BSN—DNP program
The UMKC School of Nursing & Health Studies was the first university in Missouri to offer the Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree (DNP) to post-master’s students already certified as advanced practice nurses (APRN). The DNP program and the current Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). This is a voluntary, self-regulatory process. To meet CCNE accreditation nursing schools provide continuing self-assessment to document meeting CCNE standards.
The School of Nursing & Health Studies provides BSN prepared nurses with a doctoral level education that will allow them to become certified advanced practice registered nurses. There are full time (accelerated) and part time (regular) plans of study. Students applying to the accelerated plan should not work during the program. The graduate studies office sets 9 hours as the full time plan of study. (This is not equivalent to 9 hours in your undergraduate program which is why we are calling it accelerated).
The application process is competitive. Aspects that are considered for admission, not in specific priority, are your personal statement, GPA, work experience, resume, references, involvement in nursing professional organizations, and the ability for critical thinking. Personal interviews may be requested. Attendance at the summer institutes is mandatory and part of the curriculum course credit hours.
What are nurse practitioners (NP’s)?
- Assess patient health status
- Complete a detailed history and physical exam
- Diagnose and treat common acute health problems
- Manage care for stable, but chronically ill, patients
- Manage prenatal care during pregnancy (WHNP)
- Participate in, or manage, clinical research projects
- Provide disease prevention and health promotion services
- Collaborative clinical practice
- Specialty practice
- Community clinics
- Group clinical practice/HMOs
- Nurse-managed clinics
- Rural health clinics
- Occupational health
- Urgent/emergency room
- Migrant clinics
- Clinical research
- Medically underserved areas
- Prisons
On-site Tracks
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) (74 credit hours)
- Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) (74 credit hours)
- Distant, on-site FNP tracks are available in Joplin (MSSU) and St. Joseph (MWSU), Missouri. Students will take most of the core courses online and then core clinical courses will be offered onsite at UMKC, MSSU, or MWSU. Currently, Arkansas students are required to do clinical experiences in Missouri.
- FNP emphasis area onsite in Kansas City
Online Tracks
Each state has different registration and approval regulations for online degree programs offered within their state. We are not approved to offer online degree programs in all states. We will notify you as soon as possible if these regulations will affect your application to UMKC and, if so, your application fee will be refunded. Please feel free to call us to verify the status of your state’s regulations.
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) (74 credit hours)
- Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) (74 credit hours)
On campus residencies are required during the online programs. These dates are scheduled in advance and communicated on the schedule for the semester. Faculty will provide more information prior to each scheduled on-campus residency.
Note: For information about the CRNA program, visit www.trumed.org/crna.
Why the move from the MSN to the BSN to DNP as the entry level to practice for APRN’s?
- The changing demands of this nation's complex healthcare environment require the highest level of scientific knowledge and practice expertise to assure quality patient outcomes. The Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other authorities have called for re-conceptualizing educational programs that prepare today’s health professionals.
- Some of the many factors building momentum for change in nursing education at the graduate level include: the rapid expansion of knowledge underlying practice; increased complexity of patient care; national concerns about the quality of care and patient safety; shortages of nursing personnel which demands a higher level of preparation for leaders who can design and assess care; shortages of doctorally-prepared nursing faculty; and increasing educational expectations for the preparation of other members of the healthcare team.
- In a 2005 report titled Advancing the Nation's Health Needs: NIH Research Training Programs, the National Academy of Sciences called for nursing to develop a non-research clinical doctorate to prepare expert practitioners who can also serve as clinical faculty. AACN's work to advance the DNP is consistent with this call to action.
Nursing is moving in the direction of other health professions in the transition to the DNP. Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), Pharmacy (PharmD), Psychology (PsyD), Physical Therapy (DPT), and Audiology (AudD) all offer practice doctorates.
Program Admission Requirements
- BSN from a college or university nationally recognized by a nursing accrediting agency (CCNE or NLNAC)
- Minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.2 for the last 60 hours of the BSN program on a 4.0 scale
- Current unencumbered Missouri licensure or unencumbered licensure in the state in which the student completes clinical requirements
- The following two courses are pre-requisites to progression in the DNP program; however they can be taken at UMKC along with your program of study prior to or in the first summer semester (they do not have to be taken prior to application, although it's strongly recommended):
- Graduate level statistics course with a minimum grade of B. This course must be taken by the first summer semester.
- A free-standing undergraduate health assessment course by the first summer semester with a minimum grade of B.
- Interviews may be requested
Note: Students applying to the Kansas City ANP or FNP emphasis areas must have a current, unencumbered RN license in both Kansas and Missouri once admitted into the program. You do not need to have both licenses to apply.
Application Checklist
- All materials must be submitted prior to December 1 for a summer institute start or by October 15 for the Accelerated Track program
- Submit the UMKC Application.
- Submit official transcripts from each institution attended to:
UMKC Office of Admissions
120 Administrative Center
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499 - Submit all other documents requested below to:
UMKC School of Nursing & Health Studies BSN-DNP Admissions
2464 Charlotte Street
Kansas City, MO 64108 - BSN-DNP Supplemental Application
- There is a $25 nursing application fee due with your nursing application materials. Please submit a check or Money Order made out to UMKC for $25
- Signed Personal Responsibility Form
- Current resume reflecting all experience as an RN
Note: Two years of RN experience is preferred and one year full time experience is required for the PNP Track - Three BSN-DNP Reference Forms from:
1. Immediate supervisor
2. Faculty professor from BSN program
3. Professional reference able to assess your professional characteristics
- Personal Statement of your professional goals (specific to the role/track to which you are applying) and how this program will help you achieve them
- "Readable” copy of current unencumbered registered nursing license
(Students in the KC area: Adult, Family and Pediatric tracks are required to be licensed in Kansas and Missouri). Distance education students who live, work and practice away from the Kansas City area must have an unencumbered license in the state where they complete their clinical rotations - Newly admitted students must attend a mandatory on-campus summer clinical institute, which is part of the BSN-DNP curriculum. Look for more information with admission letters as well as this website