Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Requirements for 2025-2026

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Post-master’s candidates are required to successfully complete a minimum of 33 credit hours, 1,000 hours of advanced practice clinical hours, and a DNP Scholarly project.

Requirements

Credit hours for each course are indicated in parentheses after the course title.

Scholarship Core - 24 credits

  • GNUR 701 - Applications of Nursing Science (3)
  • GNUR 702 - Advanced Evidenced-Based Practice & Research  (3)
  • GNUR 704 - Informatics and Healthcare Technologies (3)
  • GNUR 706 - Health Care Delivery Systems, Policy & Law (3)
  • GNUR 707 - Population Health: Biostatistics and Epidemiology (3)
  • GNUR 708 - Complex Systems and Leadership (3)
  • GNUR 710 - Complex and Vulnerable Populations Health (3)
  • GNUR 712 - Clinical Inquiry for Outcomes Evaluation & Policy Development (3)

DNP Clinical Core - 9 credits

  • GNUR 709 - Doctor of Nursing Practice Role and Project Development I (3)
  • GNUR 713 - Doctor of Nursing Practice Role and Project Development II (3)
  • GNUR 714 - Doctor of Nursing Practice Role Development and Project Defense (3)

Total: 33 credits

Progression Policy

All students matriculating into the Wegmans School of Nursing program are required to maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 (B) in the graduate nursing program for progression.

  • Graduate students must receive a grade of “B” or higher in all graduate coursework (GNUR and/or GMHC) related to their program of study. If the student does not achieve a grade of "B" or higher on the second attempt, the student will not be allowed to progress and will be dismissed from the program.
  • Failing two GNUR courses or one GNUR course twice will result in dismissal from the program. (a grade of "U" or a grade less than a B is equivalent to a course failure).
  • Students who are required to repeat course work cannot progress in the program until they have successfully completed the repeated course.

Clinical Learning Experiences

The graduate student completes all clinical courses as precepted practicum experiences. The NP programs have a total of 600 clinical hours; the CNS program has a total of 500 clinical hours. Due to the demand for preceptors and clinical course progression, the Wegmans School of Nursing cannot permit students to take more than one clinical course/semester. It is the policy of the graduate nursing program that the student's clinical learning experiences are separate and apart from his or her position of employment. Precepted clinical experiences are in a wide variety of health care agencies. Students are required to sign a clinical attestation form that communicates their understanding of the clinical placement process.

Note: A minimum of 50 percent of the clinical hours for primary care program students must be in primary care settings. Students in primary programs are not permitted to complete clinical hours in an acute hospital setting.

Grading Scale for Nursing Programs

  • A (95–100)
  • A- (90–94)
  • B+ (87–89)
  • B (84–86)*
  • B- (80–83)
  • C+ (77–79)
  • C (74–76)
  • C- (72–74)
  • F (73 and below)
  • FA- (failure due to absence)

Note: Graduate students are expected to maintain a "B" average overall. Failure to do so will result in being placed on academic probation.

Note: The program requirements listed are for the current academic year. Past and future program requirements may differ. Visit the catalog website to access current and past catalogs.