Jan 21, 2026  
Graduate Record 2025-2026 
    
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Graduate Record 2025-2026

Nursing Practice, D.N.P.

Return to: School of Nursing: Degree Programs   

History and Philosophy

The School of Nursing (SON) opened the first Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in Virginia in 2007 in response to the demands associated with increasing complexity in the health care system, expansion of scientific knowledge, and growing concerns regarding the quality of patient care delivery and outcomes. The UVA program, fully accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), supports the vision for transformational change in education for professional nurses who practice at the most advanced level. The American Association for Colleges of Nursing (AACN) position statement on the DNP degree recommends that nurses practicing at the highest level should receive doctoral-level preparation. Additionally, the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2010) statement on the Future of Nursing recommends that nurses achieve higher levels of education and training to meet the increasing demands of contemporary health care.  

Students interested in pursuing specialty preparation in Adult-Gerontology (AG) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and/or Adult Gerontology Acute Care (AGAC) Nurse Practitioner (NP), Family NP, Pediatric Primary Care NP, Psychiatric-Mental Health NP, Neonatal NP or Pediatric Acute Care NP may choose a post-baccalaureate option to the DNP. Students obtaining a DNP in this manner are poised to become the kind of advanced practice nurses originally envisioned by the AACN; that is, entry into advanced nursing practice with a DNP. 

Purpose

The DNP program at the University of Virginia School of Nursing prepares graduates to drive the highest level of advanced nursing practice. Through direct or indirect care roles, our graduates are prepared to lead system level initiatives that provide high quality care while optimizing population health and improving outcomes.

Program Objectives

Objectives for the DNP program are derived from the AACN, Essentials. At the completion of this program, students are expected to demonstrate the competencies required for the highest level of nursing practice. DNP graduates will be able to do the following:

  1. Synthesize nursing science with knowledge from ethics, the biophysical, psychosocial, analytical, and organizational sciences as the basis for high quality advanced nursing practice. (Domain I) 
  2. Evaluate patient and population health outcomes using systematic processes that improve accountability of equitable health care delivery and address health policy across many levels. (Domain II, III, and VII) 
  3. Demonstrate organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement in healthcare systems using scholarly approaches, data-driven processes and policy changes. (Domain IV, V, VII, and VIII)  
  4. Develop interprofessional partnerships to apply innovative and evidence-based strategies to optimize outcomes for patients and patient populations across systems (Domain VI) 
  5. Integrate moral, legal, and humanistic principles to create a professional nursing and healthcare culture that reflects nursing core values.  (Domain IX & X) 

Admission

Admission Requirements

Post-Master’s Pathway:

Admission to the School of Nursing is competitive and based on evaluation of all portions of the application. To be considered for the DNP, applicants must submit a completed application and:

  • Have an MSN degree from a nationally accredited (CCNE or NLN ACEN) school.
  • Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate and graduate study.
  • Possess an unencumbered RN license in the state where you intend to do your clinical practica. All matriculating students who are not active-duty military nurses must have a Virginia RN license before the first day of classes.
  • Have a valid certification in specialty nursing (NP, CNS, etc.), if applicable, by the time of entry into the program.
  • Submit a current resume or CV.
  • Send official transcripts for all post-secondary study.
  • Be available for an interview if requested.
  • International applicants have additional requirements.

Post-Baccalaureate Pathway:

Admission to the School of Nursing is competitive and based on evaluation of all portions of the application. To be considered for the post-baccalaureate pathway, applicants must submit a completed application and:

  • Have a BSN or generalist MSN degree (i.e. CNL, nursing education, nursing informatics, public health or health administration) from a nationally accredited (CCNE or NLN ACEN) school.
  • Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate and graduate study.
  • Possess an unencumbered RN license in the state where you intend to do your clinical practica. All matriculating students who are not active-duty military nurses must have a Virginia RN license before the first day of classes.
  • Submit a current resume or CV.
  • Send official transcripts for all post-secondary study.
  • Be available for an interview if requested.
  • International applicants have additional requirements.

Admission Procedure Applications are available on the SON website: https://www.nursing.virginia.edu/admissions/apply/.

Degree Requirements

To earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, the post-MSN pathway student must successfully complete the prescribed plan of study, including the required courses described below, a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate practicum hours, and a DNP Scholarly Practice Project. 

