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Doctor of Nursing Practice, DNP (Nurse Executive Leadership Concentration)

Lead Healthcare Organizations in Changing the Delivery of Care
  • 36

    UNCW's Nurse Executive Leadership Concentration Is a 36-Credit-Hour Program

  • 5 - 14

    Full and Part-Time Degree Completion Options Are Available & Can Be Completed in 5 to 14 Semesters

Doctor of Nursing Practice, DNP (Nurse Executive Leadership Concentration) Program Overview

Become a Leader

The Nurse Executive Leadership concentration prepares nurses across all settings who are in a leadership trajectory. Graduates of this program are expected to lead healthcare organizations in changing the delivery of care and the expected outcomes for our clients, community, and global health.

DNP-prepared leaders will contribute to the discipline of nursing through innovation and translating evidence into leadership practice.

What does the program consist of?

The Essentials of the Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (Definition page 4 of AACN DNP Essentials) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership competencies are embedded in this program. (AACN DNP Essential VIII).

UNCW's Nurse Executive Leadership Concentration is a 36-credit-hour program that can be completed in as few as five semesters.

Learn To

Integrate science from nursing and other disciplines to identify, develop, and evaluate practice change initiatives that improve individual and population health

Demonstrate leadership within healthcare systems to adopt strategies to improve quality and safety

Incorporate knowledge of evidence-based practice into advanced decision-making through the evaluation and translation of evidence into practice

Analyze, apply and integrate appropriate information and technology that will improve and transform care at the individual and population level

Critically analyze health policy to develop and implement health care reform that advocates for social justice and equity

Find Your Career in:

Manage a care facility's nursing staff. They coordinate the schedules, implement policy, and draw up the budget. (Source)

Duties include gathering and analyzing data, designing workflows, measuring impact, educating and training end users, managing systems and managing discussions between end users and software developers. (Source)

Executive leaders are responsible for steering the organization and managing its operations. (Source)

Responsible for a variety of training and development duties in a healthcare facility. Much of their work focuses on ensuring that nurses have the skills and training to succeed in their individual units. (Source)

Design course curriculum and instruct students in their academic specialty at a higher education institution. (Source)

An experienced nurse who helps manage finances, enforce policies, and connect patients with the care they need.

A nursing student and athletic training students work together to treat a patient in a wheelchair in a classroom simulation.

Sample Courses 36 Hours

A table showing a few sample courses required for the doctor of nursing practice nurse executive leadership concentration program.
NSG 670 Executive Leadership in Complex Health Systems
NSG 672 Legal & Ethical Environment for Executive Leaders
NSG 673 Advanced Finance & Economics
NSG 674 Quality, Safety & Outcomes for the Nurse Executive
NSG 675 Population Health & Policy
NSG 692 Health Care Information Systems & Technology
See The Full Curriculum

Requirements for Application

  • Master’s degree in nursing from an accredited institution. (Master’s degree in Nursing Leadership and Management preferred, but applicants with an MS in a nursing specialty other than leadership will also be considered.) Applicants with a BSN degree and a master’s in a non-nursing, health- related field (MBA, MPH, MHA, MMHC, etc.) are also eligible to apply for the DNP Executive Leadership Track.
  • RN License: Current unrestricted registered nurse (RN) license in the state in which practice will occur.
  • GPA: 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or higher on all previous graduate coursework as documented by official transcripts with evidence of completion of graduate level.
  • CV or Resume: If applicable, include verification of practicum hours completed during previous graduate degree. To complete the DNP program, all students are expected to have 1000 post-baccalaureate practice hours. If students do not have verified 500 practice hours in their prior master’s program, the student will need to complete additional hours to meet the 1,000-hour graduation requirement. (Preference given to applicants with two (2) or more years of post-master’s leadership.)
  • Recommendations: Three professional letters of recommendation to substantiate practice and leadership capabilities are required.
  • Essay: Maximum 600 words. The DNP program for Executive Nurse Leaders prepares experienced leaders to translate evidence-based knowledge into practice, examine and guide the implementation of practice innovations to improve health care outcomes, and align organizational strategic initiatives with healthcare that is affordable and of high quality.
    • Describe your short-term and long-term professional goals and how earning the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Nurse Leadership will help you achieve these.
    • Describe experiences that demonstrate formal or informal leadership attributes that define you as a nurse leader.
    • Identify one significant contemporary health care issue (organizational, national, or population-specific) that can be impacted by the DNP-prepared Nurse Executive.
  • Interview: Interview with the School of Nursing faculty may be required to determine congruence between student practice interests, career goals and faculty expertise.
  • Computer Access: Applicants must have access to a computer capable of supporting electronic mail, a web browser, a word processing program and multi‐media presentations.
  • International applicants must present evidence of professional standing in their home countries. This requirement excludes U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents.
  • Differential Tuition: Differential tuition applies to this program. View a complete listing of current tuition/fees here. Verification of hours (PDF form)

Admission Deadlines & Requirements

Information: DNP Doctor of Nursing Practice - Nurse Executive Leadership (MSN to DNP)

Apply Now

  • Complete applications are considered for admission as a group, after the published deadline.
  • All application and supporting documents must be received by the published deadline.

Coordinator

Location/Delivery Method

  • Distance Education - Online except for the mandatory on campus orientation and designated on campus intensives scheduled throughout the program as indicated for each concentration.  
    Mixture of asynchronous and synchronous by class Asynchronous - instructional materials made available on the Internet and available 24 hours a day every day-not time-dependent slots. Synchronous - instruction made available on the web or internet in time-dependent slots.

Concentrations

  • Nurse Executive Leadership - MSN to DNP

Deadlines (11:59 p.m. EST)

  • Fall 2025
    • Application Deadline:  April 1, 2025

Transcripts

  • One official transcript is required from each U.S. post-secondary institution attended. Refer to the Getting Started page for international transcript instructions.

Test Scores

  • None Required

Recommendations

  • 3 professional letters of recommendation to substantiate practice and leadership capabilities.

Additional Requirements

  1. Upload Supplemental Documents After Application Submission
    Upload Supplemental Documents
  2. Degree Requirements: Master’s degree in nursing from an accredited institution. (Master’s degree in Nursing Leadership and Management preferred but applicants with an MS in a nursing specialty other than leadership will also be considered). Applicants with a BSN degree and a master’s in a non-nursing, health-related field (MBA, MPH, MHA, MMHC, etc.) are also eligible to apply for the DNP Executive Leadership Track.
  3. RN License:  Current unrestricted registered nurse (RN) license in the state in which practice will occur.
  4. GPA:  Overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. A GPA as low as 2.75 will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  5. Curriculum Vitae or Resume:  1 page only
  6. Include on CV/Resume:  If applicable, include verification of practicum hours completed during previous graduate degree. In order to complete the DNP program, all students are expected to have 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours. If students do not have verified 500 practice hours in their prior master’s program, the student will need to complete additional hours to meet the 1000 hour graduation requirement. (Preference given to applicants with 2 or more years of post-master’s leadership.) Nurse Leadership or executive nursing history (1 page only). 
  7. Essay:  Written word limited essay addressing prompts to essay questions.
    Essay Prompt & Instructions
  8. Interview:  interview with the School of Nursing faculty may be required to determine congruence between student practice interests, career goals and faculty expertise.
  9. Computer Access:  Applicants must have access to a computer capable of supporting electronic mail, a web browser, a word processing programs and multi-media presentations.
  10. International applicants:  Must present evidence of professional standing in their home countries. This requirement excludes U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents.
  11. Differential Tuition: Differential tuition applies to this program.
    Tuition & Fees

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