Best Online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Programs in 2021

One of the country's largest public colleges, OSU serves more than 61,000 students from its campus in Columbus and through a significant distance education program. The school hosts some of the top online DNP programs in Ohio, with academic pathways available for both bachelor's and master's degree-holders.

The BSN-DNP pathway offers three online concentrations: family nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. These tracks feature fully online courses, with required clinical placements completed in students' own communities. Most courses occur synchronously, with live class meetings held weekly. Candidates can complete the program in three years of full-time study or four years of part-time study.

The post-master's DNP offers tracks in clinical expert and nurse executive. Applicants to the clinical expert path must hold a master's in nursing and advanced practice nursing certification. The nursing executive path accepts applicants with master's degrees in nursing, business administration, or public health.

One of the top public colleges in Indiana, Purdue also hosts one of the country's best online DNP programs. The degree offers pathways for both bachelor's and master's degree-holders, enrolling nurses of varying professional backgrounds and experience levels. Candidates can choose from four concentrations: primary care pediatric nurse, family nurse practitioner, primary care adult gerontology nurse practitioner, or psych mental health nurse practitioner.

The master's pathway accepts up to 40 transfer credits from an accredited graduate nursing program. Advanced practice nurses must complete 704 clinical residency hours, while all other students must complete a total of 1,069 residency hours. The curriculum centers on scholarly practice, evaluation of health outcomes, clinical expertise, and healthcare leadership.

Purdue's DNP program uses a hybrid format that combines on-campus and online courses. Candidates complete most course material online, but they must visit campus for occasional in-person residency sessions.

Located in Newark, New Jersey (just 15 miles from Manhattan), Rutgers University-Newark offers a Ph.D. in nursing with both post-bachelor's and post-master's enrollment options. The program emphasizes nursing research rather than advanced practice, preparing candidates for careers in academia, nursing science, research, and leadership.

The Ph.D. in nursing uses a hybrid format, with most coursework occurring online. However, candidates must attend weekly class sessions, typically held on Tuesdays in the evenings. Electives and cognate courses may be held on different weekdays, but the program generally maintains a consistent schedule to accommodate students' work schedules.

Nursing Ph.D. candidates can choose from both part-time and full-time enrollment options. Post-master's candidates typically graduate in three years (full-time) or four years (part-time). The post-bachelor's track commonly takes four years to complete.

A public college in New York, Stony Brook hosts one of the best online DNP programs in the northeast. The program offers seven focus areas, including pediatric primary care, psychiatric mental health, neonatal nurse, and nurse midwifery.

Stony Brook accepts both BSN and MSN degree-holders. Graduates of nursing master's programs may enter the program with advanced standing, completing their DNP with 42 credits. Bachelor's candidates must complete 87 credits and a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours. Many candidates perform clinical hours at their current place of employment.

The program uses an executive cohort model that combines online courses with intensive on-campus residency sessions. These campus residencies offer opportunities for clinical inquiry, collaboration with peers, and faculty mentorship.

A public college and member of the State University of New York system, UB hosts some of New York's top online DNP programs. The school's doctor of nursing practice trains students to provide advanced clinical care. The school also offers a Ph.D. in nursing that prepares students for careers in research.

The DNP program offers both post-bachelor's and post-master's tracks. Candidates can pursue specialties including adult/gerontology, family, psychiatric/mental health, and nurse anesthetist. UB also hosts an early assurance program, which offers early acceptance and accelerated competition options for qualified undergraduate students.

The Ph.D. program offers post-bachelor's and post-master's enrollment. The program features a heavy research focus, and UB advises candidates to work no more than 20 hours per week if enrolling full time.

UA hosts one of the state's best DNP programs. The school's doctor of nursing offers entry options for bachelor's and master's recipients, with concentrations available in family nurse practitioner and adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner. The BSN-DNP track prepares candidates for national nursing certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

The bachelor's track typically takes four years to complete and requires candidates to complete 1,035 clinical hours. The master's track takes 2-3 years to complete and requires 500 clinical hours. Both program tracks require applicants to submit GRE scores.

The DNP program features occasional campus visits, including a required in-person orientation session at the beginning of the program. The orientation introduces key program topics and policies and gives students the opportunity to meet with peers and faculty.

Ranked among the largest public colleges in the country, UCF serves more than 69,000 students annually. A major provider of online education, the school offers some of the top online DNP programs in Florida. Nursing candidates can choose from several DNP pathways, including family nurse practitioner, advanced practice nurse, nurse executive, and adult/gerontology primary care. UCF also offers a Ph.D. in nursing,

UCF's adult/gerontology and family nurse practitioner programs serve nurses with a BSN degree. These programs use a hybrid format, mixing online courses with select campus sessions. The advanced practice nurse and nurse executive programs serve graduates with a master's in nursing degree. These programs employ a fully online format, with no campus sessions required. The Ph.D. in nursing enrolls both BSN and MSN degree-holders, and the program occurs primarily online, with two campus intensive sessions held annually.

A major public college based in Gainesville, UF hosts one of the best online DNP programs in Florida. Focused on evidence-based nursing, the program prepares nurses for leadership roles in specialized healthcare practice. UF offers pathways for both bachelor's and master's degree-holders, enabling nurses at all levels to pursue this advanced degree.

