Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

College

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, M.S., MSN or are a certified advanced practice nurse, Ashland University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program offers you the opportunity to advance your career.

Apply for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

Delivery Format

Online

Credit Hours

37-83

Time to Complete

2-4 years

Tuition

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Customize Your DNP Experience

Flexible Entry Paths to the Online DNP Program

The online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program offers two convenient entry points based on your educational background:

BSN to DNP – for students with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
The BSN-DNP entry pathway includes 4 specialty tracks. The credit hours, years of full-time study, and on-campus experiences vary by specialty track. Students in the Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner tracks are required to participate in on-campus experiences throughout the specialty track courses.
MSN to DNP – for students with a Master of Science in Nursing
The MSN-DNP entry pathway consists of 37-41 credit hours and 2+ years of full-time study (6 -8 credits per semester over 6 – 8 semesters). Upon admission, students’ transcripts will be reviewed to determine needed practice hours to meet the minimum of 1000 practice hours.

Specialized BSN to DNP Tracks

The BSN to DNP pathway features four specialized tracks designed to meet a variety of career goals. The program’s online format provides flexibility for working professionals, allowing you to balance your education with personal and professional commitments.

Family Nurse Practitioner track

The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track prepares nurses with the clinical expertise and leadership skills needed to provide comprehensive primary care across the lifespan. Students will gain advanced practice nursing skills and competencies to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals in the primary care setting.

Consists of 82 credit hours and 4 years of full-time study
(6-8 credits per semester over 12 semesters)
Select courses include required on-campus experiences to ensure hands-on, high-quality clinical preparation.

Our Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam pass rate has been 100% percent since the first class graduated in 2018!

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) track prepares nurses with the clinical expertise and leadership skills needed to provide mental health care across the lifespan. Students will gain advanced practice nursing skills and competencies to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals experiencing mental health conditions.

Consists of 83 credit hours and 4 years of full-time study
(6-8 credits per semester over 12 semesters)
Select courses include required on-campus experiences to ensure hands-on, high-quality clinical preparation.

Health Systems Leadership track

The Health Systems Leadership (HSL) track prepares nurses to navigate and effectively lead in complex healthcare environment. Students will gain advanced nursing practice knowledge and business, leadership, and communication skills.

Consists of 79 credit hours and 4 years of full-time study
(6-8 credits per semester over 12 semesters)

Nurse Educator track

The Nurse Educator (NE) track prepares experienced nurses to become leaders in academic and clinical education settings. This track is designed for those passionate about shaping the next generation of nurses while advancing evidence-based teaching practices.

Consists of 79 credit hours and 4 years of full-time study
(6-8 credits per semester over 12 semesters)

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.

Nursing student examining a pregnant woman

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

BSN to DNP Curriculum

All four tracks of the BSN to DNP program include the following core requirements:

NURG 7000 Professional Role Development for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7010 Leadership Development for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7020 Research Methods & EBP for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7030 Population Health & Advocacy for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7100 Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7110 Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 7120 Health Assessment for Advanced Nursing Practice

All DNP students are required to complete a minimum of 1000 practice hours.

View the Academic Catalog for complete program requirements.

Other courses required for all BSN to DNP tracks:

NURG 7990 Scholarly Inquiry for Advanced Nursing Practice
NURG 8000 EBP I Scientific Basis for Scholarly Inquiry
NURG 8010 Informatics & Healthcare Technology
NURG 8020 Critical Appraisal for Scholarly Inquiry
NURG 8030 Healthy Policy & Advocacy
NURG 8040 Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, and Safety
NURG 8050 Leading Change to Improve Health Outcomes
NURG 8060 Managing the Healthcare Organization – The Financial Perspective
NURG 8100 Scholarly Inquiry I
NURG 8110 Scholarly Inquiry II
NURG 8120 Scholarly Inquiry III
NURG 8130 Scholarly Inquiry IV

MSN to DNP Curriculum

The MSN to DNP program requires the following courses:

