Credits Breakdowns
General
Education
78
Credits
There are 78 credit hours in the specialty with additional direct and indirect practice hours.
Program Curriculum for the Doctor of Nursing Practice
You may apply a maximum of 42 graduate credits toward the required 78 hours for the degree. The USI DNP curriculum is built upon three distinct areas of graduate nursing content as determined by the AACN Essentials document. You can then choose one of the two specialty tracks: Advanced Nursing Practice or Organizational and Systems Leadership. In both tracks, the plan of study includes the same 12 required DNP courses. Assignments within each course, in addition to the DNP project, will focus topics consistent with each track.
Visit the 2024-2025 Graduate Bulletin for a full course listing.
The online graduate nursing programs are limited to working with certain states in the U.S. only. Moving into a state not recognized by the graduate nursing program will lead to inability to continue in graduate nursing coursework. The exception to this is active military status. Click here to see your availability.
We offer synchronous online intensives twice a year and accept up to 42 credit hours from your MSN to help accelerate your DNP.
Admission Requirements:
- Completed master's degree in nursing from a nationally-accredited nursing program and a regionally-accredited college or university.
- Earned graduate program GPA of 3.0 based on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent.
- Satisfactorily completed a course in graduate research (grade of B or better).
- Complete application file.
- International students may be required to supply additional information as outlined by the School of Graduate Studies.
- Faculty may request an interview with an applicant.
Handbooks
These handbooks are a compilation of selected policies and guidelines for the College of Nursing and Health Professions and those seeking a Graduate Nursing degree.
CNHP Handbook
Graduate Nursing Handbook
