Nursing Practice, D.N.P. (Post-Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

Saint Louis University's Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) is a practice-focused doctoral degree that educates nurses to become expert clinicians, leaders in health policy and catalysts for improved health care delivery. We offer nurse practitioner specialties in adult/gerontological acute care, family, pediatric primary care and family psychiatric-mental health.

The Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is renowned for excellence in nursing education. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks our graduate program as a top program in their Best Graduate Schools survey.

Students may choose from four concentrations, allowing them to customize the patient population that they will work most:

Adult/Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Concentration

If you choose the adult/gerontological acute care nurse practitioner program, you will learn to use complex monitoring and invasive therapies, high-intensity interventions, and continuous vigilance within the range of high-acuity care to help meet the specialized physiological and psychological needs of adults of all ages, including the frail elderly.

Adult/gerontological acute care nurse practitioners work in emergency departments, tertiary care settings, intensive care units, trauma centers and specialty medicine areas treating patients with acute, critical and chronic illnesses and those with disabilities or injuries. Graduates are eligible for national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and/or the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. 

Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration

Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing's family nurse practitioner program prepares you to provide primary health care to patients of all ages. You will help prevent disease, assess and manage acute and chronic health problems, and consult and refer patients within the health care system. The family nurse practitioner program emphasizes quality relationships with patients, families, and communities, and the education and coordination of services aimed at specific health outcomes.

Family nurse practitioners, also known as FNPs, work in various settings and are well-suited to rural populations, where specialty care may not always be available. Graduates are eligible for national certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and/or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program.

Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Concentration

If you choose the pediatric primary care nurse practitioner program, you will be prepared to provide care to patients from birth through 21 years of age. Pediatric primary care nurse practitioners, also known as PNPs, focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and management of acute and chronic conditions in pediatric offices and schools, communities, urgent cares, and specialty settings. Graduates are eligible for national certification from the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Concentration

If you pursue the family psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program, you will work with children, adolescents, and adults of all ages with acute and/or complex mental health needs, or psychiatric diagnoses. The family psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program encourages evidence-based, culturally sensitive, recovery-oriented, and holistic care.

You will be prepared to apply the nursing process and medical/medication management to promote optimal mental health while engaging in ongoing collaboration with clients, their families, significant others, and the inter-professional team. Graduates are eligible for national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Program Highlights

• Full- and part-time curriculum plans
• A variety of specialty areas and role options
• The option to emphasize research in any specialty area
• Responsive faculty who are nationally recognized for teaching excellence, nursing leadership, scholarly research and student mentorship
• Faculty advisors who are individually assigned to mentor each student throughout the program
• An online library
• An online writing center
• State-of-the-art teaching facilities

Curriculum Overview

The Post-Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice (B.S.N.-D.N.P.) program requires a total of 62 to 67 credits beyond the B.S.N., depending on the population specialty focus. The courses can be taken during a six-year period. Students will complete the program with 1,050 or 1,125 clinical hours, depending on the specialty.

Two visits to Saint Louis University’s campus are required. The first is a two-to-three day residency at the School of Nursing, where your knowledge of the curriculum’s content, including diagnostic reasoning, clinical assessment skills and therapeutic communication, will be assessed. The second on-site campus visit is at the end of the program to present the D.N.P. project. 

Careers

Graduates of the D.N.P. program are prepared to be nurse clinicians or educators. Graduates influence health policy at institutional, local, state and national levels and formulate strategies to maximize patient health.

The median salary of nurse practitioners in 2022 was $125,900. The best-paid 25% of nurse practitioners made $135,470 that year; the lowest-paid 25% made $103,250. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 38% employment growth for nurse practitioners between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 292,000 jobs are projected to open up in the nurse practitioner profession.

Admission Requirements

The Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing adheres to the principles of a holistic admission process in which selection criteria are broad-based and linked to our University’s and school’s mission and goals. While we do consider academic metrics, we also look at applicant experiences, attributes, potential for success, and how applicants may contribute to the school’s learning environment and to the profession.

Licensure Disclosure

The curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for licensure as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) in the State of Missouri. Note that the Missouri Board of Nursing may impose additional requirements on candidates prior to granting a license; we encourage you to investigate these requirements.

The School of Nursing has not determined whether the curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for nursing licensure in any other states or territories. However, graduates of our APRN programs are eligible to sit for National Board Certification Exams in all states and territories. We encourage you to investigate the requirements in your state or territory before accepting an offer of admission from SLU.

