Nursing, BS-to-DNP

The UMass Boston BS-to-DNP program prepares BSN nurses to excel as leaders in health care as advanced practice nurses. Students will gain knowledge and competence in health promotion, disease prevention and management of complex diseases across the health-illness trajectory, and they will learn health systems leadership, quality improvement, policy development, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The BS-to-DNP program integrates and emphasizes our core urban mission by educating doctorally prepared advance practice nurses to provide equitable access to high-quality care for diverse underserved populations across the lifespan.

The BS-to-DNP students obtain an MS degree en route, after 48 credits and 665 clinical hours in their program of study. Students are encouraged to take the national certification examination as an advance practice nurse at the completion of the MS portion of the program. The DNP portion of the program is 30 credits.

The BS-to-DNP program prepares students in advance practice nursing in one of the population health tracks below:

Adult/Gerontological Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist
Adult/Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
Family Nurse Practitioner

The scope of knowledge addressed in the UMass Boston CNHS core and specialty courses reflects the student outcome competencies cited in The Essential of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN, 2006) document, including

Scientific underpinnings for practice
Organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking
Clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice
Information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care
Health care policy for advocacy in health care
Interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes
Clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health
Advanced nursing practice

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general admissions requirements (www.umb.edu/admissions/grad/apply), please provide the following:

A bachelor’s degree in nursing from an NLNAC- or CCNE-accredited program
1. Applicants who are completing their BS degree may apply and may be conditionally accepted pending final transcripts.
GPA of 3.4 or higher in undergraduate program
A current unrestricted RN licensure in the state of Massachusetts
1. Applicants may be conditionally accepted if completing a BS in nursing.
Completion of college-level course in introductory statistics
Recent completion of a college-level course in health assessment
Strong scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) aptitude tests with emphasis on the analytical writing component

Degree Requirements

A total of 78 credits and 1,065 clinical hours are required for this program. The program of study culminates in the capstone experience. Students are guided by faculty throughout the program in completing a capstone project demonstrating the student’s ability to analyze and guide a change in health care delivery.

Core Courses

Concentration Courses

Application Deadline

Applications must be received no later than October 15th for spring admission and March 15th for fall admissions. The online application can be accessed at www.umb.edu/admissions/grad.