Post-Baccalaureate to DNP Track

Post-Baccalaureate to DNP Curriculum

Students progress through the curriculum as a cohort following the rotations schedule below. This is an online-only program. Download Blackboard specifications »

Year I

Semester I: Summer	Hrs.	Semester II: Fall	Hrs.	Semester III: Spring	Hrs.
N800: Theoretical Foundations	3	N805: Advanced Pathophysiology	3	N820: Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics	3
N940: Policy & Economics	3	N810: Advanced Health Assessment	3	N825: Primary Care I	3
		N815: Family Theory	3	N830: Primary Care I Practicum I (3 credits =180 hours)	3
			3	N860: Gerontology in Primary Care	3
Total Credits	6		9		12

Year II 

Semester IV: Summer	Hrs.	Semester V: Fall	Hrs.	Semester VI: Spring	Hrs.
N900: Philosophy of Science	3	N840: Primary Care Theory II	3	N850: Primary Care III Theory	3
N835: Advanced Research Methods	3	N845: Primary Care II Practicum (3cr = 180 hours)	3	N855: Primary Care III Practicum (3cr = 180 hours)	3
		N915: Evidence-Based Practice Research Translation & Implementation	3	N910: Epidemiology	3
		N920: Biostatistics	3	N925: Program Planning	3
Total Credits	6		12		12

Year III

Semester VII: Summer	Hrs.	Semester VIII: Fall	Hrs.	Semester IX: Spring	Hrs.
N930: DNP Practicum I (3 cr = 180 hours)	2	N950: Integrated Behavioral Health (3 cr. with 60 hrs.)	3	N960: DNP Capstone	3
N905: Ethics & Social Justice	3	N955: Informatics & Finance	3	N935: Leadership	3
		N945: DNP Practicum II	3
			3
Total Credits	6		9		6

View BSN-DNP plan of study

View Nursing Course Descriptions

View Course Grading Scale

DNP Clinical Practicum

The DNP program requires:

1. The overall practice hours for the DNP are a minimum of 1000 hours. Students admitted to the Post-BSN-DNP track will have 1080 practice hours satisfied by the Post-BSN Curriculum.
2. Clinical practice hours for DNP students will occur at health care organization sites in the state in which the nurse is licensed. The practice component is conducted with the assistance of graduate preceptors who practice in the community where the student lives. Goals and objectives of the practice experience are negotiated with the student’s faculty committee, advisor and faculty of record. Oversight of the practice experience is the responsibility of the faculty.

Capstone Project Course and Other Program Requirements

The Loyola University New Orleans Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is a terminal practice degree in the same sense as the M.D. (physicians), PharmD (pharmacists) and D.P.T. (physical therapists) degrees and requires a rigorous analytical capstone project. The practice doctorate differs from the Ph.D. in Nursing. The Ph.D. focuses on the generation of research for new knowledge and culminates in a dissertation by the student. The D.N.P., however, is focused on translating the scientific research generated by the Ph.D. to health care in a timely manner so that patients experience the best applications of science and practice. The D.N.P. degree includes an integrated practicum or practice immersion experiences that generate a final scholarly project as a vital part of the program. A completed scholarly practice portfolio provides evidence of student achievement of the Essentials and will result in at least one publishable scholarly paper to disseminate the results. The development, implementation and evaluation of this project will occur over three semesters throughout the practicum courses and culminates in the capstone course during the final semester. Each student will defend their DNP Capstone Project proposal in an open forum to an interprofessional committee of at least two members.

Neftali Serrano presents "Integrating Behaviorial Health."  View the video »

You may also view this video in three shorter segments: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Student Progression

Students must maintain a cumulative of 3.0 GPA and may not earn a grade below B- in any course to progress in the curriculum. Only DNP courses are calculated for the GPA.

Length of Time to Complete the Program

Students are required to complete the program within five years of their first term of enrollment.

More than $1.5 Million Dollars awarded to Loyola's School of Nursing