Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Degree Program

Graduate Post-Licensure Doctoral

Earn your DNP in as few as 6 semesters of year-round, full-time enrollment
Nurses striving for the highest level of professional practice in their specialty area
Advance your nursing practice
All coursework 100 percent online
DNP Elective Course Sequences
- Advanced Practice Leadership
- Educational Leadership
- Healthcare Systems Leadership
Total credit hours: 32-40¹

¹: Credit hours required will vary, depending on practicum hours transcripted from student’s master’s degree in nursing program. Students must complete a minimum of 1000 post-baccalaureate practicum hours to meet accrediting body requirements for the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.

Note: Program/program option availability varies by state/location

Program Overview

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program is a post-master’s professional degree program designed to prepare graduates to deliver, either directly or indirectly, the highest level of nursing practice. The Chamberlain DNP degree program is practice-focused and prepares graduates to analyze, synthesize and apply scientific reasoning at the highest level to plan, design, implement and evaluate care for individuals, families and populations in an effort to improve healthcare outcomes. DNP graduates will be prepared to lead teams of intra- and inter-professional colleagues, care for vulnerable, culturally diverse populations and assume the role of a transformational leader in a complex healthcare delivery system. They will enhance patient-driven care, make evidence-based practice change and be mentors and role models to other nurses aspiring to lead and change healthcare in the 21st century and beyond. The curriculum is grounded in the eight essentials outlined in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing document, The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (DNP Essentials) (AACN, 2006) and the NLN Competencies for Graduates of Nursing Programs.

Chamberlain's DNP degree program bases its program and curriculum on input from key constituencies including, but not limited to, the Institute of Medicine, Quality and Safety Education for Nurses and other national initiatives focusing on change and transformation to promote patient safety, nurse vitality and quality care outcomes in a culturally diverse society. The DNP curriculum provides core nursing courses addressing each of the DNP Essentials. The courses guide students to develop and advance their practice to new levels, advancing their expertise in a variety of topics. For students enrolled prior to the July 2021 session, the four Project and Practicum courses provide the opportunity for the learner to design, implement and evaluate a project aimed at changing practice in a healthcare delivery setting chosen by the student. Chamberlain's DNP program prepares graduates to lead in today's increasingly complex healthcare environment on the front lines of clinical practice, administration, education and shaping health policy.

Beginning with the July 2021 session¹, students enrolling in the DNP degree program complete six core courses, implement and evaluate a project of their choosing in five Project and Practicum courses, and tailor their degree with a two-course elective sequence in one of the following areas:

The Advanced Practice Leadership elective sequence is designed for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and prepares graduates to lead, analyze and influence nursing practice and transform healthcare systems to enhance the quality of care and improve patient outcomes. In addition to the DNP core courses, students will complete two courses that focus on leadership development and the application of translational science in the direct care of populations across a wellness to illness continuum.

The Educational Leadership elective sequence is designed for nurses with experience or advanced education in teaching nursing academics or continuing education and prepares graduates to impact nursing practice and patient outcomes through the design, implementation and evaluation of educational initiatives across settings. In addition to the DNP core courses, students will complete two elective courses that focus on the role of the educator in facilitating learning and educational leadership across settings.

The Healthcare Systems Leadership elective sequence is designed for registered nurses with a master’s degree in nursing who are not APRNs and who have indirect care roles such as nurse executives, nurse informaticists and healthcare policy leaders. In addition to the DNP core courses, students will complete two elective courses that focus on the application of translational science to identify problems, propose solutions and implement change for healthcare systems as a whole.

The DNP degree program has a healthcare leadership focus and is designed to prepare nurses with advanced degrees to lead practice change for the profession and healthcare delivery system. Students must complete a minimum of 1,024 post-baccalaureate practicum hours to meet the requirements for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. The 1,024 practice hours may include up to 512 practicum hours completed in master’s degree programs. Credit hours required in the DNP degree program will vary depending on qualifying practicum hours transcripted from the student’s Master of Science in Nursing degree program. Qualifying practicum hours are those directed toward meeting the objectives of the foci for DNP programs as identified in the DNP Essentials: an advanced practice nursing direct care focus, or an aggregate/systems/organizational focus, or both. Students may expect to complete two courses per semester over a total of six semesters.