Applicant Criteria

• Baccalaureate degree in nursing from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
• One year of clinical experience.
• Cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.00 system.
• An unencumbered registered nurse license in the state in which clinical experience will be done.
• Current CPR certification from the American Heart Association.
• Completion of an undergraduate-level descriptive and inferential statistics course.
• Completion of a beginning-level health assessment or equivalent course.

Requirements for International Students

All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students. International students must also meet the following additional requirements:

• Demonstrate English Language Proficiency
• Academic records, in English translation, of students who have undertaken postsecondary studies outside the United States must include:
  • Courses taken and/or lectures attended
  • Practical laboratory work
  • The maximum and minimum grades attainable
  • The grades earned or the results of all end-of-term examinations
  • Any honors or degrees received.
• WES and ECE transcripts are accepted.
• In order to be issued an I-20 for your F-1 visa application, students must submit financial documents. Proof of financial support that must include:
  • A letter of financial support from the person(s) or sponsoring agency funding the student's time at Saint Louis University
  • A letter from the sponsor's bank verifying that the funds are available and will be so for the duration of the student's study at the University

Application Requirements

Applying for the B.S.N.-D.N.P. program requires careful planning to ensure that all admission requirements are met. You may experience a delay in processing if the application instructions are not followed exactly as listed.

Please follow the five steps outlined below to apply:

• Step 1: Application
  Submit the application form and pay the associated fee through NursingCAS. Select Saint Louis University. 
• Step 2: Transcripts
  Please submit your official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended directly to NursingCAS. They will provide details when the application is initiated.
• Step 3: Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  Attach your CV/résumé documenting your education, clinical nursing experience, and service to the nursing profession/community within the NursingCAS application.
• Step 4: Professional Goal Statement
  Attach your professional goal statement within the NursingCAS application. The goal statement should outline your goals for doctoral study, research translation area of interest for the capstone project and your career goals. The statement should be one-to-two pages and double-spaced.
• Step 5: RN License
  Attach a copy of your unencumbered registered nurse license in the state in which clinical experience will be done within the NursingCAS application.

Application Deadlines

Admissions are rolling until the following deadlines:

• Fall semester start: August 1
• Spring semester start: January 1
• Summer semester start: May 1

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed shortly after all application requirements have been submitted.

Tuition

Additional charges may apply. Other resources are listed below:

Net Price Calculator

Information on Tuition and Fees

Miscellaneous Fees

Information on Summer Tuition

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Financing for this program may be available through grants, scholarships, loans (federal and private) and institutional financing plans. For price estimates, please review the SLU Cost Calculator.

The Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing offers scholarship and graduate research assistantship opportunities to eligible graduate students. Additionally, most nursing students will participate in a tuition assistance program provided through their employer.

For more information, visit the Office of Student Financial Services.

Accreditation

The Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is fully approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice at the Valentine School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing. To achieve its educational objectives, the school uses the hospitals within SSM Health and many health care organizations in the greater St. Louis area.

1. Graduates will be able to use advanced knowledge of mid-range and translational theories from nursing and other disciplines as a framework for advanced nursing practice.

2. Graduates will be able to critically examine research and scholarship to support evidence-based clinical practice.

3. Graduates will be able to exemplify ethical principles in the delivery of comprehensive health care.

4. Graduates will be able to formulate strategies that consider the social and structural determinants of health to maximize health in populations. 

5. Graduates will be able to develop clinical competence for advanced practice that provides consumers with primary, secondary, and/or tertiary health care.

6. Graduates will be able to use technology and information to improve health care. 

7.  Graduates will be able to apply principles of epidemiology, biostatistics, and environmental sciences to recognized populations at risk, patterns of disease, and effectiveness of prevention and intervention. 

8. Graduates will be able to apply current knowledge of organizations and financing of the health care system to improve the outcomes of care.

9.  Graduates will be able to design and implement processes to evaluate outcomes and systems for health care delivery. 

10. Graduates will be able to use business and management strategies for the provision of quality care and efficient use of resources. 

11. Graduates will be able to use advanced communication and leadership skills with interprofessional health care teams to create and evaluate health care delivery systems. 

12. Graduates will be able to influence health policy at institutional, local, state, and national levels to advance health equity. 

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all graduate/professional courses.

Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Family Nurse Practitioner

Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

Family Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.  

Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.

This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.

Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Concentration

Family Nurse Practitioner

Family Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Concentration

†

3 day on-site; usually end of April

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Concentration

Apply for Admission

For additional admission questions, please contact the School of Nursing's recruitment and enrollment staff:

Undergraduate Inquiries
314-977-8995 
slunurse@slu.edu 

Graduate Inquiries
314-977-8976 
gradnurse@slu.edu