Degree
DNP
Program Type
Graduate
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Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Overview

Are you a practicing nurse looking to advance your degree and expand your skills and responsibilities to make a bigger impact in the healthcare environment? Perhaps you want to take on a greater leadership role or have more involvement with patients throughout their lifetimes.

If you have a BSN, MS, MSN or are a certified advanced practice nurse, Ashland University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program offers you the opportunity to advance your career in a number of ways.

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Nursing student examines a patient
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Delivery Format

Online

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Credit Hours

38-77

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Time to Complete

2-4 years

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Tuition

Learning Objectives

To be successful in today’s complex healthcare environment, nursing professionals must have the required clinical and research expertise to support and drive quality patient outcomes.

Ashland University’s DNP program prepares you for that challenge with leading faculty, rigorous curriculum that includes a strong science foundation, and hands-on practice and residency experience that covers a broad scope of responsibility in the field of nursing.

Our practice-focused DNP program focuses on the following areas of study:

  • Evidence-Based Practice
  • Leadership Development
  • Cultural Competence
  • Organizational Analysis
  • Policy, Ethics and Advocacy in Healthcare
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Nursing student examining a toddler

Benefits

To meet the needs of the working professional, the DNP program is offered online with access to coursework 24/7. Other benefits include:

  • Collaboration with peers and faculty online
  • Completing your practice residency at area hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities.
  • Earning your degree in as few as
    • 12 semesters (four years) for Family Nurse Practitioner
    • 9 semesters (three years) for Health Systems Leadership
    • 6 semesters (two years) for Advanced Practice
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Nursing student examining a pregnant woman

Curriculum

The DNP program includes the following core requirements:

  • DNP Role and Interprofessionalism
  • Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice
  • Healthcare Informatics
  • Healthcare Delivery, Quality and Safety
  • Health Policy and Advocacy
  • Interprofessional Seminar
  • Scholarly Project
  • Residency

View the Academic Catalog for complete program requirements.

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nursing students in a lab

Transfer Credit Policy

A maximum of nine graduate-level credits from an accredited college or university may be transferred toward completion of the requirements for the DNP degree. Official transcripts certifying graduate-level courses completed at another institution prior to admission to Ashland University should be submitted at the time of application and will be evaluated by the DNP program director for acceptability as transfer credit.

Transfer credit will only be accepted for courses in which a grade of B (3.0 on 4.0 scale) or higher has been received. Courses taken more than five years prior to admission may not be accepted.

The student is responsible for initiating the request to transfer credit. For each course for which the student requests transfer credit, the student must:

  • Complete a Request for Transfer Credit form as part of the DNP admissions application, identifying the institution attended, course title, semester and year completed and the number of credits for which transfer is requested
  • Attach a copy of the transcript, which includes the grade received for the requested transfer credits, and a detailed course description/outline
  • Submit these materials to the Office of Graduate Admissions with the application. The request will be forwarded to the DNP program director.

Approval and/or disapproval of accepted transfer credits will be included in the admission letter to the applicant.

Approved transfer credits will be forwarded to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences administrative assistant for graduate programs for inclusion in the student file and processing with the Office of Records and Registration.

Contact Information

Matthes, Jill
Jill Matthes Baxter, DNP, R.N.
Director, Doctor of Nursing Program; Director, Health Systems Leadership Program; CONHS Assessment Coordinator; Associate Professor of Nursing
185 College of Nursing & Health Sciences