Why should I pursue a DNP? Is it worth it?

Yes! There are many reasons why it’s worth pursuing a DNP, including: Reach the height of the nursing profession with the terminal degree in nursing Advance your skills regardless of your specialty Prepare for future APRN education requirements Doctorally-prepared nurses are needed to translate evidence and research Earn a key role in improvement science Become a better educator/teacher The healthcare system needs doctorally-prepared nurses

Are online nursing degrees legitimate and respected by employers?

Increasingly yes, but it ultimately depends on the institution who issued the degree. As the popularity of online degrees continues to rapidly trend upward in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has mainstream acceptance of online degree programs. Attitudes toward online degrees were already becoming more positive before the pandemic forced the issue. According to a 2019 study from Northeastern University, 61 percent of HR leaders say online learning is “of equal or greater quality to more traditional methods.” More than half believe that in the future, most advanced degrees will be online. Regarding nursing applicants who earned online degrees, there are a few important factors employers consider: The school and degree program’s accreditation. Herzing University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and programmatically accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). i If you have earned nursing licensure. Our programs are designed to help you pass any necessary exams and become licensed before getting your first job. The school’s reputation and history of producing excellent employees. Consider our many happy graduates and 50+ years producing more than 40,000 alumni. For all these reasons employers know what it means when they see “Herzing University” on a resume! i. Programmatic accreditation varies by program and by campus location. You can find all accreditation details here.

DNP vs. PhD: what's the difference?

The DNP is a practice-focused doctoral degree, while a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing is a research-focused degree. Some key differences include: PhD students are trained to develop new knowledge for both the science and practice of nursing, while DNP students learn the skills necessary to translate evidence from the research and put it into practice. Program curriculums vary accordingly. PhD students complete a dissertation, while DNP students complete a minimum number of clinical hours and/or a scholarly project Credit requirements can vary Unique employment opportunities upon graduation

What is the difference between MSN and DNP?

The DNP represents the terminal degree in nursing, meaning it’s the highest degree you can earn in nursing. It’s one level higher than the MSN. The main differences include: Curriculum differences Certification requirements Enrollment trends Salary potential How long it takes to earn Learn more about the difference between MSN vs. DNP.

Post Master’s DNP Online Program (MSN to DNP)

Go from MSN to DNP and earn the terminal degree in nursing

Accreditation	Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
Program length	24 months (6 semesters when enrolled full-time)
Credits to graduate	32 credits
Format	100% online didactic classes
Admissions	Master’s degree in nursing required for admissions
Curriculum	Cutting-edge competency-based curriculum to develop your skills in nursing practice scholarship, innovation, and leadership
DNP Project	Make your impact on your practice in a culminating DNP Practice Project

Waived Enrollment Fee Classes start January 9th

You are doctorally possible with Herzing University

We are proud to introduce our new degree pathway to the highest heights in the nursing field: a practice leadership-focused Doctor of Nursing Practice – Post Master’s DNP program designed for nurses who have already earned a master’s degree in nursing.

According to the AACN’s most recent Annual Survey, enrollment in DNP programs has increased continuously for 20+ years running. Now is an excellent time to leverage your master’s-level education into the terminal degree in nursing.

Learn online in Herzing’s Everywhere Classroom: on your schedule, at your pace (asynchronously)
Class topics include Improvement Science, Technology and Nursing Informatics in Advanced Practice, Professionalism and Leadership for Advanced Practice, Population Health, and more.
Access to extensive student services, including an academic coach for each DNP course
Discover the skillset required to become an invaluable change agent for the discipline of nursing

The future of advanced practice nursing is at the doctoral level. This is your opportunity to complete your education from MSN to DNP and develop the knowledge and skills needed to be transformative for healthcare.

Our goal is your career success—join us on the journey to actively create positive change for nursing.

Classes Start January 9th

Learn More Today

Curriculum

DNP program classes & curriculum details

Our DNP program, developed in compliance with the model for advanced nursing education of the AACN new Essentials (2021), implements a competency-based program structure:

Build

Develop a strong conceptual framework. Lecture-style coursework amplifies your current knowledge base and introduces concepts and frameworks to expand your understanding.

Engage

Build upon the framework and dive into the literature, evidence, and tools of nursing practice. Engage the evidence and appraise its utility. Identify opportunities for improvement and learn to design and implement methodologies to address them.

Apply

Apply practice tools at the highest level. Challenge and expand your knowledge base through clinical applications, complete your DNP project, and graduate ready to continue your professional journey to the top of your practice.

Program	Monthsⁱ	Credits
Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post Master's DNP	24	32

i. Average number of months for students to complete the program. Program availability varies by location.

