DNP Programs in North Carolina

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Duke University offers three pathways to the DNP degree: BSN - DNP, MSN - DNP, and Ph.D. - DNP. Students admitted to the BSN - DNP program can choose Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthesia as their advanced practice specialty area. U.S. News and World Report (2016) ranks the university's School of Nursing as #3 in the country for Anesthesia Education. Upon completing the program, students are awarded both an MSN and a DNP degree. Applicants interested in the MSN - DNP and the Ph.D. - DNP pathways should have a master's degree in an advanced practice specialty. For the 2016 academic year, the school will award one 75 percent tuition merit scholarship and five 20 percent tuition merit scholarships.

East Carolina University's DNP program is offered in a hybrid format. Students are only required to attend on-campus sessions for two to three days at the beginning of each semester. There are two pathways leading to the DNP degree - BSN to DNP and post-master's DNP. The BSN to DNP program allows students to choose between an advanced nursing practice specialty focus in Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) or Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). The post-master's DNP program considers applicants who already have their MSN and are credentialed in an APRN role (Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Midwifery, Nurse Anesthesia, or Nurse Practitioner). Both programs can be pursued on a part-time or full-time basis. Students must complete a DNP Scholarly Project to graduate.

Students accepted to the post-master's Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Gardner-Webb University can choose from the following two areas of specialization: Advanced Practice Leadership and Educational Leadership. The program is presented in an executive format, with students required to attend only a few scheduled on-campus sessions per semester. The remainder of the program, including lectures, presentations, and writing assignments, are delivered online. The DNP curriculum covers topics such as epidemiology, informatics, nursing theory, nursing education or administration, policy, research, and statistics. The programs offered by the School of Nursing at Gardner-Webb University are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc.

The UNC-Chapel Hill DNP program is CCNE-accredited and offered as a campus-based program. Most of the courses however, have an online component and delivered in a hybrid format. Students entering through the BSN to DNP pathway can select the Healthcare Systems option, which prepares them for roles that support clinical practice, such as nurse administrators. Another BSN to DNP option prepares students to be nurse practitioners in the following APN areas: Adult/Gerontology NP, Family NP, Psychiatric Mental Health NP, Pediatric NP, and Health Care Systems (Administration, Outcomes Management, and Informatics). There is also an MSN to DNP pathway for RNs who are already prepared as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, registered nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse administrators, or health care systems leaders.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Western Carolina University offer a post-master's Doctor of Nursing Practice dual program. Delivered in a hybrid format, the dual DNP program can be completed with five semesters of continuous enrollment. Students are required to attend on-campus immersion sessions of less than one week at the beginning of each semester. The curriculum includes courses such as: Healthcare Program Evaluation and Quality, Global Health and Social Justice, Technology for Communicating and Transforming Healthcare, and Community Epidemiology. The culminating experience of the program is the completion and defense of a DNP Scholarly Project, which must also be prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

There are two pathways to the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The post-baccalaureate option is offered as a full-time program that can be completed with seven semesters of continuous enrollment. It has two areas of concentration: Nurse Anesthesia and Adult/Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. The post-master's DNP program has the same concentration areas and includes a third option - Executive Leadership. UNCG's DNP program is offered on-site. Both the post-baccalaureate and post-master's nurse anesthesia concentrations are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. Students are required to complete a Translational Project in order to graduate from the DNP program.

Winston-Salem State University offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice program with a clinical focus in the Family Nurse Practitioner area of specialization. The program is open to both post-baccalaureate (BSN to DNP) and post-master's (BSN to DNP) applicants. It typically takes three years (six semester and two summers) of continuous, full-time enrollment to complete the BSN to DNP program. The MSN to DNP option generally takes 18 months (four semesters) to complete if pursued on a full-time basis. Part-time plans of study are also available. Many of the courses for the MSN to DNP program are delivered using an executive model. Face-to-face meetings are scheduled four times each semester, and the remainder of the coursework and requirements are completed online.