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

Saint Louis University's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing 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.

SLU's 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 with 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.

Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Concentration

If you choose the primary care pediatric nurse practitioner program, you will be prepared to provide care to patients from birth through 21 years of age. Primary care pediatric 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.

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 interprofessional team. Graduates are eligible for national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program.

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 64 to 68 credits beyond the B.S.N., depending on the population specialty focus. The courses can be taken during a four-year period. Students will complete the program with 1,200 clinical hours.

Two visits to Saint Louis University’s campus are required. The first is a two-to-three day residency at the Valentine 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 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 2023 was $128,490. The best-paid 25% of nurse practitioners made $140,610 that year; the lowest-paid 25% made $106,960. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 45% employment growth for nurse practitioners between 2023 and 2033. In that period, an estimated 319,000 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.

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 3.20 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.

International Students

International students on F-1 or J-1 student visas are not eligible for admission to this nursing program because this program is offered completely online. 

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: July 15
• Spring semester start: December 15
• Summer semester start: April 15

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 Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is fully approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing.

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) certificate program at Saint Louis University's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 665 K Street N.W., Suite 750, Washington, D.C., 20001. The commission's phone number is 202-887-6791.

Licensure Disclosure

For information about whether this program meets any state board of nursing's educational requirements for eligibility to take a state licensure exam, please see our Professional Licensure Disclosure page.

1. Knowledge for Nursing Practice: Integrates an understanding of nursing’s distinct and shared disciplinary perspectives and applies theoretical and empirical knowledge from the humanities and natural, social, behavioral and nursing sciences to form the basis for clinical judgment and innovation in nursing practice.

2. Person-centered Care: Engages in nursing care through the relational lens, which fosters caring relationships, mutuality, active participation, and individual empowerment in the delivery and communication of compassionate person-centered nursing care through cura personalis.

3. Population Health: Collaborates with diverse stakeholders for the advancement of effective partnerships, health policy and improvement of equitable population health outcomes related to the social determinants of health.

4. Scholarship for Nursing Discipline: Applies, translates, and implements best evidence and client values into clinical decision-making.

5. Quality and Safety: Enhances quality of care while minimizing risk of harm to clients and providers through system effectiveness and individual performance.

6. Interprofessional Partnerships: Collaborates across professions with care team members, clients, clients, families, communities and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience and strengthen outcomes.

7. Systems-Based Practice: Effectively and proactively coordinates resources to provide safe, quality and equitable care to diverse populations within complex healthcare systems to address social and structural determinants of health.

8. Informatics and Healthcare Technologies: Utilizes information processes and technologies to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services.

9. Professionalism: Cultivates a sustainable professional nursing identity, accountability, perspective, collaborative disposition and ethical principles that reflect nursing’s characteristics and values.

10. Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development: Participates in activities and self-reflection through Ignatian pedagogy that foster personal health, resilience, and well-being while supporting the acquisition of nursing expertise, lifelong learning and the leadership continuum.

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

Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

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

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
314-977-8995
slunurse@slu.edu