Academics

Program Overview

Keeping pace with the demands of today’s changing healthcare environment requires clinical experts who have the knowledge and skills to be effective change agents. Graduates of our DNP program assume clinical and leadership positions as advanced nurses in a variety of roles including nurse executives, community leaders, and professional organization leadership. Northeastern University’s DNP program is designed to meet the DNP essentials. Emphasis is placed on:

• Clinical leadership
• Professional leadership
• Systems leadership
• Health policy/global leadership

Our goal is to prepare the next generation of nurse leaders with a greater breadth of expertise so that they can collaborate more effectively with interprofessional partners and provide leadership to enhance quality and safe care. Courses are taught by dedicated faculty who are established leaders in their field.

Our post-master’s program brings you the next-level skills and knowledge to succeed as an advanced nurse in clinical and leadership positions. Unlike other doctoral programs, you do not need to be a nurse practitioner to enroll. Whatever background you bring to the program, earning your degree can be transformational for your career.

Tuition and Aid

This is an estimate based on the tuition rates for the 2024–2025 academic year and does not include any fees or other expenses. Some courses and labs have tuition rates that may increase or decrease total tuition. Tuition and fees are subject to revision by the president and Board of Trustees at any time. Find detailed information on tuition and fees from Student Financial Services.

Finance Your Education

We offer a variety of financial aid resources, including scholarships.

Federal Nurse Faculty Loan Program Available

Students in the Post-Master’s DNP and Master’s in Nursing Leadership programs at Northeastern’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences have access to the HRSA Nurse Faculty Loan Program which provides partial loan forgiveness for up to 85% of the student’s loan if they commit to four years of full-time work as faculty in an accredited U.S. school of nursing following completion of their degree. Applicants for the post-master’s DNP and MS in Nurse Leadership who meet the eligibility criteria may apply.

Learn more

Requirements

• Application
• Application fee
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts from all institutions attended
• Personal statement
• Resumé
• TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution and whose native language is not English
• Current U.S.nursing licensure
• Two years of advanced nursing experience
• Master’s degree in nursing. In some cases registered nurses holding a master’s degree in a related health field may be acceptable
• Master’s GPA of 3.50 or above
• 1,000 scholarly practice hours are required for program completion. A gap analysis upon admission will determine how many, if any, practice hours from a previously completed Master of Science in Nursing practicum qualify toward this practice hour requirement

Curriculum

Explore this program’s requirements and courses, all designed to meet today’s industry needs and must-have skills.

Experiential Learning

The DNP program culminates in the successful completion of a DNP scholarly project that demonstrates mastery of expert practice knowledge and is completed over three semesters (nine semester hours). The scholarly project must be a significant, evidence-based contribution to existing nursing knowledge and be suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or a book. This DNP scholarly project could be a program needs assessment with program development and evaluation, evaluation of an existing program, development of an assessment instrument/protocol, a cost/benefit analysis of program models, or other scholarly project as approved by the student’s advisor.

Students will apply knowledge and skills obtained in the didactic and integrative courses in order to address the ethical, legal, financial, and organizational aspects of the scholarly project. The DNP student will discuss his/her topic of interest, the development of the project and how it addresses the needs of a selected population; and evaluate the implementation and outcomes of the project. Each student will have a scholarly project advisor and expert mentor working with them on the project. In addition, you will have the opportunity to study with faculty from other Northeastern departments and research centers and with others in Boston’s nursing community whose work addresses clinical and organizational problems.

Our close ties with the University’s Institute on Urban Health Research and School of Social Science, Urban Affairs and Public Policy, as well as with the Center for Community Health Education, Research, and Service and other organizations provide opportunities to work across disciplines and access populations and sites for the DNP scholarly project.

Admission Dates

Application Deadline for fall entry: August 1

How to Apply

Learn more about the Bouvé College of Health Sciences admissions process, policies, and required materials.

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