Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Nursing Leadership

Program Contact: Carolyn Bradley, 203-582-7975

The Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is for master's prepared nurses who want to further their skills in using evidence to change practice. In addition to the DNP core classes, students take select classes in a leadership specialty as well as electives supporting their career goals. To enhance learning, students participate in 480 hours of field experience related to their interest in nursing leadership. A total of 1000 hours are required for the DNP degree which includes hours from the master’s degree. For anyone bringing in fewer than 520 hours from the master’s degree, NUR 821 may be taken for additional fieldwork hours. Post-master’s applicants are required to provide a letter from their prior master’s program detailing the total number of supervised clinical hours they completed as part of that program. Download the form (PDF). 

Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Nursing Leadership Program

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Course Listing
Core Courses:
NUR 514	Epidemiology and Population Health	2
NUR 516	Health Policy and Organizational Systems	2
NUR 602	Principles of Ethical Theory in Nursing	1
DNP Project Courses:
NUR 800	Evaluation and Synthesis of Scientific Evidence for Practice	2
NUR 810	Clinical Scholarship and Inquiry in Nursing	2
NUR 810PBL	DNP Project I	2
NUR 812	Leadership and Collaboration for Change in Health Care	2
NUR 812PBL	DNP Project II	2
NUR 814PBL	DNP Project Continuation Based Health Care	1
Leadership Track Courses:
NUR 813	Nursing Leadership Seminar: Applying Data to Practice	2
NUR 815	Nursing Leadership Seminar and Fieldwork Experience: Safety and Legal Contexts of Health Care	3
NUR 817	Nursing Leadership Fellowship: Relationship Management and Strategic Leadership	3
Elective Courses		6
NUR 821	Post-Master's Additional Graduate Clinical As needed to reach 1000 hours	0-4
Total Credits		30-34

Curriculum Note:

Sample curriculum, 30 credits required.

Students take electives to complete 30 credits required for the degree. 

The semester-by-semester Learning Pathway for this program is available in the School of Nursing.

The curriculum for this program is subject to modification as deemed necessary by the nursing faculty to provide students with the most meaningful educational experience and to remain current with professional standards and guidelines.

Student Learning Outcomes

The objectives of the DNP program are designed to prepare graduates for advanced nursing practice who are capable of providing holistic health care for diverse individuals, families or populations in a variety of settings. Specifically, the program seeks to produce graduates who:

1. Demonstrate clinical reasoning through an understanding of science and evidence-based practice.
2. Design, implement and evaluate quality improvement initiatives across the systems in which health care is delivered.
3. Analyze and critique the available evidence for best practices in healthcare.
4. Apply technology and information fluency to conduct practice inquiry.
5. Advocate for rational health policies to improve patient care and enhance effective use of resources.
6. Demonstrate leadership through interprofessional collaboration to improve patient and population health outcomes.
7. Direct health promotion and disease prevention efforts to improve patient and population health outcomes.
8. Provide competent, culturally sensitive and ethically based care to individuals and/or populations in a defined specialty of advanced nursing practice.

Admission Requirements

An applicant to the post-master’s programs must have a master’s degree in nursing or a related field. Applicants should submit the following to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. A completed admissions application including a resume and a personal statement addressing the following:
   1. professional goals and motivations
   2. a nursing experience that has influenced or shaped your practice
   3. a healthcare problem that interests you for potential doctoral study.
2. Official transcripts from all schools previously attended.
3. Official recent results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for international applicants.
4. Two letters of recommendation from persons with authority to evaluate your professional ability.
5. Proof of current licensure or eligibility for licensure as a registered nurse.
6. Letter from applicant’s prior master’s program detailing the number of supervised clinical hours completed as part of that program.

Candidates applying for full-time admission for the fall term must submit a completed application by July 1.

All accepted students will be required to complete a background check and urine drug screen following acceptance and before the start of classes. Acceptance will be conditional until satisfactory completion of both.

Progression Requirements

Students are expected to take courses in the order they are presented on the curriculum pathways. Any student wishing to take a course out of sequence must seek permission from the graduate program director. 

According to Quinnipiac University policy, all graduate students are expected to maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. Full-time graduate students are required to achieve a 3.00 GPA each semester. Part-time graduate students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 upon completion of 9 credits and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 thereafter. The grading scale of the Graduate Nursing Program is consistent with that of the university.

A student who earns less than a B minus grade in any nursing course will not progress into the next semester. The student is allowed to repeat the course once at Quinnipiac University provided that the course and the subsequent curriculum sequence are offered and must achieve a B minus or better. The student must achieve a minimum grade of a B minus in all subsequent nursing courses. Failure to meet this requirement will result in dismissal from the program. A student who earns unsatisfactory grades (grade of less than B minus) in two or more nursing courses in any semester is not eligible to repeat the courses and will be required to withdraw from the program.

A student who receives a grade of Incomplete (I) in any nursing course must meet all course requirements for conversion to a grade before the start of the subsequent semester.

For post-master’s students, transfer students or students returning from an elective leave of absence during their course of study, selected courses must have been completed within five years.

At the end of each semester, the program director reviews the cumulative GPA and academic record of graduate nursing students. The graduate nursing program director will notify both the associate dean and the student, in writing, of the student’s failure to meet the academic requirements. Students who are performing at an unsatisfactory level will be: a) placed on probation; b) suspended; or c) dismissed. Students placed on academic probation remain in their program but must take specified corrective action to meet program performance standards. Students should meet with their advisers to identify learning strategies to help them accomplish these goals and the student should draft a list or narrative of these strategies, which will serve as a learning contract. A copy of this contract will be placed in the student’s folder and should be reviewed periodically with their adviser. Students must demonstrate a significantly increased GPA at the end of that semester in order to continue in the program. Students placed on suspension may also need to take specified actions as directed by the academic dean, program director or academic adviser.

Appeal Process

1. A student wishing to appeal a progression decision must write a letter via email to the director of the appropriate graduate nursing program within one week of receiving notice of their inability to progress.
2. Appeals will be considered by a Progression Appeals Committee chaired by the associate dean. Results will be communicated in writing to the student via email.
3. A student wishing to appeal a course grade should follow the grade appeal process.