The overriding principle at the College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is that the essence of nursing lies in assisting individuals, families, and communities to achieve their optimum health. The graduate of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program will possess the knowledge and skills to perform in a leadership role in a variety of settings, including clinical, educational, and organizational. Rutgers offers two foci to the DNP: the clinical track and the administrative track. The health care delivery system in the United States requires doctorally-prepared, practice-focused practitioners that can effect change, provide strategic planning and program development, apply data management and informatics skills, translate research into evidence-based practice, influence health and social policy for diverse populations, and influence positive health care outcomes. If you believe that you could be one of these nurses, we invite you to apply to this program.

At the conclusion of the DNP program, the graduate will achieve the following program objectives and be able to:

1. Integrate biophysical, psychological, organizational, informatic, ethical, and legal knowledge with nursing science as a foundation for expert clinical nursing practice in a specific nursing clinical specialization.
2. Demonstrate accountability in specialty practice according to accepted standards of patient care and safety.
3. Translate research findings into evidence-based practice at the individual and health care system levels.
4. Use information technology to evaluate the delivery of health care to individuals and internal and community systems.
5. Effect desired change by developing and implementing policies at different levels of the health care system and with different constituencies.
6. Provide multidisciplinary leadership through analysis of critical indicators and/or health care delivery systems in order to provide optimal patient care and safety in a specific nursing clinical specialization.
7. Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in the planning and delivery of health and illness management in a specific nursing clinical specialization.

The initiation of this second nursing doctoral program will position Rutgers in the forefront of nursing education programs in the country. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2005) has predicted that all advanced practice clinical nursing masters programs will be eliminated by 2015 with the standard for advanced practice becoming the DNP; the PhD will remain the accepted degree for nurse researchers and faculty.

Admission and Application

Students in the DNP program represent a rich variety of clinical backgrounds and interests as do the faculty, yet they share several traits; they are critical thinkers, creative, and committed to the advancement of nursing practice in the delivery of care to individuals of all ages. The DNP degree is awarded through the Graduate School-Newark.

Prospective DNP nursing students are expected to meet the following requirements:

• Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program.
• Master’s degree with a major in nursing from a nationally accredited program.
• Grade-point average of 3.2 or higher (A=4.0) in master’s level courses.
• Satisfactory Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical and/or writing abilities). For information on the GRE exam, you may call the Educational Testing Service at 609/771-7670 or visit their website at http://www.gre.org.
• Applicants, whose native language is not English, must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and obtain a score of 550 or higher on the written examination or 213 or higher on the computerized examination.
• Personal interview (a telephone interview, when appropriate, can be arranged).
• Prerequisities: master’s level courses in theoretical foundations, nursing research, advanced pathophysiology, advanced health assessment, pharmacology, and a basic statistics course.
• Registered nurse licensure
• Certification in specialization is preferred.

The following documents must be included with the application:

• Curriculum vitae
• Two scholarly papers (published or unpublished) of which the applicant is the sole author
• Essay describing the student’s goals for doctoral study and career goals relative to advanced nursing practice
• Three letters of reference from professional sources (two must be from nurse academicians) that speak to the student’s ability to succeed in a doctoral program
• Two official transcripts of all previous college credit
• Completed application form

Applications for Spring entry are due November 1. An application can be found at http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu.

The Curriculum

The DNP curriculum builds on master’s level courses in theoretical foundations, research methods, advanced pathophysiology, advanced health assessment, pharmacology, and a clinical area of concentration. The program has three components:

1. Course work to provide a broad understanding of the knowledge and skills needed for the role of a DNP;
2. The capstone project courses in which the students will apply their coursework, knowledge, skills, and past experience to an in-depth and integrative practice experience which results in a written product;
3. An intensive clinical residency experience in which students work “hands on” with a preceptor in the student’s area of advanced practice.

This 41 credit program will be offered in an online and blended learning format. Both full and part-time options are available. This means that all of the nursing courses will be offered online with synchronous and asynchronous elements. There will be a mandatory orientation to the program and two summer residency sessions in which you will need to be present on campus. Time to complete the program is 8 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most questions about the DNP program can be answered by viewing the Frequently Asked Questions for the DNP program

Information

For further information on admission to the DNP Program in Nursing write or call:

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
College of Nursing
180 University Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Telephone: 973-353-5293
Fax: 973-353-1189