Impact the future of nursing from an executive level.
Developed in partnership with Duquesne’s Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, this online DNP will teach you how to apply your leadership experience toward the business and administrative side of health care. Duquesne can further help to enhance your knowledge of evaluating and implementing evidence-based practice to improve health care outcomes and transform organizations.
Study 100% online
2 start dates per year
No GRE required
Tuition discounts available
Study abroad opportunity
Online Doctor of Nursing Practice – Curriculum
Post-Bachelor’s Executive Nurse Leadership DNP
56 credit hours
18 courses
4 years to complete
Our online post-bachelor’s to DNP program is designed to build on your goal to be an executive leader in nursing and will prepare you for management and administration roles in a variety of health care settings. Courses will focus on developing your business acumen as you learn how to utilize evidence-based practice to facilitate the delivery of safe, quality nursing care in a variety of health care settings.
Post-Master’s Executive Nurse Leadership DNP
35 credit hours
11 courses
2 years to complete
You aspire to be an executive nursing leader in health care. A DNP in Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management will allow you to apply your current leadership experiences in a curriculum that advances your business acumen, while developing your knowledge of evaluating and implementing evidence-based practice and how it is used to improve health care outcomes and transform organizations.
Residency and practice project experiences.
1. Elevate your professional writing skills.
Writing is a complex process, especially at the doctoral level. That’s why our writing residency prepares you to deliver high‑quality academic papers and projects. Prior to orientation, you will gain access to writing modules created exclusively for DNP online students. Each module can be completed at your own pace.
2. Complete a specialized leadership project.
Nurses prepared at the DNP level are expected to provide leadership for evidence‑based practice in nursing. That’s why we require you to complete a Doctoral Practice Project.
Working closely with faculty, you will select an area of interest to evaluate, such as a population, program, system or clinical intervention, within a health setting. Each course in our DNP program builds on the last — enabling you to work toward the completion of your DNP project every step of the way.
Your Doctoral Practice Project is personalized at Duquesne.
Duquesne is known for our personal touch with our students. It’s what sets us apart. You will receive regular, one-on-one support from our DNP faculty throughout the program. We’re on this journey with you. And your success is our highest priority.
Online DNP Admissions
Admission Requirements
To qualify for our online Post-Bachelor’s Executive Nurse Leadership DNP, you must:
- Hold a current, unencumbered RN license.
- Hold a bachelor’s degree (nursing or non-nursing) from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA or higher. BSN degree preferred.
- Have completed an undergraduate statistics course with a “C” or higher.
- Have at least one year of full-time work experience as an RN prior to registration in the clinical or specialty courses.
Note: Strong leadership experience is preferred.
Admissions Process
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Goal statement (2-3 pages)
- Official transcript(s)
- An interview may be required
- Three reference letters. Recommendations should be from persons who can comment on the applicant’s professional or academic abilities. Examples:
- One Supervisory and two Academic (Nursing Professor/Nursing Preceptor)
- Two Supervisory and one Academic (Nursing Professor/Nursing Preceptor)
- Or three Supervisory if you have been out of school for more than five years
- The supervisor reference letters must come from a direct supervisor who is responsible for your performance evaluation
Our DNP faculty are leaders in advanced nursing practice.
Meet Dr. Frank Kosnosky Jr.
Clinical Associate Professor
- Post-Graduate Certificate, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, University of South Alabama
- DNP, University of Alabama-Birmingham
- MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner, Clarion University of Pennsylvania
- BSN, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
- RN Diploma, Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
Dr. Kosnosky is a clinician and educator with a special interest in neonatal health. He has a clinical background as a neonatal intensive care registered nurse and also as a nurse practitioner in several settings which include urgent care, occupational health, and plastics/aesthetics. He has experience teaching at the diploma and doctoral levels and both didactically and clinically. Dr. Kosnosky believes that learning should be an enjoyable experience even though it requires hard work and dedication. He fully appreciates the student-educator relationship and the dynamics of mutual interchange in teaching/learning, with both benefiting from each other.
Student Testimonial
“I have been a nurse for 35 years, and I can honestly say that the Duquesne DNP Leadership program has been transformative not only professionally but also personally. This program has caused me to reach down deep within and has helped me exceed my own expectations. The faculty are seasoned with broad backgrounds and experiences that enhance learning and the overall educational experience. I am extremely happy that I chose Duquesne and that they chose me.”
– Linda JH Baker, DNP, MSN, RN, Rapid Response, HCA