NURG 8000 EBP I Scientific Basis for Scholarly Inquiry
NURG 8010 Informatics & Healthcare Technology
NURG 8020 Critical Appraisal for Scholarly Inquiry
NURG 8030 Healthy Policy & Advocacy
NURG 8040 Healthcare Delivery, Quality Improvement, and Safety
NURG 8050 Leading Change to Improve Health Outcomes
NURG 8060 Managing the Healthcare Organization – The Financial Perspective
NURG 8100 Scholarly Inquiry I
NURG 8110 Scholarly Inquiry II
NURG 8120 Scholarly Inquiry III
NURG 8130 Scholarly Inquiry IV

All DNP students are required to complete a minimum of 1000 practice hours. View the Academic Catalog for complete program requirements.

Graduate Outcomes

Anticipated Career Growth

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a 35 percent projected employment increase for advanced degree nurses (such as nurse practitioners) over the next ten years.

Work Settings

Primary care
Specialty care
Non-profit organizations
Health care systems
Higher learning colleges and universities

Career Opportunities

Nurse practitioner

Increased scope of practice as an advanced practice nurse
Owning an independent practice
Providing quality evidence-based practice
Improving patient and community health outcomes

Leadership

Improving health system quality and safety outcomes
Managing and leading health care system teams, units, and staff
Leading quality improvement initiatives in health care systems

Nurse educator

Implementing innovative evidence-based teaching strategies
Developing curriculum for nursing education
Teaching undergraduate and graduate nursing courses

Accreditation

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Ashland University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

Certification Disclosure:

Graduates of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track are qualified to seek national certification through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) or American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Graduates of the Health Systems Leadership (HSL) track meet the educational requirements to sit for the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) certification program examinations.

Graduates of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) track are qualified to seek national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Graduates of the Nurse Educator (NE) track meet the educational requirements to sit for the National League for Nursing (NLN) Certified Nurse Education exam.

Licensure Disclosure:

The Ashland University Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program meets the requirements to apply for licensure and is authorized in the following states and U.S. territories: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Ashland University Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program does NOT meet the requirements to apply for licensure and is NOT authorized in the following states and U.S. territories: Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Delaware, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, the Virgin Islands, Washington and Wyoming.

If a student’s permanent residence is in a state or territory that is not authorized and does NOT meet the requirements to apply for licensure, they can only enroll in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program if they agree that, upon graduation, they intend to seek employment in a state that meets the requirements to apply for licensure. Students must sign a formal attestation form.

If a student’s state of residence changes during the enrollment in the graduate nursing program the student may be at risk for residing in a state that does NOT meet the requirements to apply for licensure. Students must sign a formal attestation form.

Admission Requirements

BSN to DNP

Earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a minimum 3.0 GPA (4.0 scale).* Applicants with a GPA <3.0 (>2.50) may apply and be considered for admission) with evidence for academic success.
Submission of official transcript from an accredited baccalaureate degree in nursing program. Transcripts must show completion of undergraduate statistics course.
Submission of active, unencumbered registered nurse licensure in the United States.
Submission of two academic or professional letters of recommendation (faculty or employer supervisor)
Completion of essay questions to be evaluated on overall content and writing competence
RN work experience (one year of experience preferred)
Interview with Department of Nursing Graduate Admission & Progression Committee.

*Students that have earned an ADN to MSN must submit an official transcript from a Master of Science in Nursing Program.

MSN to DNP

Earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science or Master of Science in Nursing with a minimum 3.0 GPA (4.0 scale). * Applicants with a GPA <3.0 (>2.50) may apply and be considered for admission) with evidence for academic success.
Submission of official transcript from an accredited baccalaureate degree in nursing program. Transcripts must show completion of undergraduate statistics course.
Submission of active, unencumbered registered nurse licensure in the United States.
Submission of two academic or professional letters of recommendation (faculty or employer supervisor).
Completion of essay question to be evaluated on overall content and writing competence.
RN work experience (one year of experience preferred).
Interview with Department of Nursing Graduate Admission & Progression Committee.

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.