Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is designed to prepare nurse leaders in the clinical and systems arena to meet the challenges of today's health care environment. The D.N.P. is focused on developing the advanced practice knowledge and skills to improve health outcomes of individuals or populations through direct care, management of care, administration of organizations, and implementation of health policy. The University of Louisville offers both the B.S.N.-D.N.P. and the M.S.N.-D.N.P. tracks. The B.S.N.-D.N.P. requires a minimum of three years of full-time study. The last two years of the program include 1,000 clinical and project hours. The M.S.N.-D.N.P is designed for advanced practice nurses and focuses on leadership for population health. A minimum of two years of part-time study is required. Clinical hours vary depending on masters preparation. Students must provide documentation of previous clinical hours and complete a minimum of 330 project hours, for a total of 1,000 hours.