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BSN to DNP-NLA
Nursing Leadership and Administration

Reach for the heights of the nursing profession by going from BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nursing Leadership and Administration.

Program Length

28 Mo.

Accredited 1

CCNE

Format

Online
calendar

NEXT START March 2nd

Waived Enrollment Fee

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Find your place as a decision-making leader in the field of nursing

AccreditationCCNE accredited1, Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
Format100% online didactic classes, hands-on clinical experience, and completion of a DNP Practice Project
AdmissionsEligibility requirements include a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a minimum 3.0 GPA
CertificationPrepare for the nurse executive-board certified (NE-BC) credentialing exam offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

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Classes start: March 2nd

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US News Best Graduate Nursing Programs 2026

Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best online graduate nursing programs in 2026

Go from BSN to DNP in Nursing Leadership and Administration with Herzing University

The BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Nursing Leadership and Administration degree is a 62-credit graduate program which prepares you for a career as a nursing leader. The online degree program provides students with fundamental knowledge and skills in systems-based practice, improvement science, epidemiology, collaborative practice, nursing informatics, economics, finance, and resource management, managing complex organizations, and much more.

Equip yourself with business, administrative, and leadership abilities to improve how nursing is done. Our program is built to help you earn influential positions in nursing leadership—both for individual healthcare institutions and the wider field of nursing.

Nurse executive with DNP smiling with medical team in background

  • Career-focused curriculum

    Discover the crucial knowledge and skills required to succeed in your work and build a foundation for continued career growth.

  • Flexible schedule

    We work hard to help you maintain school-life balance, striving to be as flexible as possible for busy non-traditional students.

  • Virtual services

    Access to extensive virtual services, including academic advising, tutoring, support services, technical support and library services.

  • Lifelong support

    We support your ongoing career advancement by providing comprehensive, personalized student services with lifelong career coaching.

  • Rolling admissions

    No application deadlines to worry about. Apply when you’re ready and prepare to get started soon.

Curriculum

BSN to DNP-NLA courses & curriculum details

Our curriculum is developed in compliance with the model for advanced nursing education of the AACN new Essentials (2021) Level 2 sub-competencies. The program prepares you for 21st century nursing practice focused on interdisciplinary knowledge, leadership, innovation, and the ability to impact systems and population health change.

All didactic courses are delivered online. The curriculum includes 135 hours of clinical experience in an administrative/leadership role and a DNP Practice Project.

ProgramMonths iSemester Credits
Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nursing Leadership and Administration – BSN to DNP2862

i. Average number of months for students to complete program.

Required Core Courses

All courses, 33.00 semester credit hours, are required.

The course focuses on introduction of advanced level nursing competencies as described by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in their 2021 publication The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. By engaging in course learning resources students will gain knowledge of professional nursing concepts that when applied in practice result in improved outcomes and serve to transform the healthcare environment. Students will utilize their relatable and application level of competency, across numerous essential nursing domains, for exploring their role as a leader in healthcare and in designing a quality improvement process.

Building on foundational knowledge of statistical/bio-statistical concepts from prior education, the aim of the course is to foster the development of practice scholarship competencies. This graduate-level course integrates advanced concepts in nursing theory, research methods, and epidemiology to provide a comprehensive understanding of evidence-based practice in nursing. The course emphasizes the critical evaluation and application of theoretical frameworks in nursing, the evaluation of research findings for application to practice, and the analysis of epidemiological data as a basis for informing healthcare practice and policy.

This course focuses on the integration, translation, and application of established and evolving theoretical, evidence-based, and disciplinary nursing knowledge as the basis for clinical judgment and innovation in nursing practice. Students examine frameworks for knowledge and propose a practice application informed by leadership principals and ethical decision making.

The course focuses on a systems-based approach to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through system effectiveness and individual performance using established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science. Students will review metrics and data driven benchmarks to analyze quality and safety initiatives, employ change theory and improvement science processes to design evidence‐based interventions, and demonstrate advocacy to promote a just institutional culture reflecting resiliency, civility, and respect.

This course focuses on the delivery of care using interprofessional teams in an environment fostering quality and safety and based on the adoption, integration, and dissemination of best practices, current practice guidelines, and evidence‐based interventions. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of interprofessional communication and the impact of team dynamics and performance on desired outcomes in practice. Using tools and techniques to support and improve the efficacy of team‐based interactions student will develop a plan to enhance collaboration.

The course explores the transformative role of telehealth in modern healthcare systems. The course provides an in-depth examination of telehealth technologies, their implementation, and their impact on patient care and healthcare delivery. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how telehealth can address disparities, enhance patient engagement, and improve health outcomes.

