Nursing Practice
Mailing Address:
College of Nursing (MC 802)
845 South Damen Avenue, Room 133
Chicago, IL 60612-7350
Campus Location: 133 NURS
Program Codes: 20FS5048DNP (Chicago);
20FS5048DNP1 (Urbana); 20FS5048DNP5 (Peoria); 20FS5048DNP6 (Quad Cities); 20FS5048DNP7 (Rockford)
Telephone: (312) 996-7800
E-mail: con@uic.edu
Web Site: http://www.uic.edu/nursing/
Associate Dean for Nursing Clinical Practice Studies:
Patricia Lewis
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is a practice-focused doctoral program that prepares nursing leaders for the highest level of nursing practice beyond the initial preparation in the discipline. Throughout the program students will develop the clinical, organizational, economic, and leadership skills that will enable them to design and implement programs of care delivery which significantly impact healthcare outcomes and have the potential to transform healthcare delivery. Graduates of DNP programs are prepared for direct care roles (e.g. and nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse midwives) and indirect care or systems-focused roles (e.g., administrative, public health, and policy roles), or a blend of these roles.
In addition to core courses that develop clinical, organizational, economic, and leadership skills, each student completes a clinical residency to develop expertise in one area of specialized doctoral nursing practice. During the clinical residency, students design, implement, and evaluate a transdisciplinary project related to a selected population of interest. A project proposal, which will include the complete plan of the project, must be submitted in writing and orally defended and subsequently approved by a three-person committee. Final written and orally presented reports of the project are disseminated at a peer-reviewed professional meeting and in a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Admission Requirements
Individuals with either a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in nursing will be eligible for admission to the program. It is recommended that students applying to the Concentration in Executive Nursing Leadership have a master’s degree in administrative nursing or equivalent course work or experience. The Admission Committee will consider applicants on an individual basis. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:
Doctor of Nursing Practice
- Prior Degrees The Admission Committee reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of any graduate work completed by an applicant and may limit transfer credit.
- Grade Point Average A minimum of 3.00/4.00 for all work beyond the baccalaureate level and at least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of undergraduate study.
- Tests Required GRE General.
- Minimum English Competency Test Score
- TOEFL 550 (paper-based); 213 (computer-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based), OR,
- IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores.
- Letters of Recommendation Three required; the letters should describe the applicant’s academic skills and accomplishments.
- Supplementary Information Each applicant is required to submit a Supplementary Information Form addressing his or her goals for doctoral nursing practice and career development.
- Admission Interviews Suitable candidates will be contacted by a faculty member for an interview.
- License Applicants must be licensed to practice as a professional nurse in at least one political jurisdiction.
Other Requirements
Professional Nursing License All students in the BSN to DNP program must have a current licence as a Professional Registered Nurse (RN) from the State of Illinois Registered Nurse prior to beginning their clinical practicum courses. Information about nursing licensure in Illinois may be obtained from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Web site http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/WHO/nurs.asp. Students in the MS to DNP program must have a valid nursing license for the state in which they will be completing their residency.
Degree Requirements
In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:
Doctor of Nursing Practice
- Minimum Semester Hours Required Students entering the program must complete a minimum of 90 semester hours of credit beyond the baccalaureate degree. Forty-five semester hours of credit may be awarded for a master’s degree completed either at UIC or another accredited institution. All students, however, are required to earn a minimum of 45 semesters of credit in formal course work in the DNP program. Actual semester hours required will vary by concentration.
- Course Work BSN to DNP Curriculum: Core Practice Competency Courses (29–32 hours)—NURS 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 550, 551, and 552; NUSP 502 and 503; EPID 400 or 403; BHIS 510. (Students in the Advanced Community Health Specialist, Occupational Health/Advanced Community Health Nurse Specialist, and Occupational Health/Family Nurse Practitioner concentrations are not required to take NUSP 502.)
- BSN to DNP Curriculum: Specialty-Specific and Role Competency Courses (38–51 hours).
- Direct Care Roles: Nurse Practitioner (acute care, adult, geriatric, adult/geriatric, pediatric, women's health, family, mental health, occupational health, school health), Nurse Midwife, Clinical Nurse Specialist (acute care, geriatric, pediatric, perinatal, mental health).
- Systems-Focused or Blended Roles: Advanced Community Health Nurse Specialist or Occupational Health Nurse Specialist.
- BSN to DNP Curriculum: DNP Synthesis Project and DNP Residency (20 hours)—NURS 560, 561, and 562; NUPR 582 or 586, 583 or 587.
- MS to DNP Curriculum: Core Practice Competency Courses (25 hours)—EPID 400 or 403; BHIS 510; NURS 550, 551, and 552; NUSP 502 and 503; 3 hours of graduate-level electives to support Direct Care or Systems-Focused practice.
- MS to DNP Curriculum, Concentration in Executive Nursing Leadership: Core Practice Competency Courses (31 hours)—EPID 400 or 403; NURS 550, 551, and, 552; NUSP 580, 581, 582, 583, 584, 585 (at least 1 hour); 5 hours of graduate-level electives (may include additional hours of NUSP 585).
- MSN to DNP Curriculum: DNP Synthesis Project and DNP Residency (20 hours)—NURS 560, 561, and 562; NUPR 582 or 586, 583 or 587.
- Preliminary Examination During the DNP Synthesis Project Development course (NURS 560), the student works with a transdisciplinary committee to design a doctoral nursing clinical practice project related to a population of interest. In the course of developing the synthesis project proposal, students will conduct an integrative review of the literature that demonstrates the state of the science and the significance of their proposed project. Preparation and defense of the project proposal is equivalent to the preliminary examination process.
