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 MSN-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. Two, three, and four-year pathways are available to students in the program. To enhance learning, students participate in 500 hours of clinical practice in nursing leadership. A total of 1,000 hours are required for the DNP degree which includes hours from the master’s degree. For anyone bringing in fewer than 500 hours from the master’s degree, NUR 821 may be taken for additional clinical practice hours. 

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 Healthcare	2
NUR 812PBL	DNP Project II	2
NUR 814PBL	DNP Project III Based Healthcare	1
NUR 811PBL	DNP Project Continuation (if needed)	0-3
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 Healthcare	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		30-37

Curriculum Note:

Sample curriculum. Minimum of 30 credits required, including 6 credits of electives. 

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. Evaluate critical thinking and decisions of individuals and teams, leading actions to improve decision making and the use of high-quality information and evidence.
2. Role model adaptive thinking when faced with challenges by exhibiting expert flexibility, creativity, and critical analysis.
3. Advocate for ethical advanced nursing practice and adhere to ethical principles in the conduct and dissemination of scholarship.  
4. Evaluate equitable, holistic, person-centered, and evidence-informed care coordinated to improve the health of diverse communities and populations.
5. Evaluate and critique systems to create evidence-based interventions for delivery of safe, equitable, and high-quality care. 
6. Lead and participate in system-level change that utilizes individual, organizational, and community level data to deliver and direct innovative, holistic patient-centered care that improves health outcomes leveraging healthcare technologies and informatics. 
7. Role model holistic self-care practices that promote well-being, resilience, and lifelong learning of self and others in complex care environments and healthcare systems.
8. Model and mentor others in professional growth while leading strategic advocacy to shape health policy and transform care systems.

Admission Requirements

• At least one year of full-time RN or APRN experience (approximately 2000 hours).
• Earned BSN with 3.0 GPA
• Earned MSN with 3.0 GPA 
• Graduate statistics with grade B- or better (or conditional acceptance & take at Quinnipiac)

Applicants should submit the following to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Official transcripts from all schools previously attended.
2. Official recent results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for international applicants.
3. CV or resume. 
4. Copy of unencumbered and unrestricted RN or APRN license. 
5. Competitive applicants will provide a minimum of one reference from professional supervisors or faculty who can speak specifically to the applicant’s professionalism, strengths and opportunities, and an example of practice excellence. Please indicate the applicant's potential for doctoral level study.
6. Personal Statement (see application) 
7. Optional: Submission of publication or presentations (maximum of two) 

Applications for full-time and part-time study are accepted on a rolling basis. Final deadlines are generally two weeks prior to the start of classes. Applications are evaluated once all materials are received by Quinnipiac. Students are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible for their desired semester. Class sizes are limited.

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

After acceptance students must also submit an MSN Hours Verification Form from their MSN program indicating the total number of supervised clinical practice hours, if any, that they completed. Up to 500 hours are accepted. 

Note: For QU MSN NP graduates, no new admission application is required within a two-year period from MSN graduation. Contact the graduate program director to continue into the Post-Master’s DNP.

Transfer Credits

Graduate course credit completed with a grade of B or better at another regionally accredited institution may be considered for transfer credit in place of a similar course. Courses must be at the same level (i.e., an undergraduate course may not be transferred in place of a master's level course) and taken within the past five years. Transfer credit is granted upon admission to the program only. The course description and/or syllabus and a copy of the transcript with a request for transfer credit must be sent/emailed to the program director of the graduate nursing programs. 

Progression Requirements

Students are expected to take courses in the order they are presented on the curriculum pathways. 

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 nine credit hours 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 3.00 in a semester (after nine credits for part-time students) will be automatically placed on probation and must achieve both a semester and cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater in the following semester in order to progress in the program. Failure to achieve and maintain a semester and cumulative GPA of 3.00 in all following semesters results in dismissal from the program.

The minimum passing grade in nursing courses is a B minus (B-). A student who earns less than the minimum passing grade in one nursing course, but who has a semester GPA of at least 3.00, will be required to retake the course when it is offered again at Quinnipiac University. The student may not proceed into courses for which the deficient course is a prerequisite. Thus, the student will be placed in another student cohort and the student’s program completion date will be delayed. The student must achieve the minimum passing grade or better and must also achieve the minimal passing grade in all subsequent nursing courses. Failure to meet this requirement results in dismissal from the program.

A student who earns unsatisfactory grades in two or more nursing courses in any semester is not eligible to repeat the courses and will be dismissed from the program. At the end of each semester, the directors of the graduate nursing programs reviews the cumulative GPA and academic record of all graduate nursing students. The directors of the graduate nursing programs notifies both the senior associate dean and the student in writing, of the student’s failure to meet academic requirements. Students who are performing at an unsatisfactory level will be: a) placed on probation, b) suspended, or c) dismissed in accordance with the terms of the Academic Progression Policy. Students placed on academic probation remain in their program but must also complete a learning plan to help them achieve the academic standards of the School of Nursing. A copy of this learning plan, signed by the director of the graduate nursing program and the student, will be placed in the student’s file and should be reviewed periodically with the advisor. Students should meet with their advisors to identify learning strategies to help them accomplish the goals in the learning plan. In order to promote student success, students may be asked to audit courses if there has been an interruption to the continuity of their curriculum plan.

Clinical progression policy

In addition to course grade requirements, unsafe clinical practice and/or unprofessional conduct are grounds for failure in any clinical course and may result in immediate removal from the clinical site. Students who demonstrate unsafe or unprofessional conduct in a clinical practice site will undergo academic review and may be dismissed from the program.

Appeal Process

1. A student wishing to appeal a progression decision must write a letter via email to the appropriate program director within 5 business days of receiving notice of their inability to progress.
2. Appeals will be considered by a Progression Appeals Committee and chaired by the senior 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.