You have the courage to be a leader in the nursing field. Courage to lead and make a difference.

A DNP comes with the confidence and authenticity needed for the highest levels of practice. A DNP from PLNU builds upon your expertise and your distinct point of view. PLNU values your calling, meeting it with leadership and practical skills you’ll need to grow into prominent roles within complex health systems.

Ranked at No. 52 by The Economist out of 1,275 colleges in their first ever university rankings, PLNU offers a convenient format tailored to accommodate your work and life commitments.

Space to Fully Invest in Work and School

PLNU’s DNP is a hybrid program, so you can pace yourself with online coursework as well as reap the benefits of face-to-face, modified intensives once a semester in San Diego. Multiple entry points allow those at most degree levels to earn the DNP. Enter as BSN-prepared and have the option to finish with an MSN or use your MSN clinical work as credits toward the DNP.

Leadership as Your Fullest Potential

Not only will you be prepared for the evolving standards and demands in your field, you will also gain confidence as you develop inside a cohort of confident, experienced, empowered individuals who are faithful to their own callings and to the future of nursing. Increase your influence; our graduates are highly sought-after by employers and highly regarded by those in their field.

Work that is Authentic and Sacred

Nursing as sacred work is a cornerstone value of PLNU’s nursing programs. Learn alongside faculty and colleagues who value it the same way. Any program can teach you skills and best practices; at PLNU seasoned professors serve as academic and professional mentors not only in class but in helping you discover your unique calling.

When you complete the DNP program, you will be able to:

• Create dialogue and strategies supporting practice changes within the healthcare system

• Appraise evidence for best practice implementation through the utilization of information technology

• Synthesize evidence to implement change that affects client outcomes

• Recommend standards for holistic care that meet the client needs

• Analyze own self-care practices that advance optimal care of clients, nurses and organization(s)

• Model graceful service through compassionate responses to patient, family, staff and organizational needs

• Design an environment of advocacy for patient care that honors the diversity of patients/families, healthcare staff and organizations

• Create opportunities to improve the quality of health within a community

• Defend ethical care consistent with professional practice

Licensures and Professional Certifications:

This program is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and meets the requirements for licensure or certification in the state of California, where Point Loma Nazarene University is physically located. PLNU cannot confirm whether or not specific programs meet out-of-state requirements for Professional Licensure or Certification. Information about out-of-state requirements in Nursing are available on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing website.

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Point Loma Nazarene University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education .

Program Start Date(s):

• Fall 2021 – August 30, 2021
• Spring 2022 - January 10,2022
• Fall 2022 - August 29, 2022

Application Deadline(s):

• Fall 2021 – August 2, 2021

All applications submitted after this date will be reviewed based on availability of space.

Start Application

Program Prerequisites

Admission to the program is based on an overall appraisal of the applicant's ability to undertake doctoral study and their contributions to the discipline of nursing as evidenced by the following:

1. Documentation of current RN license

2. Current employment in nursing or at least 1 year of full-time practice in the last 5 years

3. Online application for admissions (includes $50 non-refundable application fee)

   Fee waived if applicant is one of the following: PLNU alum, current or former military and their dependents, PLNU employee

4. Submit official transcripts. (If you are a PLNU alumnus, please notify your counselor to have your transcripts retrieved. You do not need to request transcripts from the PLNU Office of Records.)
   For applicants to the MSN-to-DNP track, a 3.2 GPA is required.
   
   Official transcripts must be sent to:
   Point Loma Nazarene University
   Office of Graduate Admissions
   3900 Lomaland Dr.
   San Diego, CA 92106
   
   Official electronic transcripts must be emailed to:
   gradprocessing@pointloma.edu

5. Curriculum Vitae or Resume

6. Three professional letters of recommendation

7. A typed statement identifying a change of practice issue related to professional goals

8. Example of scholarly work (e.g. work related presentation or project, paper from prior educational endeavors, professional presentation: published document, PowerPoint or poster)

State Authorization

State authorization is a formal determination that PLNU is approved to conduct educational activities regulated by that state or U.S. Territory. PLNU is not required to obtain state authorization in every state or U.S. Territory, and the university has opted at this time not to seek authorization in certain states and U.S. Territories. Additionally, PLNU meets the criteria for exemption from authorization in certain states.

At this time, PLNU does not have authorization in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Territories. 

Authorizations in specific states may change periodically. PLNU recommends contacting PLNU admissions at (800) 733-7770 for the latest information.

PLNU’s DNP will prepare you for the highest levels of nursing leadership and to engage on policy-level decisions regarding patient care. Some DNPs even pursue entrepreneurship and open their own nurse-run clinics.

Career outcomes include:

• Faculty

• Nurse Manager, Director, or Administrator

• Advanced Practice Nurse

• Entrepreneur