Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Doctor of Nursing Practice Program (DNP) prepares graduates for the specialty areas of executive leadership, nurse anesthesia, and nurse practitioner. The DNP Program provides the student with the opportunity to strengthen one’s clinical skills by gaining intensive experiences in one’s specialty area of practice, enhance the understanding of the theoretical underpinnings that supports one’s specialty area of practice, and broaden one’s perspective of health care systems and delivery models from a Christian worldview.

The DNP Program is designed as full-time, full-time accelerated, or part-time cohort-based programs that begins the fall of each year.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Doctor of Nursing Practice is to connect Christian faith and the professional practice of nursing that is excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, and futuredirected within the scope of their practice as determined by education, licensure, and specialty certification.

DNP Program Goals

To provide doctoral nursing education that builds upon one’s previous nursing education using evidence-based knowledge.
To prepare the graduate for advanced professional nursing practice with specific functional and clinical capabilities within a Christian worldview.
To develop the graduate as a leader of one’s specialty area of expertise.

DNP Expected Student Outcomes

The graduate of the DNP will be able to:

Demonstrate expertise in an area of specialized advanced nursing practice.
Integrate biosciences, education, research, business, and technology into advanced nursing practice within the Christian worldview by providing evidence-based care to improve the health of individuals, aggregates, and populations.
Promote transformation of health care through inter-professional collaboration, policy development, and technology utilization within an area of specialized advanced nursing practice.
Assume leadership role in organizational and systems activities for quality improvement to enhance patient outcomes.
Contribute to and evaluate evidence-based research and interventions for a specialized area of nursing practice to improve the health of individuals, aggregates, and populations.

Program Admission Requirements for All Tracks

Completed application with application fee of $50
Completion of an ACEN or CCNE accredited and state approved nursing program with a last 60 hours GPA 3.0 (minimum) on a 4.0 scale for RN or BSN to DNP or cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.0 on 4.0 scale for post-MSN.

Calculation of GPA for the last 60 hours will occur as follows:
- The grades used to calculate the 60 hours GPA will be the most recent, and exactly 60 hours will be included in the calculation. If a partial semester must be utilized, the course with the highest grade will be chosen, and the number of hours needed will be multiplied by the grade. For example, if 2 hours are needed to complete the 60, and the applicant has a 3 hour course in which they earned an A, 8 points will be added (2 x 4 = 8).
- If an applicant re-took a course, the higher grade will be used in the calculation; the lower grade will not count in the calculation at all.
- Plus and minus grades will be considered as standard A, B, C, etc. For example, an A+ and an A- will both be a assigned 4 quality points per credit hour.
Students dismissed from a graduate nursing program for academic, clinical, or behavioral reasons will not be admitted to Union University’s Graduate Nursing Program. Students who have been enrolled in another program and withdrew or are still enrolled in good standing must have a letter from the program director or Dean stating that they are in good standing or withdrew while in good standing in order to be considered for admission to Union University’s Graduate Nursing Program.
Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions must be submitted directly through NursingCAS. Please do not send transcripts for non-traditional nursing programs to Undergraduate Admissions. Transcripts must be received by NursingCAS in a sealed envelope from all previous academic institutions attended. Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions must be sent to: NursingCAS, P.O. Box 9201, Watertown, MA 02471.
Current unencumbered RN and APN licensure (if applicable) in state of residence
Eligible for licensure as registered nurse and APN (if applicable) in Tennessee
Interview with the Nursing Graduate Admissions Selection Committee
Applicants from a country where the native language is not English may be required to show proof of English proficiency with scores no lower than 105 on the DuoLingo English Proficiency test. In addition, students must provide WES evaluations of transcripts.
Three letters of professional/academic reference specifying the applicant’s capabilities for graduate study to include one letter of reference from the current supervisor
Statement of professional goals to include (limit to 2 pages):
- Your reasons for pursuing NAT, NP, EL, or PM DNP.
- How you plan to use the DNP degree to transform your future practice and the profession
- For PM DNP: A problem statement reflective of an issue in your practice you have identified as an opportunity for a practice inquiry project.
- How you have prepared for success in this program
Submission of Curriculum Vitae

For the RN to DNP and BSN to DNP Nurse Practitioner tracks, a Science GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale (Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Statistics) is preferred.

Additional requirements for the CRNA-DNP track include a current unencumbered RN and CRNA license in state of residence and students will be required to have 1,000 clinical hours post BSN degree.

