Nursing (DNP)
https://online.unh.edu/doctor-of-nursing-practice
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program prepares nurses for the highest level of specialized nursing practice. DNP graduates are prepared to translate evidence into practice, improve systems of care, and measure health outcomes in diverse settings. Graduates of the DNP program are prepared for culturally competent, evidence-based, system-based care, interprofessional collaboration and leadership. DNP graduates are distinguished by their abilities to:
- Affect practice
- Design and implement programs that improve health and healthcare delivery
- Apply data management and informatics skills to evaluate programs, outcomes, and care systems
- Influence health policy
Requirements for the Online Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree include:
- 8 core courses and 3 doctoral seminars completed at the level of B- or better;
- verification of 1,000 advanced practice clinical hours (includes up to 500 clinical hours earned in master's program);
- a publishable scholarly paper;
- successful oral defense of your DNP Project; and
- acceptance of the DNP Project Final Report by your DNP Team.
All courses are offered 100% online. Students are required to attend two on-campus residencies:
- the first 2-3 day residency is early in the program to meet with peers and nursing faculty, and identify ideas for the DNP project; and
- the second residency is at the end of the program, for the oral presentation and defense of the DNP Project.
Cohorts are admitted twice a year, with starts in January and August.
The DNP program builds upon the experience of master's-prepared nurses. Registered nurses who have obtained an MS in nursing (NP, CRNA, CNMW, CNL, CNS, Nurse Executive, Health Systems Management, Health Informatics) or equivalent degree (MBA, MHA, MPH) are welcome to apply.
The online Doctor of Nursing Practice degree requires students complete 21-33 credits via 11 courses. The online DNP program aims to produce graduates prepared to improve health and care outcomes through coursework in organizational and systems leadership, quality improvement processes, and translation of evidence into practice, to name a few.
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ADMN 912 | Managing Yourself & Leading Others | 3 |
| ADMN 952 | Organizations, Leadership, and Environments | 3 |
| MATH 837 | Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement and Design | 3 |
| NURS 963 | Advanced Clinical Epidemiology | 3 |
| NURS 964 | Technology and Health Care | 3 |
| NURS 967 | Evidence Synthesis | 3 |
| NURS 969 | Health Policy and Finance | 3 |
| NURS 973 | Health Care Quality | 3 |
| NURS 980 | Doctoral Scholarly Project I | 3 |
| NURS 981 | Doctoral Scholarly Project II | 3 |
| NURS 982 | Doctoral Scholarly Project III | 3 |
Students are required to successfully complete DNP coursework, have 1,000 documented advanced practice clinical hours (includes up to 500 clinical hours earned in master's program), produce a publishable scholarly paper, and successfully defend their DNP Project.
If a student completed fewer than 500 clinical hours in their Master’s program, the student must enroll in NURS 970 Clinical Practicum for Advanced Practice Nurse, under the supervision of the DNP director. NURS 970 is a 2-credit course and allows the student to complete up to 250 clinical practicum hours; this course may be repeated once.