Nursing, D.N.P.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree at USM is a low residency program that prepares graduates to provide the most advanced level of nursing care for individuals and communities. As a practice doctorate, it provides graduates with the skills and tools necessary to assess the evidence gained through nursing research, to evaluate the impact of that research on their practice and, as necessary, make changes to enhance quality of care. The course of study is targeted towards nurses with a master’s degree in advanced practice nursing (nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse midwife), education, or leadership. As an integral part of this degree, students must successfully complete a DNP project at the conclusion of the program. This scholarship must demonstrate the student’s ability to bring evidence-based knowledge into the practice arena and should embrace learning from both coursework and practice application. Competencies attained by this degree are guided by the AACN Level 2 Essentials (AACN, 2021).

The DNP student is required to complete a total of 1000 contact hours. Up to 600 hours may come from a master’s level nursing practicum, leaving many DNP students to complete 400 DNP contact hours as part of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Those nurses entering with less than 600 hours from their master’s degree may be asked to submit a portfolio of qualified scholarly work for contact hour credit toward their 1000 hour requirement. Students must enter the program with a minimum of 200 hours.

Most coursework, scholarly research, and practice application will take place online. This degree is low residency, where the majority of coursework will be asynchronous distance education. In an effort to create a community of learners who move through the program simultaneously, a cohort approach for engaging students in their final project work will be emphasized.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Southern Maine School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.

Program Requirements

Courses are offered in hyflex, asynchronous online, and low residency format. To encourage interprofessional collaboration and scholarship, DNP students enroll in courses across the university. A total of 33 credits is required for completion of the program; total credit hours may increase if additional credit hours are needed to complete the DNP project. The minimum number of required contact hours in the doctoral program is 400 hours, and contact hours are accrued while working on the DNP project. When added to clinical hours obtained in the applicant’s master’s program or portfolio credit, the total should be a minimum of 1,000 contact hours.

Required Courses (Minimum 33 Credits)

MPH 545 - Applied Biostatistical Analysis
MPH 670 - Quality Improvement or NUR 692 - Quality Improvement
NUR 606 - Leadership, Health Policy, and Role
NUR 624 - Population Health Leadership
NUR 633 - Health Care Finance, Budgeting, and Planning
NUR 707 - Applied Informatics
NUR 708 - Applied Research
Approved elective for non-APRN students (3-9 credits)
NUR 716 - DNP Project I
NUR 717 - DNP Project II
NUR 718 - DNP Project III
NUR 719 - DNP Dissemination and Scholarship *
NUR 726 - DNP Project Seminar I
NUR 727 - DNP Project Seminar II
NUR 728 - DNP Project Seminar III
*Required for students entering the program with less than 300 post-baccalaureate contact hours.

Total Credits: 33-46

Note: In the event the D.N.P. project is not completed by the end of the program, the student may take GRS 701 - Doctoral Continuation Credits (1-3 credits) to complete the project.