Doctor of Nursing Practice

* Please note that Admissions for the Doctor of Nursing Practice program are currently suspended.

Achieve your professional goals at the highest level of nursing practice.

The online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program admits master’s prepared registered nurses to deliver safe, high-quality healthcare to the nation at the highest level of independent practice. Utilizing complex decision-making and organizational and systems leadership, graduates are prepared to shape and sustain advances in healthcare policy and engage in clinical scholarship to create, implement and evaluate strategies that address emerging practice issues. Complete the DNP program in just over two years, taking all your courses online with two on-campus intensives – perfect for working professional nurses.

The 36-credit program takes just over two years to complete and includes a culminating DNP project. The DNP program offers two tracks: an advanced practice program track with a direct care focus where projects produce systemic changes to improve care of patient populations in systems in which they practice or an executive leadership program track with an indirect care, aggregate system focus where students analyze populations, systems of care, organizations, and state or national policies and produce quality improvement projects in the practice environment leading to enhanced healthcare delivery and population outcomes. Throughout the program you will learn from doctoral prepared faculty with broad experience in advanced clinical practice and nursing leadership. Graduates of Felician’s MSN program who meet academic requirements enjoy a seamless transition into the DNP program.

DNP Advanced Practice Program Track Admission Requirements:

  1. Master’s Degree in Nursing from a nationally accredited program.
  2. National certification in a specialty.
  3. Current professional practice in the Advanced Practice role.

DNP Executive Leadership Program Track Admission Requirements:

  1. A Master’s degree in nursing or related field (i.e., MBA, MPA, MHA). If the Master’s degree is in a non-nursing field, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a program that is nationally accredited and approved by the Board of Nursing is required.
  2. Portfolio assessment (May indicate need for additional coursework and/or additional hours).

Visit the graduate catalog for additional admissions criteria.

  1. Completed application.
  2. Master’s degree in nursing or related field (e.g. MBA, MPA, MHA) from a nationally accredited program. If the Master’s degree is in a non-nursing field, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a program that is nationally accredited and approved by the Board of Nursing is required.
  3. Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in graduate coursework.
  4. Registered professional nurse license. The licensee cannot have any current or pending disciplinary action against their nursing license from any Board of Nursing.
  5. Advanced practice registered nurse licensure (APN) if applicable.
  6. Successful completion of an undergraduate or graduate-level statistics course and a graduate-level nursing research course.
  7. A notarized copy of the photo page of a government-issued identification such as passport or driver’s license.
  8. Two letters of recommendation.
  9. Curriculum vitae or resume.
  10. Written statement and essay.
  11. Personal interview.
  12. Requirements specific to the program track.
  1. A minimum score of 79 on the Internet-based TOEFL or 550 on the paper-based TOEFL is required of graduates of non-English speaking countries.
  2. International academic credentials are reviewed by an international accrediting agency (World Education Services) on an individual basis.

Students in the Doctor of Nursing Program leave the program with the skills to develop and evaluate new practice approaches that will improve health care delivery, effect changes in clinical practice, and collaborate with health care teams to improve patient-centered care.

Upon completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice, the graduate will be able to:

  • Integrate nursing science and theories from other disciplines in the development and evaluation of new practice approaches that will improve health care delivery.
  • Effect changes in clinical nursing practice through organizational and systems leadership using systems theory as a framework for quality improvement.
  • Critically analyze current evidence to implement quality improvement modalities to promote effective, efficient and safe patient centered care.
  • Use information systems and technology to improve and transform health care, which contributes to improved patient outcomes.
  • Implement health policy initiatives that focus on clinical prevention and optimal health for vulnerable populations while advocating for social justice, equity, and ethical polices in health care.
  • Collaborate with all members of the health care team to improve patient-centered care and to benchmark outcomes and quality improvement initiatives.
  • Implement and analyze clinical prevention and intervention initiatives for diverse populations in order to effect improvement in the nation’s health.
  • Advance the nursing profession through leadership initiatives that support other nurses to achieve excellence in advanced nursing practice.
  • Lead with ethical comportment in all aspects of advanced nursing practice.
NURS 700 The DNP-Prepared Professional – Explorations and Analysis (On-Campus Intensive) 3 credits
 NURS 702 Advocacy and Action for Health Care Policy and Social Justice 3 credits
NURS 707 Methods for Evidence Based Practice I 3 credits
NURS 715 Business and Financial Concepts for the DNP Professional 3 credits
NURS 708 Methods for Evidence Based Practice II 3 credits
NURS 741 Advanced Concepts in Population Health 3 credits
NURS 730 Impacting Healthcare Outcomes 3 credits
NURS 800: Knowledge Integration: Evidence Appraisal for Practice (200 project hours) 3 credits
 NURS 810 Knowledge Application: Project Implementation I (100 project hours) 3 credits
NURS 705 Nursing Informatics 3 credits
NURS 815 Knowledge Application: Project Implementation II (100 project hours) 3 credits
NURS 820 Knowledge Dissemination (On-Campus Project Presentation – 100 project hours)    3 credits