The University’s full-time minimum is 12 credits and part-time minimum for some financial aid types is 6 credits. Students who must meet the corresponding full-time or part-time status may be advised to enroll in elective(s) when the required coursework is below the minimum threshold. In this case, students must request a modified plan of study and complete the Graduate Student Enrollment Status Change form, which may be found on the School of Nursing’s form directory. DNP students conducting scholarship or research with a faculty member can seek approval from the program director for taking GNUR 9997 for a maximum of 3 credits per semester and a maximum of 6 credits over their program of study. 

For the post-master’s DNP, full-time students complete the plan of study in two years and part-time students typically complete the plan of study in three years. In the post-baccalaureate pathway, full-time students typically complete in three years and part-time students typically complete in five years. 

Post-master’s DNP and BSN-DNP Pathway: For students who have completed a MSN (such as those listed above in Post-Baccalaureate Pathway), a credit gap analysis will be conducted upon matriculation by the Program Lead (or delegate) to determine if the student will need to take electives to fulfill credits completed for the MSN.

Program Requirements

The post-master’s portion of the DNP program requires a minimum of 38 credits, including DNP practica, and is designed to enable the student to meet the Essentials and competencies found in the AACN Essentials. These courses provide  the conceptual and theoretical basis required for all DNP graduates, and practice change competencies necessary for effective leadership at the highest level of evidence-based practice. 

In addition to the DNP courses below, the post-baccalaureate pathway requires courses pursuant to ta specialty track:

  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialty Track  
  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Track  
  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist with AGACNP Elective for Military Students Only 
  • Family Nurse Practitioner Track 
  • Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Track 
  • Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Primary Care Track 
  • Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care Track 
  • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track 

Required DNP Core Courses:

Concentrations

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Required Courses:

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Required Courses:

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist with Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Elective for Military Students Only Required Courses:

Family Nurse Practitioner Required Courses:

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Required Courses:

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Acute Care Required Courses:

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Primary Care Required Courses:

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Required Courses:

Practica

The AACN requires 1,000 hours of post-baccalaureate clinical practice for the DNP degree. Most MSN-DNP students will come to the DNP program with at least 500 supervised clinical practice hours from their specialty master’s program and students receive credit for 500 documented hours in the DNP program. If their master’s program did not require 500 hours, students will need to complete additional DNP practicum hours to meet the 500 hour MSN-level clinical hours expectation. 

DNP Scholarly Practice Project

The DNP program culminates in the successful completion of a DNP Scholarly Practice Project. This DNP Project is conceptualized in the early stages of the program and continues throughout the program. The DNP Project is designed by the student in collaboration with the DNP Project Chair, DNP Practice Mentor, and DNP faculty. The DNP Project must aim to facilitate a significant practice change guided by the translation of evidence and be suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed, practice-focused nursing journal. Each DNP Project should:  

a. Focus on a change that impacts healthcare outcomes either through direct or indirect care.

b. Have a systems (micro-, meso-, or macro- level) or population/aggregate focus.

c. Demonstrate implementation in the appropriate arena or area of practice.

d. Include a plan for sustainability (e.g., financial, systems or political realities, not only theoretical abstractions).

e. Include an evaluation of processes and/or outcomes (formative or summative). DNP Projects should be designed so that processes and/or outcomes will be evaluated to guide practice and policy. Clinical significance is as important in guiding practice as statistical significance is in evaluating research.

f. Provide a foundation for future practice scholarship (AACN, 2015).

Electives

Three electives are built into the DNP Plan of Study to support individualized growth in specialty areas as identified by the student.

Public Professional Licensure Disclosure

Federal regulations require the University of Virginia to disclose whether its licensure-related degree programs meet or do not meet U.S. jurisdictions’ (states and territories) educational requirements for licensure (34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)). Furthermore, per 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32), UVA must, prior to a student’s enrollment into a licensure-related program, ensure the student plans to pursue licensure and employment in a jurisdiction in which the program meets that jurisdiction’s academic requirements. Please refer to the UVA’s Professional Licensure Program Disclosure Tool  to either a.) determine if a UVA program meets or does not meet the educational requirements specified by the associated licensing board in a specific jurisdiction, or b.)  view the status of all programs in a specific jurisdiction. Instructions for searching the Index are available on the Index page. 

Enrolled students who change their location to a different state or territory must notify UVA by contacting the University Registrar’s Office to update that information