Nursing Practice (DNP)

Admissions Criteria

A holistic review process is used when considering applications for admission to the DNP program.  The holistic review considers multiple criteria for admission, including the applicant's professional career goals, academic capabilities, GPA, work experience, leadership, and community engagement.

The University of Louisville School of Nursing participates in Nursing's Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS), which provides you with an online application.  NursingCAS collects and processes your application documents and verifies your transcripts.  The School of Nursing will receive your application information from NursingCAS and use it to make admission decisions.

To be considered for admission to the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the following items must be submitted:

To the Graduate School

To NursingCAS

  1. Transcripts
    • BSN -DNP applicant: Official transcripts representing all college coursework with a recommended undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. BSN degree must be from a regionally accredited institution and a CCNE-, ACEN-, or NLN-accredited nursing program.
    • MSN-DNP applicant:  Official transcripts representing all college coursework with a recommended graduate cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.25 on a 4.0 scale.  BSN degree must be from a regionally accredited institution. BSN and MSN degrees must be from CCNE-, ACEN, or NLN-accredited nursing programs.
  2. Applicants who have attended a college or university outside the United States are also required to submit a course by course evaluation of their transcript through World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE). Please note that transcript evaluations can sometimes take several weeks.
  3. Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak of academic and/or professional capabilities and potential for a scholarly career. Recommendation should be requested from former faculty, current or immediate past employers, or other nursing/health professionals.  Recommendations must be completed within the last year.  
  4. Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) including your RN license number. 
  5. Unencumbered RN license from a US state board of nursing.
  6. Responses to all questions asked on the NursingCAS application.
  7. Students for whom English is not their primary language must show English Proficiency.

Additional Admission Requirements for Acute Care Specialties

Neonatal specialty: Minimum of one year of RN clinical experience in a Level III or Level IV NICU prior to admission.  All NNP applicants must have the equivalent of two years of full-time RN clinical experience within the last five years in a Level III or Level IV NICU inpatient setting before beginning clinical courses.

Adult Gerontology Acute Care specialty: One year of RN clinical experience in an ICU or one year of RN clinical experience in any area and a commitment to complete one year of RN clinical practice in an ICU before beginning clinical courses. Applicants that do not have one year of RN experience at the point of application, but will complete one year before beginning clinical courses, will satisfy the work requirement.   

Pediatric Acute Care: One year of RN clinical practice experience in an acute care setting or one year of RN experience in any area and a commitment to complete one year in an acute care setting before beginning clinical courses. 

Program Requirements

BSN-DNP Curriculum

Core Courses Required for All Specialties
NURS 605Theoretical Application for Practice3
NURS 607Foundational Concepts of Evidence Based Practice3
NURS 657Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Culturally Diverse and Vulnerable Populations.3
NURS 725Leadership and Health Policy for the Doctorally Prepared Nurse3
NURS 740Advanced Pharmacology 13
NURS 741Advanced Pathophysiology4
NURS 742Advanced Physical Assessment 13
NURS 743Epidemiology3
NURS 744Synthesis and Evaluation of Evidence in Practice3
NURS 745Health Information Technology3
NURS 746Program Development & Evaluation3
NURS 747Finance Management2
NURS 748Application of Leadership and Health Policy3
NURS 749The Business of Healthcare3
NURS 750DNP Project I: Project Inception3
NURS 751DNP Project II: Project Implementation3
NURS 752DNP Project III: Project Evaluation, Analysis and Dissemination3
NURS 787Clinical Practicum for the DNP NP I 14
NURS 788Clinical Practicum for the DNP NP II 13
NURS 789Clinical Practicum for the DNP NP III 11
NURS 791Applied Statistics for Evidence Based Practice3
Minimum Total Hours62

MSN-DNP Curriculum 

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPMSN

NURS 725Leadership and Health Policy for the Doctorally Prepared Nurse3
NURS 740Advanced Pharmacology 23
NURS 741Advanced Pathophysiology 24
NURS 742Advanced Physical Assessment 23
NURS 743Epidemiology3
NURS 744Synthesis and Evaluation of Evidence in Practice3
NURS 745Health Information Technology3
NURS 746Program Development & Evaluation3
NURS 747Finance Management2
NURS 748Application of Leadership and Health Policy3
NURS 749The Business of Healthcare3
NURS 750DNP Project I: Project Inception3
NURS 751DNP Project II: Project Implementation3
NURS 752DNP Project III: Project Evaluation, Analysis and Dissemination3
NURS 754Clinical Reasoning in Advanced Practice Nursing 21
NURS 791Applied Statistics for Evidence Based Practice3
Specialty coursework required for non-nurse practitioner MSN-DNP or for nurse practitioner seeking an additional specialty.
Minimum Total Hours46
1

Not required for Neonatal

2

 Required for advanced practice if not a licensed nurse practitioner.


