Doctorate | DNP
If you are a nursing professional seeking to move into nurse leadership roles or looking to advance your clinical career, WSSU's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program may help you achieve your dreams. As our population ages, there is a growing need for highly trained nurses.
The DNP program is designed for students who have earned a bachelor's degree (or higher) in nursing. Upon completion of the program, you will be eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Family Nurse Practitioner certification exam or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) certification exam.
- BSN-DNP Full-Time Plan of Study
- BSN-DNP Part-Time Plan of Study
- MSN-DNP Full-Time Plan of Study
- MSN-DNP Part-Time 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
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
You can complete the application online or download an application and mail it to the Office of Admissions. The deadline to submit applications is February 15 to be considered for admission in the upcoming year Fall class. Decisions are made 6-8 weeks after the deadline. Applications are reviewed after the deadline.
Once a year, in the Fall semester. Please note only completed applications will be considered for admission.
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Nursing was not an easy program to complete, and I still consider it one of my greatest accomplishments, but these educators worked extra hard to ensure their students' success and I am forever grateful for their devotion to their students.
