Best DNP Programs In Chicago 2026

• CCNE-accredited
• Public
• Doctorate (professional)

Illinois Chicago admits once a year, in fall, and that single intake is the first thing to plan around. The degree runs anywhere from two to six years depending on focus area, entry route and whether you study full or part time. From a master’s it is usually two to four. From a BSN it is 77 credit hours. Delivery is hybrid in the real sense rather than the marketing one, with some courses online, some blended and some on campus. The clinical requirement is 1,000 practicum hours, and in the adult-gerontology acute care focus 675 of those sit inside the specialty itself. One structural point: the college charges the same per-credit rate to residents and non-residents, so an Illinois address does not change what you pay.

In-State Tuition

$12,789

Out-Of-State

$28,849

DNP Awards

102

UG Completion

62%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private for-profit
• Doctorate (professional)
• Offered online

Chamberlain runs its DNP fully online and puts the shortest route at two years. It describes itself as the largest DNP program in the country by total graduates, which is its own claim rather than a federal one. The rule to check before you apply concerns the master’s you already hold. If you have a BSN plus a graduate degree in a field other than nursing, you must transfer in or complete at least six designated Chamberlain courses, 18 credit hours in all, before you can be admitted to the doctorate at all. That is a semester of work most applicants do not budget for. Focus areas then sit on top of the core as two elective leadership courses each.

In-State Tuition

$20,213

Out-Of-State

$20,213

DNP Awards

588

UG Completion

42%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (professional)

Rush prices its DNP in time rather than in one number, and the three entry points are genuinely different lengths. From a BSN it runs about three and two-thirds years. From a master’s in a non-APRN role it is three years, and from a master’s as a practicing APRN it is two. The clinical practicum follows the same logic: 756 hours from a BSN or a non-APRN master’s, and between 500 and 756 for an APRN, settled by a gap analysis of what you already hold. Nurse anesthesia ignores all of that at 36 months for everyone whatever they enter with, and it is accredited by the COA rather than CCNE, re-accredited in 2025 and running to 2035.

In-State Tuition

$33,751

Out-Of-State

$33,751

DNP Awards

227

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (professional)

DePaul teaches the whole doctorate online and asynchronously, so there is no scheduled class time to work a roster around, and it reviews applications on a rolling basis rather than holding everything to a single date. Admission conditions change by track, which makes the concentration page the one to read rather than the program page. The nurse practitioner track takes both BSN- and MSN-prepared applicants, and whichever you hold has to come from a program accredited by CCNE, ACEN or CNEA. The university says it recently put more than forty million dollars into College of Science and Health facilities, including a rebuilt nursing simulation lab. Its doctoral output sits in the upper third of accredited institutions nationally, so the online cohort is a real one rather than a side offering.

In-State Tuition

$44,601

Out-Of-State

$44,601

DNP Awards

36

UG Completion

68%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (other)
• Offered online

Lewis runs four clinical practitioner tracks from a bachelor’s, adult-gerontology acute and primary care, family, and psychiatric mental health, plus a leadership track for people not heading into direct practice. The delivery split rewards a close read. Coursework is online, but annual immersion events and the health assessment labs happen at the Oak Brook location, and the residency and project implementation courses happen in person at whichever practice setting you use. So this degree takes place in three different kinds of place, not one. If Oak Brook is a long trip for you, that annual commitment is the thing to price before applying, because it repeats every year rather than happening once.

In-State Tuition

$38,800

Out-Of-State

$38,800

DNP Awards

5

UG Completion

67%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (professional)

Valparaiso teaches the coursework asynchronously online and keeps the clinical training in person, which is the standard honest arrangement rather than a claim of a fully remote doctorate. Two paths run, one from a bachelor’s and one from a master’s. The university files its doctorate under a family nurse practitioner specialty, so the clinical destination is primary care across the lifespan rather than a systems or leadership role. This is a small private university and the doctoral output reflects it, so expect a cohort measured in single figures and faculty with room to accommodate individual pacing.

In-State Tuition

$46,940

Out-Of-State

$46,940

DNP Awards

7

UG Completion

70%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (research)
• Offered online

Loyola attaches a certification condition to its acute care route that catches people out: every adult-gerontology acute care practitioner and clinical nurse specialist student has to obtain CCRN certification before clinical work starts. That is an exam to sit and pass on top of the application, and recent intensive care experience as a registered nurse is required to get in at all. Plan for both. The school also runs an oncology certificate alongside its other post-graduate certificates, which is a specialization few nursing schools staff. Applications to the certificate programs are accepted at any time for an upcoming open term rather than against a single annual deadline, which makes starting easier to time around work.

In-State Tuition

$52,230

Out-Of-State

$52,230

DNP Awards

6

UG Completion

73%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (other)
• Offered online

Saint Francis runs a 32-credit post-master’s doctorate online, taught in eight-week cycles with a new cohort starting every fall. Eight-week blocks mean fewer courses at once and each one finished faster, which is the structural reason this fits around a roster. The core carries two residency courses rather than one, so the doctoral work is split across terms instead of landing all at the end. An optional education concentration exists for people who intend to teach, and it adds a four-credit nursing education practicum. Admission wants a master’s in nursing and a 3.0 grade point average. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredits the college’s programs.

In-State Tuition

$38,110

Out-Of-State

$38,110

DNP Awards

1

UG Completion

67%

• CCNE-accredited
• Private nonprofit
• Doctorate (professional)

North Park runs its doctorate as a post-graduate program for nurses who already hold a master’s, and it is a light one: 33 credits across 12 courses, a minimum of 350 practicum hours, and five semesters end to end. The courses are online and written around people who are still working, so the practicum is the part that has to fit around a job rather than the coursework. Thirty-three credits is at the low end for a nursing doctorate, which is what a post-graduate route looks like once a master’s has covered the clinical core. This is a small private university in Chicago conferring only a handful of nursing doctorates a year, so expect a cohort you can count rather than a program with several tracks running at once.

In-State Tuition

$36,070

Out-Of-State

$36,070

DNP Awards

1

UG Completion

58%