Upon admission to the DNP degree program, the student’s post-baccalaureate graduate transcript(s) will be evaluated and the number of qualifying practicum hours determined. Sixty-four qualifying practicum hours will be required to earn one practicum credit hour. Partial credit hours will not be granted. Practicum hours earned in a Master of Science in Nursing degree program that focused on nursing education do not qualify as DNP practicum hours, as education-focused practicum hours do not meet criteria established by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The number of practicum hours previously transcripted, up to 512 contact hours, will be deducted from the 1024 practicum hours required for completion of the DNP program. The remaining hours will be divided among the four required practicum courses and credit hours assigned accordingly. The four DNP practicum courses each contain a minimum of 128 and a maximum of 256 contact hours, for a total of 512-1024 practicum hours. Students must complete a minimum of 512 practicum hours regardless of the number of practicum hours transcripted from other graduate degrees. The ratio of semester credit hours to practicum contact hours is 1:4. Students will be notified at the time of admission to request a letter from their MSN program indicating the number of practicum hours completed. Upon completion of the program, all students will demonstrate achievement of course and program outcomes and the DNP Essentials.

¹: Students enrolled prior to July 2021 and readmit students can reference the academic catalog in effect at the time of the matriculation for their curriculum or contact their student support advisor.

Program Outcomes

The expected outcomes for Chamberlain’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program are as follows:

Apply biophysical, psychosocial, sociopolitical and cultural principles to integrative healthcare economics, nursing science and ethics in evidence-based advanced nursing practice to improve the nation’s health using cultural humility and population-focused healthcare that is holistic and person-centered (DNP/E:VII,VIII; DNP/C:I-IV).
Formulate a professional identity leadership role as an extraordinary DNP-prepared nurse in application, formation and reformation of health policy and advocacy in healthcare at micro, meso and macro levels (DNP/E:V; DNP/C:III-IV).
Synthesize scientific methods and underpinnings to develop best practices with a spirit of inquiry to shape advanced nursing judgment and systems of care for person/family and populations to improve care-focused outcomes (DNP/E:I,III; DNP/C:I,III-IV).
Build advanced nursing practice on relationship-based care and care-focused delivery models that embrace political, ethical, professional, economic, socially just and culturally appropriate services across healthcare systems (DNP/E:VIII; DNP/C:II-IV).
Integrate scientific-based theories and concepts that facilitate best practices with a spirit of inquiry for the nature and significance of health and healthcare delivery phenomena with strategies to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, appreciating theory-based healthcare for evidence-based practice (DNP/E:I,III; DNP/C:I,III-IV).
Distinguish organizational and transformational leadership that fosters and promotes patient safety, human flourishing, integration of healthcare technology and informatics to improve patient safety and care-focused outcomes for quality improvement and systems thinking that improves and transforms healthcare (DNP/E:II,IV; DNP/C: I-III).
Assimilate concepts of healthcare technology and informatics to make data-driven decisions that inform advanced nursing practice and person-centered care systems that are nurse-sensitive and person/family- and population-focused (DNP/E:IV; DNP/C:I-III).
Exercise intra- and inter-professional collaboration as an extraordinary DNP-prepared nursing role model for collegiality and professionalism across healthcare systems to facilitate optimal care and care-focused outcomes that improve person/family and population health or practice outcomes (DNP/E:VI; DNP/C:I-III).
Analyze conceptual and analytical skills in evaluating links among practice, organization, population, fiscal and policy issues as a basis for transformational change across healthcare systems (DNP/E:V; DNP/C:III-IV).

Program Details