Doctor of Nursing Practice - Online

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is a post-baccalaureate or post-master’s program designed to provide an exemplary accredited academic and clinical education for nurses who will practice at the highest level. It offers the following role concentrations: Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practioner, Adult Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practioner and Public Health Nurse Leader. Specific goals for the program are to graduate nurses who will: 1) engage in nursing practice using the advanced knowledge from nursing and related disciplines to improve health outcomes, 2) provide leadership and collaborate with leaders in other professions for change in systems of care, 3) synthesize and translate evidence from nursing and other disciplines to manage complex health problems, and 4) provide culturally proficient care to respond to health disparities and societal needs.

Core competencies essential for those preparing for direct care roles and for population-based roles build on eight essential content areas: 1) scientific underpinnings for practice, 2) organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement, and systems thinking, 3) clinical scholarship and analytic methods for evidence-based practice, 4) technology and information for the improvement and transformation of health care, 5) health-care policy for advocacy in health care, 6) interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population healthcare outcomes, 7) clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health, and 8) advanced nursing practice for improving the delivery of patient care.

Admission Criteria 

Applicants to the DNP program must choose one of the role concentrations, either Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practioner, Adult Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practioner, or Public Health Nurse Leader and indicate on their application to which role they are applying.  Applicants must meet the entrance requirements of the University of Massachusetts Graduate School and the College of Nursing which also includes a scholarly writing sample, resume, copy of RN license and copies of any certifications held. Each applicant must be a graduate of a nationally accredited school of nursing and hold a current professional license.

Applicants must present evidence of the following: Official transcripts from colleges/universities attended, baccalaureate or master’s degree in nursing, or an associate degree in nursing and a non-nursing baccalaureate degree, GPA of 3.0 (B) or higher, two letters of recommendation, scholarly writing sample e.g., scholarly paper, publication, statement of professional goals, current Resume or CV, documentation of professional licensure and certifications.

Application deadline is December 15 each year.

Post-Baccalaureate

Students must meet the requirements of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Graduate School and have a baccalaureate degree from a nationally accredited school of nursing or be an RN with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree. The College of Nursing uses the degree-granting institution Grade Point Average (GPA) as one measure of an applicant’s academic potential. A successful applicant will typically have a GPA of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale). If the GPA is lower than 3.0, applicants may still apply and be considered for admission, but may wish to submit a Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score if they believe that the GPA does not accurately reflect their abilities.

Other requirements include official transcripts from all graduate and undergraduate programs attended, documentation of RN licensure, sample of scholarly writing, a written statement of professional goals, two letters of recommendation, TOEFL scores if needed, a course in elementary statistics and a course in health assessment if the graduate plan of study includes advanced health assessment.

Post-Master’s

Students who apply who hold a Master's degree (other than those who meet the DNP Completion for APNs criteria) will have their transcripts reviewed.  An individual plan of study will be created and reviewed by student and Director that takes into account any recent relevant courses that they have completed.

DNP Completion

Students who enter this DNP Program option must be Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) who are currently certified as: FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP, ANP, PNP, GNP, ACNP, Nurse Midwife, Nurse Anesthetist, and CNS.

This option is not applicable to Generic MS degrees, CNLs, Nurse Educators, MBAs, or MPHs

Course Requirements

For complete course listing, please visit the College of Nursing website at http://www.umass.edu/nursing/programs/doctor-nursing-practice-dnp-online.

Further information may be obtained from: Karen Ayotte, DNP Program Office, College of Nursing, 022 Skinner Hall, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-0420, tel. (413) 545-1302 or kayotte@nursing.umass.edu.