Are you a Registered Nurse or Advanced Practice Nurse in Pennsylvania? If so then you should consider yourself lucky. The Keystone State has more colleges and universities with nationally accredited Doctor of Nursing Practice degree programs than any other state in the US. So RNs and APNs looking for a DNP program in Pennsylvania have many more options than nurses in other states.
Carlow University’s School of Nursing offers the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree designed to prepare nurses for leadership roles in evidenced-based advanced practice.
The 30 credit hour program is taugh in a hybrid format, combining online and on campus requirements. Students are required to attend sessions on the Oakland campus an average of two Saturdays per term. Students can complete the program in twenty months by taking 2-3 classes per term.
Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as a Master’s degree in Nursing or other related discipline with a 3.0 or higher graduate GPA. Prospective students must have a current, unencumbered license as an RN. They must also have 1,000 hours of professional nursing practice within the laste 3 years or national certification in an advanced practice specialty area.
Chatham University’s College of Continuing & Professional Studies offers a CCNE accredited Doctor of Nursing Practice program that is an MSN to DNP pathway.Graduates are prepared to function in clinical and executive leadership nursing roles.
Chatham’s DNP program is a 27 credit hour program offered on both a part-time and full-time basis. Students can complete the program in 3-5 semesters.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions is unique in that it combines a practice -focused doctoral education of a typical DNP with clinical research training and practicum of a typical PhD. The program is a post-Master’s pathway to a DNP.
Applicants are required to hold a Master’s degree in Nursing. They must be licensed as a registered nurse. They must also be certified and licensed as an advanced parctice nurse.
Duquesne University’s School of Nursing offers a post-Master’s pathway to a Doctor in Nursing Practice degree.
DU’s DNP program is offered only on a full-time enrollment basis. Students enter the program with a cohort and progress together sequentially through the program plan.
Courses are taught online. Just like face-to-face courses, they have a syllabus, weekly assignments, projects, papers, and tests. DNP students are, however, required to be on campus one week each spring for residency.
Applicants are required to hold a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing as well as a Master’s degree (preferably a Master of Science in Nursing). They must have an unencumbered license as an RN. Where applicable (based on specialty area) they may also be required to hold a legal certification in an advanced role as is the case with Nurse Practitioners.
Robert Morris University offers two pathways to a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. They offer a BSN to DNP pathway as well as the typical post-Master’s pathway which they refer to as their “DNP Completion Program”.
The program requires 80-86 credit hourse and 1,200-1368 clinical hours, depending on the specialty role selected. It can be completed either as a full-time, accelerated part-time, or part-time enrolled student.
Full-time students can complete the program in about 3 years (8 semesters). Accelerated part-time students can complete it in four years.
Applicants to the BSN to DNP pathway must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from an accredited program with an undergraduate GPA of 3.25 and/or acceptable GRE scores. Prospective students must have an unencumbered RN license with at least one year of experiences working as an RN.
The post-Master’s DNP Completion Program is designed for Master’s prepared advanced practice nurses. It can be completed in 2.5 years or 7 semesters by taking one or two courses per semester.
Courses are completed primarily online. However, a one week (5 day) on campus intensive classroom session is required each semester.
Applicants to the post-Master’s DNP Completion Program muse have both a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing as well as a Master’s degree in Nursing. Both degrees must be from an accredited program. The student’s minimum graduate GPA must be 3.25 or better on a 4.0 scale. Prospective students must be licensed as an RN and both certified and licensed as an advanced practice nurse in a specialty role such as Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Midwife, or Nurse Anesthetist.
Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson School of Nursing offers a CCNE accredited Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. It is a post-Master’s DNP program.
Applicants to the DNP program must have a Master’s degree in Nursing from an accredited program with a graduate GPA of 3.2 or higher. Those applicants who cannot meet the 3.2 GPA requirement can submit GRE scores for the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections for consideration. Prospective students must have an RN license. They must also be certified in an advanced nursing practice specialty.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program offered by University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing prepares nursing leaders as experts in clinical nursing practice. The school offers two pathways to a DNP degree: the BSN to DNP pathway and the post-Master’s DNP Completion pathway.
Obviously, the BSN to DNP program requires that applicants hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The degree must be from an NLNAC or CCNE accredited program, and the student must a “competitive” GPA. Prospective students must be licensed as an RN in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the state/territory in which they place to meet the clinical practice requirements prior to enrolling in clinical courses. BSN to DNP applicants are also required to submit GRE scores.
Admission to the post-Masters program is open to advanced practice nurses and nurse administrators who hold a Master’s degree in Nursing from an NLNAC or CCNE accredit program. RNs with a PhD degree are also eligible for admission into the program. Applicants must have a Master’s degree in the DNP are track being pursued. Otherwise, if they plan to pursue a new area offered within the post-Master’s program then they will be required to cmoplete relevant Master’s level courses in that new area of specialty.
Waynesburg University offers of Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program to students interested in careers as nurse executives in health care systems. It is offered as a post-Masters program.
The DNP program requires 36 credit hours for completion. The degree is offered at three suburban Pitsburgh locations – Monroeville, Southpointe, and North Hills. Cohorts meet at one of those three centers based on the location of the students admitted. Each course will meet at these locations one weekend every other month throughout the semester.
Applicant’s must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as a Master’s of Science in Nursing or another graduate degree (evaluated on an individual basis). The student must have a graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Advanced practice nurses must be nationally certified or show proof of at least 500 hours of clinical practice during their MSN advanced practice nursing program.
Widener University’s School of Nursing offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. There are two pathways to the DNP: an MSN Completion (Level I) pathway and a post-Master’s (Level II) pathway.
The program is offered on both a full-time or part-time basis. Courses are offered in a blended format combining online course work with classroom instruction.
Students are also required to perform between between 500 and 672 clinical hours. Graduates of the Level I program will be prepared to site for national certification in the chosen advanced practice specialty role. Once the Level I requirements are met, students in this program will move on to complete Level II for their DNP.
Students in post-Masters Level II program are required to complete 37 credit hours and 560 clinical hours. Students may enter directly into the Level II program if they have earned a Master of Science in Nursing degree and hold a nation certification as a Clinical Nurse Specialist or Nurse Practitioner.
Wilkes University offers its Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program to nurses seeing a practice-focused terminal degree in preparation for a nursing leadership role in tomorrow’s health care system. WU offers two pathways to the DNP degree: a post-Baccalaureate and a post-Master’s DNP pathway.
The program is offered on both a full-time and part-time basis. Even as a part-time student, one can complete the degree in about five year. Students in the program will be prepared to sit for national certification as advance practice nurses.
The post-Master’s DNP program is open to students with a Master’s degree in an advanced practice specialty role. Those students are required to complete 30 credit hours at the doctoral level. Students with a Master’s degree without an advanced practice specialty will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and additional credits will be required.
York College of Pennsylvania’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program prepares nurse experts as leaders in health care delivery. Their program is a post-Master’s program.
The DNP program requires 35-39 credit hours taught over 6 consecutive semesters. YCP utilizes an executive format including one week-long intensive class and then one weekday class five or six times per semester.