Can Be Completed Fully Online
The doctoral program is 44 credit hours, which includes required practicum scholarship
hours.
- You can complete this year-round, part-time program in 2+ years.
- Coursework is completely online.
Orientation
A required 1-day orientation, which you can attend online or in-person on campus (Greeley,
Colorado), will be held the week prior to the start of fall courses in August. You
will meet program faculty, administrators and fellow students; obtain resources for
program success; and receive individual advising.
Coursework (44 Credit Hours)
To see a typical list of courses by term, visit an example Current Students page for this program.
For full program requirement details, see the official program listing in the UNC Graduate Catalog.
Scholarly Project Hours
DNP scholarly project practicum hours are completed via coursework completion. You
need a minimum total total of 1,000 combined clinical and DNP scholarly project hours
to successfully complete your DNP. The hours that you completed in your master’s will
count toward those 1,000 hours.
You will work be able to work remotely with your scholarly project advisor for your
project proposal and defense. On-campus visits/sessions can be arranged if desired.
Admission Requirements
Possess a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Nursing from accredited (NLN/ACEN
or CCNE) programs in nursing, with a cumulative master's GPA of 3.00 or better (4.00
scale).
If you are still completing your master'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.
-
Preparation as an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) with documentation of national certification
as an APN.
-
Minimum of 500 clinical practicum hours in the APN master’s program.
Current Colorado Registered Nurse (RN) license; or current RN license in the state
where you practice and eligibility for Colorado RN licensure.
-
One year of clinical experience is required.
Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.
Eligibility by State
At this time, UNC can serve online education to students from every state, the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We are not currently accepting students to our online
programs who reside in the CNMIs.
Because some states may have additional requirements or limitations for certain programs,
please check the following page to verify your eligibility. Note: if your state is
showing "limited authorization" it means you are likely eligible with additional documentation,
but please contact jake.henderson@unco.edu for details.
Current State Authorizations for This Program
International Student Eligibility
International students residing outside of the United States are eligible to apply
to our online programs. Applicants for online programs must demonstrate English proficiency,
or enroll in the UNC Intensive English Program, in order to be considered.
Students in completely online UNC programs are not required to come to the United
States. You will not need a student visa or receive any immigration documentation,
and do not need to provide financial documentation.
Please visit the International Students Admission Requirements page for details about English proficiency requirements and applying as an international
student.
Transferring Credit
Applicable graduate credit with a grade of A or B from a regionally accredited university
may be able to be applied towards this academic program. However, all doctoral students
must complete a minimum number of semester hours through UNC, so please check with
the Program Coordinator. Transfer credit cannot have been counted in the completion
of another degree, will not be used to meet any residency requirements, and is not
used in calculation of the grade point average. All work counted in a doctoral degree
program must be completed within eight years. The time limit is calculated from the
beginning of the first class transferred in and counted in the degree program. See
the full Graduate Transfer Credit Policy.
Students must submit an original transcript to their advisor for review. Student and
advisor then complete a Transfer of Credit form to submit along with the original transcript to the Grad School for review and final
approval.
Tuition
This is an Extended Campus program, which means:
- A flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state)
- There are no student fees – they are incorporated into our flat tuition rate
- Certain courses may carry specific course fees for additional services and materials
Program tuition for the 2023-24 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer
terms) is $706 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2024-25 academic year will be determined
mid-June 2024.
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.
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.