Required Core Courses

All courses, 24.00 semester credit hours, are required.

NU 700 - Knowledge for Nursing Practice 3.00

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.

NU 710 - Improvement Science 3.00

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.

NU 711 - Clinical Decision Making and Collaboration 3.00

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.

NU 725 - Technology and Nursing Informatics in Advanced Practice 3.00

This course will explore information and 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.

NU 726 - Professionalism and Leadership for Advanced Practice 3.00

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 with be emphasized. Student 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.

NU 730 - Systems-Based Practice 3.00

This course applies the principals 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.

NU 760 - Scholarship for Nursing Practice 3.00

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.

NU 780 - Population Health 3.00

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 Project Residency Core Courses

All courses, 8.00 semester credit hours, are required.

NU 800 - Project Development 1.00

This course is the first of two courses focused on the design and preparation for a DNP project that is focused on improving clinical practice1. In this course students will review the expectations for a DNP project, examine completed DNP projects, identify a clinical problem and describe the focus and context of their project, assemble their project committee, and create a project prospectus.

NU 810 - Project Management 1.00

This course is the second of two courses focused on the design and preparation for a DNP project that is focused on improving clinical practice1. In this course students will review their prospectus and develop a project protocol and timeline, estimate project financial and other costs, secure required permissions such as clinical contracts and/or IRB approval, and complete preparation to implement their project.

NU 820 - Project Residency I 2.00

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 practice1. In this first course students will work with their Chair and Committee to initiate their project.

NU 830 - Project Residency II 2.00

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 practice1. In this second course students will continue to work with their Chair and Committee on the implementation and evaluation of their project.

NU 840 - Project Residency III 2.00

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 practice1. 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

24 months | 32 credits

$735 per credit tuition

You are worth it.

Request Info

Tuition & Cost

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

With Herzing University, you are never alone, and we offer many options to help you invest in yourself and earn your doctorate degree. Financial aid options include:

Requirements

Program admission requirements

Prerequisites to enroll in the Herzing University Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program include:

Unencumbered RN licensure
Minimum 3.0 GPA
A master’s degree in nursing (MSN, MN) from a program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and or National League of Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditationⁱ
Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)/résuméⁱⁱ
Required background check/clinical compliance upon admission
No GRE required

i. The master’s degree must include preparation for an advanced nursing practice specialty (e.g., Nurse educator, Nursing administration, etc.) or an advanced practice nursing role (NP, CNS, CRNA, CMN). If the master’s degree did not include preparation for an advanced nursing practice specialty or an advanced practice nursing role, the completion of an accredited post-graduate certification program in an advanced nursing practice specialty or an advanced practice nursing role is required prior to admission.

ii. Your CV/résumé should include: focus/topic for your DNP project, site for your DNP project (ideas for what and where to do the project), years of practice experience, community service, references, and experience with any of the following: diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, initiatives focusing on the social determinates of health, population health initiatives, health-focused partnerships with industry, academia, or local government, research or research translation, quality and safety initiatives, leadership in complex healthcare systems, health information technology/advocacy and/or policy development.

Eligible states for enrollment: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District Of Columbia, 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, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The DNP Project

The Herzing DNP Practice Project

While the clinical practicum is the key practical component of an MSN program, the DNP Practice Project represents the culmination of your DNP education: put everything you’ve learned into practice and begin making your impact immediately.

You won’t need to find a preceptor. The DNP project is an independent clinical effort facilitated by a Project Chair and Committee.

Key elements of the DNP project include:

Identify a problem
Search, analyze, and synthesize literature and evidence
Translate evidence to build methodology to address the problem
Plan and implement
Evaluate the outcomes, process and experience

Upon completion you’ll work closely with your Project Chair to disseminate your findings, from presentation to the practice and University/community events including submission for publication.

Classes Start January 9th

Waived Enrollment Fee

Apply Now Request Info

Careers

What you can do with a DNP degree

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) and other master’s-prepared advanced practice nurses can earn a DNP to climb to the highest rung on the career ladder across many different specialties.

Our leadership-focused program is designed to cover a broad set of skills applicable to any advanced practice nursing role you might seek, allowing you to make an impact in your practice, your community or your healthcare system.

You can also potentially increase your earning potential. According to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, registered nurses whose highest education was a DNP reported a median salary of about $100,000, 11% higher than the $90,000 median for those who had earned as much as a master’s degree.

I haven’t earned an MSN—how can I earn a DNP with Herzing? You’ll first need to earn an MSN in one of our concentrations (AGACNP, AGPCNP, FNP, PMHNP, Nursing Education, or Nursing Leadership & Administration), then apply for our Post Master’s DNP program.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Increasingly yes, but it ultimately depends on the institution who issued the degree.

