Leadership Curriculum

The Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nursing Leadership program is designed for nurses on a leadership trajectory across all settings. This program incorporates the ongoing changes in the healthcare system. The Essentials of the Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN), Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) competencies are embedded across the program. Graduates are prepared to take the leadership certification exam offered through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or AONL. The target population for this program are masters-prepared nurses who aim to attain the highest levels of excellence. The Program is designed to accommodate full-time practice. Students meet for two remote weekend classes per semester. Classes are asynchronous over a 15 week semester. Class times for weekend courses vary by course. Additional individual or class meetings will be determined by course faculty. The weekend schedule for the whole program is released upon admission.

Curriculum: The post-master's D.N.P. leadership program is 42 credits. Applications are accepted in both fall and spring semesters on a rolling basis.

The following are the required courses for this program:

DNP Core Courses

NURS 6010 - Clinical Scholarship (2)
NURS 6060 - Clinical Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice (3)
NURS 6930 - Information Technology for Evidence-Based Practice (3)
NURS 6980 - Epidemiology and Population Health (3)
NURS 6020 - Management and Analysis of Health Data for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (3)
NURS 6780 - Healthcare Economics and Business Practices (3)
NURS 6940 - Evidence Translation and Implementation Science (3)
NURS 6030 - DNP Project Planning and Proposal Development (3)*
NURS 6031 - DNP Project Implementation (2)*
NURS 6032 - DNP Project Evaluation and Dissemination (2)*

Supplemental Courses

CLDR 6510 - Managing Human Capital (3)
CLDR 6400 - Leadership Across the Continuum Theory (3) (35 project hours)
CLDR 6420 - Organizational Complexity Theory (3) (35 project hours)
CLDR 6440 - Quality and Safety in Health Care Theory (3) (35 project hours)
CLDR 6460 - Creating and Sustaining Quality Organizations Theory (3) (35 project hours)

In addition to the successful completion of the above course requirements, all DNP students must meet all the DNP project requirements set forth by the program.

*A student who does not complete their DNP project during the project-related courses will be registered for a 1-credit project continuation course in subsequent semesters until the project is complete.

The minimum number of combined practicum and DNP project experience hours is 1000. A gap analysis will be completed by the specialty director upon admission to determine how many hours are required.