Best DNP Programs

Resources

19 reference pages about the Doctor of Nursing Practice. Not news and not posts, so nothing here goes stale in a week.

Guides To The Degree

What a DNP is, how you get one, and whether you need it. The questions a working nurse is weighing at eleven at night, which all have factual answers.

  • The Degree Start here

    The DNP Project

    Team or solo, who finds your site and mentor, whether it needs IRB review, and whether continuation credits are charged when the project runs long.

  • The Degree

    What Is A DNP?

    A DNP is the practice-focused terminal degree in nursing. What it is, how it differs from a PhD and a nurse practitioner license, and what it requires.

  • The Degree

    How To Become A DNP

    How to become a DNP: how long a DNP program takes from a BSN or an MSN, the requirements, the 1,000 practice hours, and why the degree is not the license.

  • The Degree

    Is A DNP A Doctor?

    A DNP holds a doctorate and is not a physician. What the title means academically, what it does not mean clinically, and why some states legislate on it.

  • The Degree

    DNP vs NP

    A DNP is an academic degree; nurse practitioner is a licensed role. What that means for scope, pay and whether the doctorate is worth it.

  • The Degree

    DNP vs PhD

    The DNP applies research to practice; the PhD produces it. How the coursework, the capstone, the funding and the career destinations differ.

Guides To The Landscape

Accreditation, specialty tracks, prescriptive authority and how people pay for the degree. Written from the same dataset the rankings are built on.

  • The landscape

    What CCNE Accreditation Actually Means

    CCNE accreditation is what lets a graduate sit the certification exam. What it covers, the two term lengths, and why it is not the only accreditor.

  • The landscape

    DNP Specialties, And What Each One Leads To

    The DNP specialties in the accredited dataset, how many programs each track holds, which ones need a different accreditor, and what each one leads to.

  • The landscape

    DNP vs DNAP For Nurse Anesthesia

    DNP vs DNAP: both titles lead to the same CRNA exam and license. How many programs award each, and the one accreditation difference between them.

  • The landscape

    DNP vs MD: Two Doctorates, Two Professions

    DNP vs MD: a nursing doctorate and a medical degree lead to different licenses. Training, residency, scope and federal pay data, compared side by side.

  • The landscape

    RN To DNP Programs: The Routes That Skip The BSN

    RN to DNP programs, checked: the accredited schools that admit nurses without a BSN, what each route passes through, and the paths most ADN nurses take.

  • The landscape

    DNP vs FNP: A Degree And A Certification

    DNP vs FNP: one is a degree, the other the family nurse practitioner certification. The four routes to FNP, what each board accepts, and BLS pay.

  • The landscape

    CRNA School Requirements, Program By Program

    CRNA school requirements from the programs’ own pages: minimum GPA, ICU experience, GRE, CCRN and shadowing, plus which programs set the lowest bars.

  • The landscape

    Can A DNP Prescribe Medication?

    A DNP does not carry prescriptive authority. Where it actually comes from, why the degree does not widen it, and what varies from state to state.

  • The landscape

    DNP Scholarships, Grants And Loan Repayment

    DNP scholarships are small next to the tuition bill. The federal loan repayment and forgiveness programs that move more money, and who qualifies.

Settled that you want the degree? The question becomes which programs, and what they cost.

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DNP Degree Programs

Schools pay to appear in these listings. They are separate from our rankings, which no school can pay to change.