As the popularity of online degrees continues to rapidly trend upward in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has mainstream acceptance of online degree programs.

Attitudes toward online degrees were already becoming more positive before the pandemic forced the issue. According to a 2019 study from Northeastern University, 61 percent of HR leaders say online learning is “of equal or greater quality to more traditional methods.” More than half believe that in the future, most advanced degrees will be online.

Regarding nursing applicants who earned online degrees, there are a few important factors employers consider:

The school and degree program’s accreditation. Herzing University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and programmatically accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).ⁱ
If you have earned nursing licensure. Our programs are designed to help you pass any necessary exams and become licensed before getting your first job.
The school’s reputation and history of producing excellent employees. Consider our many happy graduates and 50+ years producing more than 40,000 alumni.

For all these reasons employers know what it means when they see “Herzing University” on a resume!

i. Programmatic accreditation varies by program and by campus location. You can find all accreditation details here.

In October of 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) endorsed the Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing, which recommended moving the current level of preparation needed for advanced nursing practice from the master’s to doctorate level.

The AACN set an initial goal to phase out master’s level prep for APRNs and transition fully to DNP by 2015. That deadline has come and gone, and a master’s level education remains the minimum requirement to practice as an APRN (additional requirements vary per certification).

However, the transition has been discussed for many years—and not only by AACN. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) set a goal of 2025 to move all entry-level nurse practitioner education to the DNP degree.

While enrollment in DNP programs has increased continuously for 20 years running as of the AACN’s most recent Annual Survey, a DNP has not yet become required to practice as an APRN.

However, the landscape is changing and the DNP is trending towards becoming the standard for APRNs at the highest level.

Yes, by earning a doctorate degree you can potentially be referred to as a “doctor.” However, some states may require DNP nurses to fully clarify their role if the title “Dr.” is used.

Even without formal state requirements, you should always clearly disclose your credentials with patients to avoid confusion.

The DNP is a practice-focused doctoral degree, while a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing is a research-focused degree. Some key differences include:

PhD students are trained to develop new knowledge for both the science and practice of nursing, while DNP students learn the skills necessary to translate evidence from the research and put it into practice. Program curriculums vary accordingly.
PhD students complete a dissertation, while DNP students complete a minimum number of clinical hours and/or a scholarly project
Credit requirements can vary
Unique employment opportunities upon graduation

The DNP represents the terminal degree in nursing, meaning it’s the highest degree you can earn in nursing. It’s one level higher than the MSN. The main differences include:

Curriculum differences
Certification requirements
Enrollment trends
Salary potential
How long it takes to earn

Learn more about the difference between MSN vs. DNP.

Salaries vary widely across different types of jobs in advanced practice nursing, and earning a DNP can potentially apply to them all. However, earning a DNP can potentially help you compete for higher pay.*

According to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, registered nurses whose highest education was a DNP reported a median salary of about $100,000, 11% higher than the $90,000 median for those who had earned as much as a master’s degree.

Yes! There are many reasons why it’s worth pursuing a DNP, including:

Reach the height of the nursing profession with the terminal degree in nursing
Advance your skills regardless of your specialty
Prepare for future APRN education requirements
Doctorally-prepared nurses are needed to translate evidence and research
Earn a key role in improvement science
Become a better educator/teacher
The healthcare system needs doctorally-prepared nurses

How long it takes depends on the college education you’ve already earned and if you choose a full-time or part-time pathway.

The fastest path would be a situation in which you have earned an MSN and are ready to commit to the DNP program full-time. You can potentially earn your DNP in as few as 24 months (2 years).

Locations

Program Finder

Doctor of Nursing Practice - Post Master's DNP Degree Programs

Showing 1 programs for the Online campus

On Campus| Online

To learn more about this program, click the Request Info button to the right.

Request Info

Family Nurse Practitioner with Post Master's Certificate Smiling at Young Patient

Post Master’s Certificate - Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)

Nurse Executive Who Went from MSN to Nursing Leadership Working with Healthcare Staff

Post Master's Certificate - Nursing Leadership & Administration

PMHNP with Post Master's Certificate Consulting with Adult Patient

Post Master's Certificate - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)

Disclosures

Accreditation & Disclosures

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

Eligible states for enrollment: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District Of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, 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, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2020. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.

Become the Leader You Always Knew You Could Be: Enroll for a Doctor of Nursing Practice

Herzing Staff

Career Development 7 Reasons Why Earning a DNP is Worth it

Herzing Staff

Post Master's DNP
Online Program (MSN to DNP)

Go from MSN to DNP and earn the terminal degree in nursing