The BSN-DNP track requires 75-78 credits, while the MSN-DNP track requires 35 credits. Both program pathways feature a primarily online curriculum, though the bachelor's path requires periodic campus visits. The master's track requires only minimal campus attendance, with most courses offered entirely online. The bachelor's track takes eight semesters to complete, while the master's track takes five semesters.

All candidates complete a comprehensive final project near the end of the program, which requires significant research based in nursing practice. The project builds high-level clinical scholarship skills, and candidates often publish their research and present at nursing conferences.

One of Iowa's major public colleges, UI offers several of the state's best online DNP programs. Nursing students can choose from eight DNP focus options, including family nurse practitioner, health systems administration, nurse anesthesia, pediatric nurse practitioner, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

All program applicants must hold either a bachelor's or graduate degree in nursing or a closely related field, with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Applicants also need an active RN license, though several programs do not require candidates to hold professional nursing experience. The pediatric nurse, adult-gerontology acute care, and nurse anesthetist tracks require at least two years of professional experience.

All of UI's nursing programs use either a hybrid or fully online format, and most programs require only occasional campus visits during select semesters. Only the nurse anesthetist program requires candidates to live near the IU campus.

A public college located near the North Carolina coast, UNCW offers one of the state's top online DNP programs. This interdisciplinary degree combines nursing science with relevant studies in the analytical, biophysical, organizational, and psychosocial sciences. Candidates gain the skills needed to provide advanced clinical care and evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare delivery and interventions. The program offers enrollment for both post-bachelor's and post-master's candidates.

Candidates in the post-master's track complete 36-40 credits total, including 11 core courses and several additional electives. The program core highlights essential topics like clinical scholarship and practice, healthcare systems policy, and improving health outcomes. Students can also choose from specializations in nursing education, transcultural nursing, nurse executive leadership, and technology and informatics.

All candidates must complete a clinical scholarly project near the end of the program. The project demonstrates overall learning and requires candidates to complete significant research on an approved nursing topic.

Home to some of the country's top online DNP programs, Pitt offers several DNP tracks, including health systems executive leadership, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, and nurse midwife. Pitt admits both bachelor's and master's degree-holders and offers full-time and part-time enrollment options.

Master's degree-holders may be able to complete some program tracks entirely online. Bachelor's degree-holders must visit campus for occasional in-person courses. Pitt offers a special tuition discount for fully online learners that enables out-of-state students to pay the school's in-state tuition rate.

Most program tracks require some level of professional healthcare experience. For example, the nurse midwife program requires at least one year of experience in a labor and delivery unit, while the systems executive track calls for two years of management experience.

One of the country's top public colleges, UVA hosts one of the best online DNP programsin the country. The school's doctoral program serves practicing nurses who already hold a master's in nursing. The program may also accept graduates from other relevant fields, such as health administration and public health.

UVA's DNP program combines online and on-campus courses, with campus sessions offered in an executive format. Students meet once each month for classroom and clinical courses on the UVA campus in Charlottesville.

Program applicants must hold a master of science in nursing from an accredited nursing program, with a minimum 3.0 GPA (3.5 recommended). Competitive candidates typically work in active, advanced nursing practice and participate in a professional nursing organization at the regional or national level. Ideal candidates should also have experience in evidence-based nursing practice implementation in a professional setting.

A public medical school located in Syracuse, New York, Upstate offers an online doctor of nursing practice designed for nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists with a master's degree. The program uses a part-time, primary online format that enables candidates to graduate in just 2.5 years.

The 40-credit DNP program includes courses on topics like epidemiology and population health, legal and ethical issues in nursing, public health policy, and organizational behavior and systems leadership. Students must also complete at least 525 applied clinical hours, spread across a three-part culminating DNP project. Serving as an evaluation of overall student learning, the DNP program requires candidates to apply evidence-based practice to an issue in nursing.

Upstate's DNP program occurs almost entirely online, though candidates may need to visit campus occasionally. Most course content occurs asynchronously, with occasional synchronous meetings required in some courses.

A private college located about 18 miles from Philadelphia, Villanova offers two doctoral programs for nursing students: a post-master's doctor of nursing practice and a Ph.D. in nursing. The DNP program serves students interested in advanced clinical practice, while the Ph.D. prepares nurses for academic careers as college professors and researchers. Both programs use a primarily online, primarily synchronous format.

The online DNP offers three enrollment options: full time, part time, and flex. The full-time option features two weekly synchronous class sessions and takes five semesters to complete. The part-time option holds synchronous classes 1-2 nights per week and lasts eight semesters. The flex option, designed for students with significant professional and personal obligations, holds online courses just one night per week and takes 11 semesters to complete.

The Ph.D. program uses a hybrid format, offering synchronous courses two nights per week along with campus residency sessions held during the summer. The program begins with an on-campus orientation session that lasts 2-3 weeks.

A public college located about 35 miles west of Philadelphia, WCU hosts one of Pennsylvania's best DNP programs. Available almost entirely online, the school's post-master's DNP emphasizes quality improvement, healthcare systems leadership, and evidence-based practice. Applicants must hold a master's in nursing with an advanced specialization in direct or indirect care.

The 35-credit curriculum includes three main components: the science of nursing, nursing leadership, and nursing practice. The program uses a cohort model, which typically takes nine semesters (three years) to complete. All candidates must complete a culminating capstone project that investigates an issue in nursing.

Online nursing students must visit the WCU campus for a one weekend residency session at the beginning of the program. The weekend session amounts to a two-credit course and outlines major program principles.