty experts teach you to use the latest evidence-based practice methods to deliver high-quality, cost-effective care and develop and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention strategies for your patients and community. 

Along the way, our DNP program supports your work-life balance with flexible scheduling options and asynchronous online coursework, meaning you can log in and advance your education on your own time. Most of our DNP program courses are offered at least twice a year, so you can keep moving through your program with no delays.  

All of UC's DNP program faculty are prepared at the doctorate level with a PhD or DNP. Most core DNP courses are taught by DNP-prepared faculty who practice in their specialty and fully understand the importance of a DNP-prepared nurse.

Our faculty are experienced and well-regarded professionals in their field. They help develop health care policy, set industry-wide standards, advocate for the nursing profession, and raise the bar for future nurse leaders. Faculty are consistently invited to present their work at national and international conferences and are elected to serve in leadership roles within professional organizations.

Meet our DNP program faculty.

The DNP program builds on MSN-level specialty education and skills training with core courses in improvement methods, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics, health care policy, public health and leadership.

As a result, you will be prepared to:

• Deliver exemplary patient care within your specialty
• Integrate nursing science and knowledge into practice
• Develop and evaluate interventions and programs that address health promotion and disease prevention and improve health care for individuals and populations
• Demonstrate leadership in the delivery of ethical, safe, quality, cost-effective care 
• Analyze and impact institutional, local and national health policy

View DNP curriculum

As a DNP student, you will complete a project to show mastery of advanced nursing concepts and ability to translate knowledge and research into practice. You will work with faculty advisors to identify a DNP project topic that relates to your practice specialty and impacts health care outcomes at a systems or population level.

Throughout the program, you will plan, implement and evaluate your DNP project with the guidance of a project chairperson, team and faculty. All faculty routinely serve as chairs for students' DNP projects on an array of topics, offering well-informed guidance, mentorship and commentary as you develop, implement and disseminate your project.  

As a last step, you will defend your work in a public forum. If deemed appropriate by your project team, you could write a manuscript to submit for publication or present your work at a relevant event. 

Learn more about the DNP project.

Most of UC's DNP program specialties are offered fully online with flexible course scheduling and asynchronous classes, meaning you choose when to log in and learn.

DNP students who live within a two-hour drive (about 100 miles) of campus are expected to defend their DNP proposal in person at UC College of Nursing's Procter Hall; students beyond that distance can present their DNP proposal virtually. 

There are two paths of entry to UC's DNP program.

Nurses with a bachelor's from an accredited nursing school and experience working as an RN can apply to UC's DNP program. Most programs require one year of RN experience; however, requirements vary by specialty. Visit respective DNP program specialty pages for more details.  

Nurses with an MSN can earn a DNP through UC's Post-MSN DNP online program.

UC uses a rolling admissions process and closes the application window when the program reaches capacity. Submit your application by the priority deadline to have the best chance of acceptance.

The DNP program application process includes four parts:

• NursingCAS application 
• Transcripts and recommendation letters (submitted through NursingCAS)
• UC Graduate School application submission
• Web-based interview

UC will complete a review of your application that considers your previous academic achievements, experience and other traits assessed during our interview process. 

Not all application parts are due at the same time. Get more details and a breakdown of deadlines for each part.

Note: Because of individual state regulations, UC cannot accept applications for online or hybrid DNP programs from individuals who plan to live in these states while a student: Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington. 

If you are ready to position yourself as a leader, elevate your clinical expertise, empower yourself to apply the latest research to practice, collaborate with other health professionals at the doctorate level, and set yourself apart in competitive job markets and in academia, choose to earn a DNP.

The DNP is the terminal practice-focused degree, meaning it is the highest level of nursing education available for nurses who want to improve patient care outcomes and care delivery. By contrast, the PhD is the terminal research-focused nursing degree for those who want to develop new knowledge in the field. The DNP parallels the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in specialty coursework and skills training, but further builds on those concepts with education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, policy/advocacy, informatics and leadership. Graduates are prepared to implement the latest science developed by researchers to improve patient and population care and transform health care processes and systems.

DNP-prepared nurses can more easily access leadership roles in health care organizations and academic settings and the degree differentiates nurses in more competitive job markets.

Finally, health care's increasing complexity and the rapid growth in new knowledge have created a demand for more nurses prepared at the doctorate level like their peers in other health professions, such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, psychiatry, physical therapy and audiology. For years, nursing's guiding organizations have pushed to require advanced practice nurses to earn a DNP. Nurse anesthetists must now earn a practicing doctorate and it is expected other advanced practice specialties will follow. 

For answers to more frequently asked questions, visit our DNP Program FAQ page.