MSN Leadership to DNP Accelerated Option

This option provides eligible MSN Leadership students the opportunity to take DNP 7104 Politics and Policy in the Health Care System in place of MSN 7741 Politics and Policy in the Health Care System and DNP 7000 Bioethics for Advanced Nursing Practice in place of MSN 6646 Philosophy and Ethics in Advanced Practice Roles to fulfill the requirements for both the MSN Leadership and DNP programs. Additionally, students may take two additional DNP courses, DNP 9001: Experiential Engagement I and DNP 9002: DNP Experiential Engagement II, each requiring 125 experiential engagement hours. Students will also receive conditional acceptance into the DNP program pending their successful completion of the MSN Leadership program requirements.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Completion of four MSN-Leadership courses (twelve credits)
2. GPA 3.00 or greater.
   
3. Letter of recommendation from a doctorally prepared professional (i.e. EdD, PhD, DNP, MD, etc.)
4. Resume/CV to verify current employment in an advanced nursing practice specialty (i.e. public health, informatics, leadership, etc.)
5. Goals statement (see page four of intent form for instructions)
   

The MSN Leadership to DNP Accelerated Option Intent Form is located in the College of Health Professions MSN Leadership Student Blackboard site. Upon submission of the intent to enroll form, students will be contacted by the DNP Program Chair to assist with appropriate course sequencing, advisement, and preparation for doctoral study.

MSN-LDR to DNP Accelerated Option: Process

Eligible MSN-Leadership students can take two selected DNP courses (DNP 7000 and DNP 7104) in lieu of two selected MSN-Leadership courses (MSN 6646 and MSN 7741, respectively) as well as two additional DNP courses (DNP 9001 and DNP 9002). Students will earn their MSN-Leadership degree at the completion of the requisite 36 credits.

Phase 1:

1. Eligibility criteria are met.
2. Intent Form is submitted.
3. Intent Form is reviewed by the MSN-LDR Program Chair and DNP Program Chair.
4. Decision is made and the student is notified.
5. If a student wishes to be accepted into our DNP program, he/she may begin the formal DNP application process at this time (application, recommendations, goal statement, transcript submission and interview).
6. Student will receive advisement from the Graduate Program Chair (MSN-Leadership and DNP) regarding schedule and courses.
7. Student can complete up to four selected DNP courses, two of which will take the place of two MSN-Leadership courses.

NOTE: Students are not required to earn the DNP degree at Wilmington University. Graduate level courses may be used in transfer, if accepted by other institutions.

Phase 2:

1. Earn at least a "B" in the doctoral level courses for the credits to be applicable to the DNP degree.
2. Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.
3. Complete the formal application process as described in Phase 1.
4. Official DNP acceptance is offered after completing the requirements for the MSN-Leadership degree, with above criteria met.
5. If a student does not meet the above criteria, he/she may graduate with a MSN-Leadership degree upon successful completion of the required graduate course of study and may then apply to the DNP program through the regular process for admission.