DNP Specialties

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care 

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPAAC

Adult Gerontology Acute Care specialty requires one year of RN clinical experience in an ICU or one year of RN clinical experience in any area and a commitment to complete one year of RN clinical practice in an ICU before beginning clinical courses.

NURS 754Clinical Reasoning in Advanced Practice Nursing1
NURS 760Gerontology Pharmacology1
NURS 776Procedures and Diagnostics for the Acute Care NP I1
NURS 777The Adult/Gerontology Acute Care NP Role1
NURS 779Diagnosis & Management in Acute Care I4
NURS 780Procedures and Diagnostics for the Acute Care NP II2
NURS 781Diagnosis & Management in Acute Care II3
NURS 783Diagnosis & Management in Acute Care III1
Minimum Total Hours14

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care 

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPAPC

NURS 753Adolescent Well Child Theory1
NURS 754Clinical Reasoning in Advanced Practice Nursing1
NURS 755Diagnosis and Management of Adult Health in Primary Care4
NURS 756Procedures & Diagnostics for Adult Health2
NURS 757Diagnosis and Management of Women's Health in Primary Care2
NURS 758Diagnosis and Management of Mental Health in Primary Care2
NURS 759Diagnosis and Management of the Older Adult in Primary Care2
NURS 760Gerontology Pharmacology1
Minimum Total Hours15

Family Nurse Practitioner 

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPFNP

NURS 754Clinical Reasoning in Advanced Practice Nursing1
NURS 755Diagnosis and Management of Adult Health in Primary Care4
NURS 756Procedures & Diagnostics for Adult Health2
NURS 757Diagnosis and Management of Women's Health in Primary Care2
NURS 758Diagnosis and Management of Mental Health in Primary Care2
NURS 760Gerontology Pharmacology1
NURS 761Pediatric & Adolescent Well Child Theory2
NURS 762Diagnosis & Management of Pediatrics in Primary Care2
Minimum Total Hours16

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPNNP

Neonatal specialty requires a minimum of one year of RN experience in a Level III or Level IV NICU prior to admission.  All neonatal applicants must have the equivalent of two years of full-time RN experience within the last five years in a Level III or Level IV NICU inpatient setting before beginning clinical courses.

NURS 761Pediatric & Adolescent Well Child Theory2
NURS 763Advanced Neonatal Physiology & Pathophysiology I3
NURS 764Neonatal Diagnostic Reasoning I1
NURS 765Advance Neonatal Physiology & Pathophysiology II3
NURS 766Neonatal Diagnostic Reasoning II1
NURS 767Neonatal Residency I3
NURS 768Neonatal Residency II3
NURS 769Neonatal Residency III3
NURS 784Advanced Neonatal Pharmacology3
NURS 785Advanced Neonatal Assessment3
NURS 786Human Embryology and Genetics3
Minimum Total Hours28

Pediatric Acute Care

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPPAC

Pediatric Acute Care specialty requires one year of RN experience in an acute care setting or one year of RN experience in any area and a commitment to complete one year in an acute care setting before beginning clinical courses.

NURS 761Pediatric & Adolescent Well Child Theory 12
NURS 762Diagnosis & Management of Pediatrics in Primary Care 12
NURS 800Pathophysiology for Pediatric Acute Care1
NURS 801Pharmacology for Pediatric Acute Care1
NURS 802Procedures for Pediatric Acute Care1
NURS 803Diagnosis and Management for Pediatric Acute Care I: Special Needs in Chronic Illness3
NURS 804 Diagnosist & Management Pediatric Acute Care II: Acute Illness2
NURS 806 Pediatric Acute Care Role1
NURS 805 Diagnosis and Management for Pediatric Acute Care III: Critical Illness Management3
Minimum Total Hours16
1

NURS 761 and NURS 762 are waived for Family or Pediatric Nurse Practitioners upon gap analysis of first population focus transcript.


Psychiatric Mental Health

Academic Plan Code(s): NURSDNPPMH

NURS 770Advanced Psych Assessment & Clinical Interview2
NURS 771Psychopathology2
NURS 772Psychopharmacology2
NURS 773Management of Psychiatric/Mental Health Conditions: Foundation of Individual Psychotherapy3
NURS 774Diagnosis and Management in Psych/Mental Health: Group Psychotherapy and Care of Special Populations3
NURS 775Diagnosis and Management of Special Populations in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing3
Minimum Total Hours15

DNP graduates from the UofL School of Nursing are prepared to apply for APRN certification in their population track upon graduation; however, educational preparation does not guarantee professional licensure. If you have questions regarding Kentucky APRN licensure, please contact the Kentucky Board of Nursing (https://kbn.ky.gov/Pages/advanced-practice-registered-nurse.aspx). For APRN  licensure questions in other states, please contact the respective state board of nursing (https://ncsbn.org/contact-bon.htm).