A BSN-to-DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) Degree with Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Focus

Admission Requirements

• Possess a bachelor’s degree from an NLN or CCNE accredited institution with an upper division major in nursing and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (4.0 scale).

  If you are still completing your bachelor's degree at the time you apply, admission will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional academic stipulations to remain enrolled at UNC.

  If you have completed a master's degree, or at least 18 credit hours towards a master's degree, the GPA of your master's work will be used.

• One year of clinical experience is required.

• Current Colorado Registered Nurse (RN) license; or current RN license in the state where you practice and eligibility for Colorado RN licensure.

• Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.

Licensure Eligibility by State

All UNC professional licensure programs are designed to lead to Colorado licensure. However, since each state has their own educational preparation requirements, UNC's programs may or may not meet these requirements in each state. For a complete list of states where UNC has determined that this program will or will not fulfill educational requirements for licensure, please visit the UNC Licensure page.

UNC encourages all students entering a professional licensure program to understand licensure requirements in the state where they intend to seek employment. Please review the State Licensure Boards page to find contact information for licensing agencies in each state.

International Student Eligibility

F-1 and J-1 student visas are not available for this program: this delivery of this program is not approved by the Department of Homeland Security or the US Department of State for F-1 or J-1 visa status students. However, if you are a non-U.S. citizen who will be in the U.S. under another visa category that allows you to study, you may enroll in this program. Prior to applying and enrolling, please carefully note any restrictions on enrollment or employment for your visa category.

Transferring Credit

UNC graduate school accepts applicable graduate credit with a grade of C or higher from accredited institutions. Please note that if your chosen program has a higher grade minimum for any program coursework, that minimum would apply to transfer requests for those courses. Graduate program faculty are responsible for reviewing any proposed transfer credit to ensure that course content and objectives match program content.

• Students must complete at least 50% of their graduate program credits at UNC, not including research, capstone, seminar, internship/externship/practicum, thesis, dissertation proposal, dissertation and any credits graded with S/U (P/F).
• Courses requested for transfer must not be more than eight years old for doctoral degree credit; will not be used to meet any residency requirements; are not used in calculation of the grade point average; and cannot have been used to fulfill requirements for a previously awarded degree. See the full Graduate Transfer Credit Policy.

Tuition

This is an Extended Campus program, which means:

• We charge a flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state).
• There are no added student fees or technology fees. However, certain courses may carry specific course fees to support additional services and materials.

Program tuition for the 2024-25 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer terms) is $734 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2025-26 academic year will be determined mid-June 2025.

Estimates of additional costs: For the purposes of determining financial aid, UNC follows Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and federal guidelines to develop an estimated, average Cost of Attendance (budget) for different student classifications. For your personal tuition estimates, we recommend using the program-specific tuition information above. But UNC's official Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets page can help you identify other estimated expenses for which you may be responsible while completing your program.

Financial Aid

Degree-seeking students who cannot pay for tuition alone are encouraged to apply for federal financial aid. Students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The UNC FAFSA/financial aid page for graduate students has key dates and support, including the release date and deadline for each academic year (a Fall-Spring-Summer cycle which begins each August).

Late submissions of the FAFSA are still accepted throughout the school year but you may not be considered for the maximum amount of aid. If the priority deadline has passed for the upcoming/current school year, we encourage you to apply for FAFSA consideration as soon as you enroll for your first courses. Depending on the time of year, you may be able to submit an application for the current academic year and an early/priority application for the following academic year.

Doctoral degree students must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 credits per academic term for financial aid eligibility. Full time enrollment is based on 9 credits per term.

To apply for federal financial aid assistance

Fill out the FAFSA form at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

For more specific help, contact the Office of Financial Aid: ofa@unco.edu, 970-351-4862 or via the UNC Financial Aid website.

Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish and Braille.

Insurance

Malpractice Insurance

You must carry student nurse practitioner malpractice insurance while fulfilling the clinical/practicum courses. Due to clinical contract requirements students must provide proof of insurance about three months prior to the semester that your clinical begins.

Student Health Insurance

The University of Northern Colorado offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) to all degree-seeking students who enroll in courses on our main UNC Campus, an Extended Campus Center, or Online.

Degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in 6 or more credit hours will automatically receive this benefit each term. SHIP premiums will appear on your semester bill. If you have comparable insurance coverage, and do not want to be charged for SHIP coverage, you must opt out of this plan each Fall via an online waiver process.

Please visit the UNC Student Health Insurance pages for more information about the insurance plan.