This course will explore information, communication technologies, and informatics processes used to provide care, gather data, drive decision making, and manage and improve the delivery of safe, high‐quality, and efficient healthcare services in accordance with best practice and professional and regulatory standards. Students will perform an information technology analysis of their practice and develop strategic planning to direct the selection and implementation of new information and communication technologies for their practice setting.

This course focuses on proficient multidimensional leadership for healthcare. Leadership theory, managing change in complex environments, mentoring, and creating a workplace environment that promotes social justice and equity, self‐care, personal health, and well‐being, and lifelong learning will be emphasized. Students will examine their personal, professional, and leadership development process, and create a three-dimensional advocacy-based approach to provide leadership in for the healthcare, professional, and community arenas.

This course applies the principles of best practices, change theory, and improvement and implementation science to the development of innovative solutions for complex health systems to ensure optimal care. Course key concepts include organizational structure, including relationships among macro‐, meso‐, and microsystems across healthcare, and financial and payment models for cost management and reimbursement. Students will engage in a strategic planning initiative for a complex healthcare system which enhances value, access, quality, and cost‐effectiveness, including policy to address health equity and eliminate structural discrimination.

The course focuses on the application, evaluation, and dissemination of knowledge in practice to improve health and transform health care. The processes for the generation, critique, synthesis, and translation of knowledge will be examined. Students will complete human subject protection certification, determine best practices for a specified clinical initiative, and apply evidence to clinical decision making using a framework of evidence-based practice and improvement science.

This course examines the healthcare delivery continuum from public health prevention to disease management of populations and describes collaborative activities with both traditional and non‐traditional partnerships from affected communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others for the improvement of equitable population health outcomes. For a selected population, students will analyze health priorities and the potential for collaboration and partnerships to provide a basis for interventions, policy, advocate strategy, and emergency preparedness.

Required Specialty Courses

All courses, 21.00 semester credit hours, are required.

This course is an examination of the process of holistic assessment (physical, psychosocial, and cultural) of individuals across the lifespan. Focus is critical thinking and decision-making related to the role of the advanced practice nurse in a primary care setting.

The course examines scientific concepts of pathophysiology essential to diagnostic reasoning and clinical management of common disease states. The dilemma of cost and need for laboratory and radiographic evidence to support diagnosis is examined.

This course is designed to advance the student's knowledge of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics in the management of health and disease states. Major categories of pharmacological agents are examined in the context of the life span, culture, and health and disease states. State and federal regulation related to purchase, possession, administration and patient education about controlled substances, pharmacologic agents and non-pharmacologic agents used as medications are examined.

This course focuses on optimizing the nurse leader role and providing the nurse leader student with an appreciation for the fiscal status of both the global health system and healthcare organizations. The nurse leader role in financial management and value-based purchasing will be discussed.  Fiscal management of human and physical resources, talent acquisition and policy development for health care organizations are also addressed.

This course is designed to provide the nurse leader student with the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective leader and manager within complex organizations from a systems perspective. The concepts of collaborative leadership, shared decision making, leading change, adopting and adapting within the dynamic healthcare environment, applying evidence-based practices, implementing quality improvement strategies, conflict management, and project management will be explored. Contemporary leadership theories, organizational culture and ethics, communication, and diversity, will be addressed.

This direct care practicum course provides the knowledge and skills necessary for the nurse leader to adapt to and adopt change and apply evidence-based practice to promote transformation of healthcare delivery and patient care systems. Strategies to provide guidance to individuals and groups within the complex global healthcare system to implement change will be addressed. Strategic planning, quality and risk management, and the effect of regulatory agencies and policies exert on quality healthcare delivery will be discussed. Students will engage in self-reflection and formulate their personal goals as an advanced practice nurse leader.

The capstone/practicum is the culminating experience of the graduate nursing program and provides the student with the opportunity to synthesize and apply knowledge and competencies acquired from the core and track courses. All students enrolled in the nursing program leadership track are required to complete a final capstone practicum to exhibit mastery and expertise as a nurse leader. The students in the nurse leader this course will complete a practicum with a mentor in an approved nursing leadership/administration setting.

Required Project Residency Core Courses

All courses, 8.00 semester credit hours, are required.

The course focuses on designing and preparing a quality improvement Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project. In this course, students will review expectations for a DNP project, examine completed DNP projects, identify a practice problem, create a project prospectus, develop a project protocol, create a project timeline, estimate costs associated with the proposed project, submit Institutional Review Board (IRB) project approval application, secure a project stakeholder/liaison agreement, and complete preparations necessary to support implementation, where possible, of the project.

