Admission

1. An approved graduate-level statistics course taken within the last ten years;
2. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a nationally accredited school (NLN or CCNE);
3. One year registered nurse experience in an ICU setting. (ER or other acute care setting may be considered);
4. A GPA of 3.000 or higher in the following areas:
   1. All undergraduate coursework,
   2. All undergraduate nursing courses,
   3. Any graduate-level courses taken,
   4. The following four science courses taken with an overall GPA of at least 3.000 and no grade that generates less than 2.000 credit points per credit hour in any one course: anatomy/physiology, microbiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology.
5. One application must be submitted to the Graduate School. The application must be submitted by May 1 (fall admission only);
6. All students will request entrance to a specific specialization upon application;
7. Evidence of active licensure as a registered nurse in Kansas;
8. Coverage by professional and general liability insurance. CNS and NP students must have NP student coverage prior to enrollment in practicum coursework. Minimum coverage required: $1,000,000 single incident/$3,000,000 aggregate for both professional and general liability;
9. Computer literacy is an expectation of the graduate nursing program. Skills should include: word processing, email, file attachments and internet searches. If courses require Blackboard, students are highly encouraged to complete the Blackboard orientation. Students may elect to take PC 105, or another basic computer skills course, to fulfill the computer literacy expectation; and
10. Technical standards must be met.

Program Requirements

DNP Project

Students complete an evidence-based project. Students work collaboratively with at least one graduate nursing faculty member who is chairperson of their committee and one other graduate faculty member to identify an evidence-based practice problem and plan the implementation to address the problem. Successful defense of the evidence-based project proposal is the expected outcome within the Evidence-Based Nursing Project II course. After successful completion and defense of the Evidence-Based Nursing Project proposal, the candidate may enroll in Evidence Based Nursing Project III. This allows the student to implement the project, collect data and determine results of the project. Students will also develop a portfolio documenting practice scholarship. The candidate completes an oral defense of the project upon completion. Evidence Based Nursing Project IV may be repeated until requirements are met.

Graduate Elective

Students are required to select one approved graduate elective related to their specialty to meet the 3 credit hour requirement for their degree.

Applied Learning

Students in the DNP AG/ACNP program are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing all coursework culminating with the DNP Project. This evidence-based project stems from a series of courses and practicum work and is finalized and defended during  NURS 962 Evidence-Based Nursing Project IV.