Additional requirements for the RN to BSN or BSN to DNP Nurse Anesthesia tracks include:

At least one year of critical care experience as an RN, preferably within the last year
Eligible for RN licensure in TN, KY, and MS
Science GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale; defined as Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2, and statistics
CCRN required
Shadowing hours required (minimum 40 hours)
Experience as a preceptor and/or charge nurse preferred
Leadership within the ICU or place of employment with professional or clinical development projects preferred, such as:
- Policy development
- Practice change initiatives
- Evidence-based practice initiatives
- Instructor in BLS/ACLS/PALS
Students dismissed from a nurse anesthesia or other advanced practice nursing program for academic, clinical or behavioral reasons will not be admitted to Union University’s Nurse Anesthesia BSN-DNP track. Students who have been enrolled in another program and withdrew in good standing or are still enrolled in good standing, must have a letter from their director stating that they are in good standing or withdrew when they were in good standing in order to be considered for admission to Union University’s Nurse Anesthesia BSN-DNP track.

RN to DNP Without Previously Earned Bachelor’s Degree; Nurse Practitioner and Executive Leadership Tracks Only

Applicants must complete the following undergraduate courses:
- Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 – 8 hrs.
- Microbiology – 3 or 4 hrs.
- Pathophysiology – 3 hrs.
- Christian Studies – 6 hrs.
- English Composition 1 and 2 – 6 hrs.
- Social Science – 9 hrs.
- Humanities – 9 hrs.
When these courses are completed, the applicant will notify the track coordinator no later than December 31 prior to the year they wish to start.
The following undergraduate nursing courses must be completed with a grade of “B’ or above by May 31st of the year the applicant plans be considered for the DNP cohort. The nursing course may be in progress when the applicant notifies the coordinator of their readiness to be considered for the DNP applicant pool.
- NUR 330 Research
- NUR 419 Issues in Nursing

The RN to DNP does not award a BSN or MSN. Acceptance to the RN to DNP program does not guarantee acceptance to any DNP track. Applicants who are not selected to progress to the DNP cohort will be given the opportunity to enter the RN to BSN program.

RN to DNP With Previously Earned Bachelor’s Degree in a Field Other than Nursing; Nurse Practitioner, Executive Leadership, and Nurse Anesthesia

Applicants must complete or show evidence of completion of the following undergraduate courses:
- Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 – 8 hrs.
- Microbiology – 3 or 4 hrs.
- Pathophysiology – 3 hrs.
- Any undergraduate statistics course – 3 hrs.
The above courses must be completed with by December 31st of the year prior to the year the applicant plans to be considered for the DNP cohort. When these are complete, the applicant will notify the track coordinator they wish to be considered for the applicant pool in the next cohort for that track.
The following undergraduate nursing course must be completed with a grade of “B’ or above by May 31st of the year the applicant plans to be considered the DNP cohort. The nursing course may be in progress when the applicant notifies the coordinator of their readiness to be considered for the DNP applicant pool.
- NUR 330 Research
- NUR 419 Issues in Nursing

Students entering the BSN to DNP program with a previously earned MSN may be awarded transfer credit above the 9 hours for the following courses upon evaluation of transcript: NUR 515, NUR 533, NUR 559, NUR 544, BIO 500, NUR 622.

Students admitted to the program must have and maintain while in the program:

Current CPR certification
Evidence of Hepatitis B, MMR, and tetanus vaccination (TDaP unless TD within the past 2 years)
Proof of 2 Varicella vaccinations or positive antibody titer (If titer is negative, student must repeat the 2 vaccine series.
Freedom from tuberculosis as evidenced by a negative PPD, negative QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus , or negative chest x-ray.
Current ACLS and PALS certifications (nurse anesthesia only)
Health insurance

Conditional Admission

Applicants who do not meet the regular admission requirements to the DNP program may be admitted conditionally at the discretion of the DNP Graduate Admissions Committee. Conditional admission will require contractual agreement between the applicant and the Graduate Admissions Committee. The contract will specify the conditions and deadlines that must be met to matriculate to the regular DNP program.

Transfer of Credit

Graduate credit for courses earned at a regionally accredited college or university or at a foreign college or university may be transferred to Union University if the courses are essentially the same as those required in the DNP program. The maximum number of semester hours that may be transferred to Union University and applied to the DNP degree is nine, upon review of transcripts. In order to meet DNP Essentials, applicants may be required to audit courses at the recommendation of the faculty.

Applicants may take a maximum of 2 DNP core courses prior to being enrolled in their respective DNP track cohort. Enrollment in core nursing courses does not guarantee acceptance into a specific track.

No grade less than “B” may be transferred. Courses taken more than five years before beginning the DNP program at Union University will be considered on an individual basis.