This course is the first of a three-course residency series which supports the implementation, management, completion, and dissemination of a DNP project focused on improving clinical practice. In this first course students will work with their Chair and Committee to initiate their project.

This course is the second of a three-course residency series which supports the implementation, management, completion, and dissemination of a DNP project focused on improving clinical practice. In this second course students will continue to work with their Chair and Committee on the implementation and evaluation of their project. 

This course is the third of a three-course series which supports the implementation, management, completion, and dissemination of a DNP project focused on improving clinical practice. In this third course students will complete the implementation and evaluation of their project, present their project results, and prepare a written deliverable of their project.

Tuition & Cost

Tuition & Cost

The cost of tuition for the BSN to DNP-NLA program is $770 per credit.

You can potentially earn even greater savings by transferring credit from prior college coursework, applying for financial aid, or potential partnership opportunities through your employer.

Our goal is your career advancement. That’s why we are always working to improve our curriculum and processes to make our program as affordable as possible while preparing you best for success in your work.

Find My Estimate 

  • Scholarships & Financial Aid

    You may be eligible for multiple scholarships and grants, both through Herzing University and several national scholarship websites.

    Find scholarships and grants  

  • Military/Veteran Discounts

    Veterans, Active Duty U.S. Servicemembers, and spouses may qualify for a 10-20% tuition discount.

    VA/Military benefits  

Find My Estimate 
Requirements

Admissions requirements

Prerequisites to enroll in the Herzing University BSN to DNP-NLA program include:

  • Hold a current, active, and unrestricted license as a registered nurse (RN) in the same state in which they live. (Note: Holding a multi-state, compact state license and being a resident in a compact license state will be deemed to have met this requirement.)
  • Hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from an accredited university or college with an overall minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Careers

Discover the knowledge and skills to excel in an executive, leadership, or administrative role

BSN to DNP-PMHNP Image
Image

Our program is designed to provide you the fastest path to both earn the highest degree in nursing and begin to make your impact as a leader in nursing.

A DNP curriculum including courses tailored specifically for the administrative and leadership path can prepare you to excel in decision-making roles in many types of healthcare institutions, including Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Director of Nursing, nurse manager, nurse consultant, nurse administrator, and many other possibilities.

You can potentially transition from a clinical RN to a leadership position where you can begin making a significant impact in how nursing is done.

Becoming a Nurse Administrator

Job outlook

Graduate from a DNP program with a specialization in nursing leadership and administration and you’ll be prepared to join a career field expected to grow rapidly over the next 10 years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of medical and health services managers is expected to rise 23% from 2024-2034, much faster than the average across all U.S. occupations.*

Classes Start: March 2nd

Waived Enrollment Fee

Discover the educational pathway designed to maximize your career potential. Reach for greater heights with Herzing University.

Request Info Apply Now 
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The Student Experience at Herzing

I was navigating a transition with children and needed something to secure our future. Pursuing my nursing degree became that anchor.
Sharese Windley
Nursing | Online Campus
Nursing school is unlike any other educational program, and it’s a completely different way of thinking. There are a lot of gray areas in nursing school, and that was something I really struggled with. Herzing helped a lot - the professors truly care for their students.
Melissa Rios
Nursing | Orlando Campus
Ultimately, my goal with this degree was to address the lack of mental health providers for veterans.
Brian Johnson
Nursing
Being a mother and working full-time while going to school full-time was extremely taxing, but Herzing give me the resources and the support I needed to push through. I was able to complete my BSN in two years, and I will be re-enrolling with Herzing to earn my master’s in nursing (MSN) degree.
Carla Bourelly
Nursing | Atlanta Campus
My advice for others is to never doubt that you can do it, because you can! I worked a 40+ hour job and completed this program. It will not be easy, but as long as you keep moving forward and take it day by day, you will be fine! I am proud to be a graduate from Herzing University.
Rasheta Tadesse
Nursing | Akron Campus
Disclosures

Accreditation & Disclosures

1. The doctor of nursing practice program at Herzing University Madison is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org). Herzing University is approved to offer programs in an online learning modality through association with the main campus in Madison, Wisconsin.

Herzing University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

View all accreditation and approvals

* BLS pay estimates calculate the median annual wage for various occupations. Per the BLS the median wage for an occupation is: "The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey." Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2024. BLS median wage estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geographic market in which you want to work, and degree level and field, will affect career outcomes, including starting salary and earnings as an experienced employee. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the median salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, particular wage or salary, or other career growth.

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Classes Start: March 2nd

Waived Enrollment Fee

Discover the educational pathway designed to maximize your career potential. Reach for greater heights with Herzing University.

Request Info Apply Now