Doctor of Nursing Practice Admissions

Requirements for Admission

Admission to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is based on an overall appraisal of the applicant’s ability to undertake doctoral study and of their potential contributions to leadership in advanced nursing practice.

Application Deadline: April 1st 

  Applications to the DNP program will be considered complete when all of the following have been received:

  • Completed application via NursingCAS;
    Application fee made payable to the University of Massachusetts.
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, reflecting a graduate GPA of 3.0 or better in the baccalaureate program and/or certificate of completion program and a GPA of 3.2 or better in the Master of Science in Nursing program or Master of Nursing Program;
  • Evidence of unrestricted Massachusetts licensure as a registered nurse and/or nurse practitioner;
  • A master's degree in nursing from a program accredited by National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or related field (Nurse Administrator Track only);
  • Advanced practice nursing certification as either an adult nurse practitioner, adult acute care nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner, gerontological nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner or women's health nurse practitioner for nurse practitioner applicants;
  • Certification as a nurse manager or nurse executive is recommended for nurse administrator applicants;
  • Current resume including work experience, education, professional activities, and presentations/publications of scholarly work;
  • Acceptable verbal and quantitative scores on the GRE (a combined total of at least 1,000 is preferred);
  • Three letters of recommendation from people you have been in contact with in the last five years.                                 Post Master's to DNP: One must be from a recent supervisor who can evaluate APN employment experience an academic reference and a nurse who can evaluate your leadership potential;                                                                GEP to DNP: two academic (former faculty members) and one professional reference that can evaluate your leadership potential.                                                                                                                                                                   BSN to DNP: one acedemic reference (former faculty member) and two professional letter (one of the professional references must evaluate your leadership potential)
  • One example of scholarly writing (i.e., publication, scholarly paper);
  • Prepare a brief, but explicit statement addressing the follow: Your reason, personal and /or professional, for pursuing a program of study to become an advanced practice nurse with a DNP ( this response should be 250 words) Your caree plans as an advanced nurse with a DNP after graduation and in the future. (this response should be 250 words) What is your role, now and in the future, to decrease health disparities for the underservered and diverse populations to meet the goals of Health People 2020? (this response should be 500 words)
  • Participation in an admission interview; you will be asked to discuss your Residency and capstone project focus.          Post Master's only will be required to provide a Professional APN Porfolio that demonstrates attainment of NONPF competencies in the area of nurse practitioner specialization or for nurse administrators a professional APN portfolio that demonstrates attainment of the nurse executive competencies established by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
  • Technical Standards for Admission