Academic Standards, Requirements for Progression, Probation, and Dismissal

Students must maintain an overall B average. After completion of 9 graduate hours at Union University, a graduate student whose cumulative GPA from courses completed at Union University for graduate credit is below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. A student placed on academic probation has one semester to increase his or her cumulative GPA to 3.0 or greater to be removed from a probationary status. If the student fails to increase his or her cumulative GPA to 3.0 or greater during the following semester, the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.

Students will also be dismissed without opportunity for probation if they:

Receive an “F” (i.e., any grade below a “C”) in any course
Receive more than two “C”s in any non-track specific courses.

Students must make a grade of B or higher in all track specific and 700-level courses (excluding pass/fail courses) in order to progress in or graduate from the graduate nursing program.

The program faculty recognize that situations may arise which prevent students from successfully matriculating through the program. Students who are concerned about their academic standing should contact their advisor. If it appears the student may not be able to achieve a minimum passing grade in a course, they may be encouraged by the appropriate Program Chair to withdraw from the program. This can potentially prevent the student from acquiring an F on their Union University transcript if the dropped class occurs prior to the deadline listed on the academic calendar (“last day to drop a class”). All students who withdraw or who are academically dismissed from the program can reapply for admission. However, readmission is not guaranteed.

Financial Information

RN to DNP tuition
Nurse Practitioner Undergraduate	$520/hour
RN to DNP	$18,000/year (F, S, Su)
Psychiatric Mental Health	$19,650/year (F, S, Su)
Executive Leadership
Undergraduate	$520/credit hour
RN to DNP	$16,230/year (F, S, Su)
BSN to DNP tuition
Family Nurse Practitioner	$18,000/year (F, S, Su)
Psychiatric Mental Health	$19,650/year (F, S, Su)
Executive Leadership	$16,230/year (F, S, Su)
Nurse Anesthesia	$35,550/year (F, S, Su)
Post-graduate DNP-all tracks	$1,030/credit hour
Application Fee	$50
General Student Fee
RN to MSN and RN to DNP	$260
BSN to DNP	$260
Post-MSN DNP-all tracks	$34/credit hour
Insurance fee (per year)	$25
Clinical Tracking System	$45/year ($30/year for BSN to DNP)
Course Evaluation Annual Fee	$105
Sitting fee for composite picture of class	$35
Cap and Gown	Approx. $150
Castle Branch Medical Document Manager	$35
Castle Branch Drug Screen and Background Check	$110
Random Drug Screen	$37.50/year

Any combination of the following payment is available.

Check, cash, or credit card
Federal Direct loan
Employer reimbursement
FACTS (an electronic monthly draft from a savings or checking account)

Books cost approximately $150 per course.

All financial information is subject to change without notice.

Financial Assistance

Financial aid information for graduate students is available on our website at www.uu.edu/financialaid. Generally, graduate students may be eligible for Federal Direct student loans or private alternative student loans, depending on the program of study and the eligibility of the borrower. Union University is also approved by the Department for Veterans Affairs to offer educational benefits to veterans, reservists, and dependents of veterans who qualify for Veterans Benefits. Any person who qualifies for VA Benefits should check with the Office of Student Financial Planning as soon as possible after acceptance into a graduate program.

Employer Tuition Reimbursement

The student is responsible for providing information to the university regarding his/her employer’s policies for reimbursement.
If the employer reimburses the student directly, the student must pay the university in full at the time of registration.
If the employer provides partial reimbursement directly to the university, the student must pay his/her portion of tuition at the time of registration.
The university will provide any required information to an employer when requested by the student.

Acceptance Deposits

A $1,000 tuition deposit is required for the BSN–DNP nurse anesthesia track. A $300 tuition deposit is required for RN to MSN (Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Education, Nurse Administration) and RN to DNP (Nurse Practitioner and Executive Leadership) tracks. The deposit for all post-graduate DNP tracks is $800. These deposits are non-refundable if the student elects not to enroll. Applicants accepted on an “alternative” basis will receive a full refund if status is not changed to “accepted” by the first day of class.

Graduation Requirements

Completion of the course work within each specified track.
A minimum grade point average of 3.0 for the required course of study.
File an application for graduation with the Graduate Nursing Office by the published deadline.
Pay in full the student’s account in the Business Office
Discharge all other obligations (fines, credentials, fees, etc.) at the University.

DNP Executive Leadership Track—68 hours

DNP Family Nurse Practitioner Track—73 hours

DNP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track—76 hours

DNP Nurse Anesthesia Track—99 hours

CRNA-DNP for Licensed CRNAs with BSN—46 hours

Post-Masters DNP—38 hours