Nursing Practice: Post-Master’s, D.N.P.

Admission Requirements

• An overall GPA of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) in the MSN program as documented by official transcripts
• Earned master’s in nursing in an advanced nursing practice specialty from a college or university accredited by an accepted accrediting body
• Current RN licensure in the U.S. at time of application with eligibility for NC licensure; NC licensure must be obtained prior to clinical practice experiences in NC
• GRE/MAT scores are not required for applicants to the Post-Master’s DNP Program.
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNS) must provide evidence of current national certification and meet the state requirements for practice in their state of licensure
• An essay that addresses: 1) advanced practice expertise, 2) career goals, 3) how earning the DNP degree will foster achievement of these goals, and 4) plans for DNP project
• Resume/curriculum vitae
• Three professional recommendations that address the practice capabilities of the candidate
• For international students: submission of TOEFL scores with a minimum score of 557 for the paper test and 83 Internet-based test
• Additional evidence for consideration of the application can be uploaded (e.g., publications, posters, evidence-based practice projects)
• Evidence of 500 supervised clinical hours within the MSN program (to be completed by MSN program officials); applicants who do not meet the clinical hours criteria can meet with the DNP Coordinator to discuss a plan to meet the requirement
• Faculty interview with qualified applicants
• UNC Charlotte School of Nursing will not admit a student with a master’s in nursing education unless they are pursuing a clinical practice/advanced practice role; specifically, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Midwifery, Nurse Anesthetist, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Clinical Nurse Leaders or Nurse Informaticists

Degree Requirements

The DNP program requires 42 post-master’s graduate credit hours and completion of a total of 1000 clinical practice hours (includes 500 hours from the MSN program).

Degree Total = 42 Credit Hours

Grade Requirements

An accumulation of three C grades in any graduate coursework will result in suspension of the student’s enrollment.  If a student makes a grade of U or N in any credit-bearing graduate course, enrollment will be suspended. 

Clinical Residency and DNP Scholarly Project

Scholarly Project

The Professional Doctorate Scholarly Practice Project prepares students to 1) synthesize knowledge gained from their educational experience and 2) apply leadership skills in implementing a clinically focused practice or quality improvement project in a clinical setting consistent with the professional degree educational standards. The practice project is completed in a clinical practice setting approved by the Doctoral Program Director following guidelines established by the individual program.

Doctoral Scholarly Projects are developed and completed through a 4-course series spanning four semesters. The course faculty serves as the student(s) project chair. The doctoral projects focus on improving clinical practice and are done in conjunction with a clinical site. Projects are evaluated by an advisory committee that includes the chair, an expert from the clinical site, and one additional full-time faculty member academically prepared in the program’s specialty focus. The clinical expert’s role is to assist the student in accessing the necessary clinical site resources, mentoring the student in the clinical area, and providing feedback to the chair and student regarding the student’s project. The chair is responsible for directing the students’ progress toward completion of the project and evaluating the project outcome in consultation with the advisory committee. Students work with their chair to identify advisory committee members in the second year of the program and in the first year of the Post-Master’s DNP program.

Students identify a clinical practice problem in collaboration with the chair and advisory committee, propose a workplan for a quality improvement project related to the clinical problem, implement the project, and disseminate the outcome(s). If the project requires approval from the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), a research protocol application must be submitted for approval prior to implementing the project. All students will present an oral presentation and submit a written project outcomes report. The oral examination is met through presenting the project to an audience, which can include a verbal or poster presentation to a professional meeting, a clinical organization, or to an audience of students and faculty. The written report will conform to the SQUIRE guidelines for reporting quality improvement initiatives. The chair, with input from the advisory committee, provides feedback on the quality improvement workplan and evaluates the final project presentation. After successful completion, a copy of the written report will be submitted to Atkins Library’s Niner Commons. The Project Completion Form is submitted to the Graduate School at the completion of the project.

Projects may be completed as individual projects or in groups of two or three based on the type of project proposed, the clinical issue being addressed, and approval by the chair. Projects completed in small groups must share the same goals and objectives and be designed and conducted across different practice settings or population groups so that each student provides their own unique contribution to the overall project implementation. Each student’s contribution should be able to stand on its own in the event other students in the group are unable to complete their portion of the project. Students will present their implementation design to the course faculty and chair with input from the advisory committee before being allowed to proceed with the project. Students working in groups will present their oral and written presentations as a group.

Students and faculty working on projects, are encouraged to use resources such as the Authorship Agreement available through UNC Charlotte’s Authorship Project in outlining student’s and faculty roles in the project and through its dissemination.

Advisory Committee

All students must have an advisory committee to evaluate their doctoral scholarly project. This committee includes the chair, an expert from the clinical site, and one additional full-time faculty member academically prepared in the program’s specialty focus. Faculty serving on the advisory committee must hold terminal degrees and be eligible to be appointed as Regular or Associate members of the Graduate Faculty. The Chair must be a full-time faculty member within the doctoral program.

Details regarding the scholarly project are available in the DNP Student Handbook.

Student Handbooks

The policies and procedures guiding the program, progression, and expectations can be found in the Graduate Student and DNP Student Handbooks.

Time Limits for Degree Completion

All graduation requirements must be completed within 6 years after enrollment in the first course.

Transfer Credit

DNP students may transfer up to 6 graduate credit hours (with a grade of B or above) with approval of the DNP Graduate Program Director.  No course being transferred may be older than 6 years at the time of graduation or have counted toward completion of another degree.