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Nurses in advanced nursing practice roles must have forward-thinking clinical expertise and systems leadership skills at their command to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based practice changes. Accomplishing this goal requires the application of health policy, informatics, population health, and business practices to the care of individuals, families, and communities. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a terminal degree designed to prepare nurses in advanced nursing practice roles to meet the nation's increasingly complex health care needs.
Outcome competencies for the DNP program are derived from The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN, 2006). Upon completion of the DNP program, graduates will be able to:
WilmU's DNP program delivers an innovative curriculum emphasizing evidence-based practice and interdisciplinary collaboration among clinicians, health systems, community leaders, and policy makers. Students learn to utilize both theory and evidence-based data to promote the highest level of professional nursing practice. To best serve working professionals, WilmU offers flexible schedules that enable students to balance work, personal, and educational commitments. To that end, full-time, part-time, 100% online, and hybrid options are available.
The Advanced Practice Concentration (for licensed Advanced Practice Registered Nurses) can be completed full-time in 18-20 months (5 semesters), culminating with a 9-credit, evidence-based practice doctoral project. Core courses are offered two (2) at a time in 7-week blocks. The DNP project courses are offered one (1) at a time in 15-week semesters.
Advanced Practice Concentration students also have the option to complete the DNP program part-time in 28 months (7 semesters), culminating with a 9-credit, evidence-based practice doctoral project. Core courses are offered one (1) at a time in 7-week blocks. The DNP project courses are offered one (1) at a time in 15-week semesters.
Leadership Concentration students (nurse leaders not licensed as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) may complete the DNP program part-time in 28 months (7 semesters), culminating with a 9-credit, evidence-based practice doctoral project. Core courses are offered one (1) at a time in 7-week blocks. Experiential engagement courses are offered one (1) at a time in 15-week semesters. The DNP project courses are offered one (1) at a time in 15-week semesters.
The DNP program is offered in two formats: (1) 100% online to provide the most flexibility for students. Two optional online synchronous course meetings are offered during each course to facilitate student and faculty interaction. There are no on campus residency requirements and students have the option to present their final doctoral project virtually or on campus. (2) Hybrid with weekend intensives in Delaware. The hybrid option requires one weekend of on-site classes per course. Online cohorts begin every Spring, Summer and Fall. Weekend intensive hybrid cohorts begin every Fall and Spring.
Students must earn a B or better in all DNP courses, maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher, and complete all degree requirements within five (5) years. If less than a B is earned in a DNP course, students may re-take the course one (1) time and a maximum of two (2) courses may be repeated. Continuous enrollment is required during the DNP Project phase of the program (DNP 8000, DNP 8001, DNP 8002 and DNP 8004 as needed).
The DNP program exists within a framework of professional, academic rigor that requires planning, implementing, and evaluating an evidence-based practice doctoral project. The DNP Project highlights the scholarly contribution of DNP-prepared nurses to the ever-changing health care landscape. Students will identify a pertinent topic to address through a clinical practice change, most commonly within their workplace. The project begins in DNP 8000: DNP Project I and culminates with completion in DNP 8002: DNP Project III. The final project manuscript details the nature and scope of the project, and students are required to disseminate their findings to the health care community. Students are encouraged to individualize their project toward their career focus as a DNP-prepared nurse and will be assigned to a DNP faculty advisor who will serve as the DNP Project Advisor, providing guidance throughout the three sequential semesters of project completion. The DNP Project Team will be mutually agreed upon between the student and faculty advisor.
Interested candidates must have a master's degree with current national board certification as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwife, Nurse Anesthetist, Clinical Nurse Specialist).
The DNP is a rigorous, practice-leadership focused degree. Experiential engagement experiences afford students the opportunity to synthesize and utilize theory and evidence-based data to promote the highest quality of care at an advanced level of professional nursing practice. Students currently licensed as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse will complete five hundred (500) experiential engagement hours aligned with the AACN DNP Essentials (2006). Doctoral faculty will provide oversight and guidance while students work closely with a doctorally-prepared experiential engagement mentor.
The DNP curriculum builds upon master's preparation for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. Students will complete core courses taught by scholar practitioners in preparation for a year-long DNP Project designed to translate evidence to clinical practice. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses are required to complete 33 credits and 500 experiential engagement hours. The program must be completed in five years.
DNP 8000 Doctor of Nursing Practice Project I (145 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 8001 Doctor of Nursing Practice Project II (150 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 8002 Doctor of Nursing Practice Project III (150 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 7000 Bioethics for Advanced Nursing Practice
DNP 7101 Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice
DNP 7103 Population Health (20 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 7104 Politics and Policy in the Healthcare System
DNP 7105 Healthcare Economics
DNP 7106 Healthcare Informatics
DNP 7108 QI and Systems Thinking in Healthcare (35 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 7107 Applied Evidence-Based Practice
This course must be taken immediately prior to DNP 8000.
Interested candidates must have a master’s degree in nursing or a related field (i.e. MBA, MHA, MPH). Exceptionally qualified candidates are employed in an area of advanced nursing practice (i.e. informatics, executive leadership, health policy, or population health). National board certification (i.e. NE-BC, NEA-BC, CNML, CPHQ) for nurse leaders is recommended, but not required.
The DNP is a rigorous, practice-leadership focused degree. Experiential engagement experiences afford students the opportunity to synthesize and utilize theory and evidence-based data to promote the highest quality of care at an advanced level of professional nursing practice. Leadership students will complete one thousand (1,000) experiential engagement hours aligned with the AACN DNP Essentials (2006) and AONL Nurse Executive Competencies (2015). Doctoral faculty will provide oversight and guidance while students work closely with a doctorally-prepared experiential engagement mentor. Nurse leaders may be awarded credit for practicum/clinical hours completed during coursework.
The DNP curriculum builds upon master's preparation for nurses prepared in an advanced nursing practice specialty. All students take eight (8) core courses and four (4) experiential engagement courses taught by scholar practitioners in preparation for a year-long DNP project designed to translate evidence to clinical practice. Nurse Leaders are required to complete 45 credits and 1,000 experiential engagement hours. The program must be completed in five years.
DNP 9001 Doctor of Nursing Practice Experiential Engagement I (125 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 9002 Doctor of Nursing Practice Experiential Engagement II (125 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 9003 Doctor of Nursing Practice Experiential Engagement III (125 Experiential Engagement hours)
DNP 9004 Doctor of Nursing Practice Experiential Engagement IV (125 Experiential Engagement hours)
This information applies to students who enter this degree program during the 2023-2024 Academic Year. If you entered this degree program before the Fall 2022 semester, please refer to the academic catalog for the year you began your degree program.
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