Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree

The Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

1. The degree Doctor of Nursing Practice is a practice-focused doctorate designed to prepare experts in specialized advanced nursing practice.
2. To be eligible to receive the DNP degree a student must:
   1. Complete the specified general degree requirements.
   2. Attain a minimum of 1,000 hours of post-baccalaureate supervised academic program practice hours.
   3. Complete an acceptable synthesis project after being admitted to candidacy for the degree.
   4. Satisfy the general and specific departmental or program requirements for the degree.

Admission to the Doctoral Program

1. A student becomes an applicant for the doctorate upon admission to the Graduate School and upon acceptance by the DNP Program to pursue the degree.
2. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Department of Nursing faculty may not be admitted into the University of Louisiana at Lafayette DNP program.
3. For admission, an applicant must provide evidence of current unencumbered U.S. nursing licensure and possess a Master of Science degree in Nursing in the nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, or nurse administration/nurse executive role from a regionally accredited institution.

Grade, Credit, and Time Requirements

1. Each degree candidate must complete at least 39 hours of doctoral credit subsequent to earning a master’s degree; at least 29 of these hours must be earned in non-synthesis project coursework.
2. Each degree candidate must complete a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate supervised academic program practice hours. The required 420 practice hours in DNP program residency courses shall be included in these hours.
3. Each degree candidate must present acceptable grades in the coursework specified for the curriculum, and must earn grades of B or better.No more than one course in which a grade of C has been earned may be permitted; a student who earns a second grade of C becomes ineligible to continue in the DNP program. No course in which a grade of C has been earned may be applied toward fulfillment of the DNP degree requirements.
4. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires that the majority of the credits applied toward the degree be earned through instruction at the institution granting the degree. A maximum of 19 semester hours of appropriate graduate coursework, subject to approval by the program coordinator and the Graduate School Dean, may be transferred from other accredited institutions. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the program coordinator to determine the acceptability of previous coursework and to apply to transfer that coursework.
5. Transfer credits for Nursing 803, 809, 810, 811, 812, 821, 822, and 823 will not be considered.
6. All degree requirements must be completed within five years following admission to the DNP program.Admission is defined as the first semester the student is enrolled as a DNP student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Residence Requirement

The student should consult the program coordinator for information regarding on-campus degree program requirements.

Advising

The student’s program of study must be planned in consultation with the program coordinator.

General Comprehensive Examination

1. The comprehensive examination committee shall be the same as a student’s synthesis project committee and is generally comprised of three members of the LHC Group ● Myers School of Nursing faculty who are members of the UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty. In all cases, the committee must be chaired by a Nursing Graduate Faculty member.
2. A quality improvement project proposal, including a comprehensive review of the literature on a selected topic, is required in place of a general comprehensive examination.
3. Satisfactory completion of the quality improvement project proposal shall be determined by a unanimous vote of the DNP synthesis project committee.

Admission to Candidacy

1. The Admission to candidacy for the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree recognizes a stage in the advancement toward the degree.
2. ​Immediately after satisfactory completion of NURS 803 , the student shall apply for admission to candidacy using the form available from the Graduate School. A copy must be on file in the Graduate School.
3. Each application for admission to candidacy must be approved by the Graduate Dean.

Synthesis Project

1. Each candidate for the DNP degree is required to complete a Synthesis Project that is clinically and/or organizationally relevant and that is of a reasonable scope.Although not a dissertation or thesis, it is a rigorous project through which the student identifies issues in the practice setting and evaluates, integrates, and applies research-based evidence to improve patient care or practice outcomes. The synthesis project is the culmination of DNP coursework. It provides evidence of the student’s experience and growth, represents a significant contribution to the discipline of nursing, and provides a foundation for the graduate’s future scholarly endeavors.
2. The topic of the synthesis project must be formally identified on the DNP Progress Report Form and officially approved by the faculty advisor/committee chairperson.
3. A Synthesis Project Committee, comprised of a faculty advisor/committee chairperson, two program faculty members, and an approved mentor from the agency in which the student expects to implement the project, will provide oversight for the project.A committee must consist of at least two members of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate faculty, and, in all cases, must be chaired by a faculty member who possesses Level 2 membership on the UL Graduate Faculty.
4. A student actively engaged in work on a synthesis project, as determined by the student’s faculty advisor/committee chairperson, must be officially enrolled for synthesis project credit (NURS 809, 810, 811, 812, 821, 822, or 823), whether the student is on or off campus.
5. The synthesis project must be prepared according to the requirements specified in the publication Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses, Dissertations, and DNP Synthesis Projects, available on the Graduate School website. The DNP program has established American Psychological Association (APA) as the style to be used for synthesis projects in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
6. Each student must participate in some on-campus activities, including the DNP Orientation Intensive at the outset of the program and the formal, end-of-the-program presentation of the Synthesis Project.
7. Prior to the synthesis project presentation, the candidate must submit copies of the synthesis project to members of the synthesis project committee, in the form specified by the committee and according to a schedule set by the committee, to permit review by committee members.
8. The synthesis project is officially approved upon unanimous vote of the synthesis project committee. This approval is required for satisfactory completion of the DNP degree requirements.
9. One perfect copy of the synthesis project in final, finished format must be presented to the Graduate School office for the official approval of the Graduate Dean by the date designated in the schedule of classes. The required copy must conform to the requirements specified in the publication, Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses, Dissertations, and DNP Synthesis Projects. Projects not meeting these guidelines will be returned. Failure to meet deadlines may delay graduation.
10. When the final copy of the synthesis project is presented to the Graduate School for the Dean’s approval, the student must submit one original approval page signed by each member of the committee to be signed later by the Dean of the Graduate School and incorporated into the final copy of the synthesis project. Original signatures in black ink are required on the approval sheet; copies of the approval sheet with duplicated signatures are not acceptable.
11. In instances where the Dean of the Graduate School is an official member of a student’s synthesis project committee, the approval sheet of the synthesis project will contain the name, rank, and signature of the Chair of the Graduate Council in the space normally provided for the Dean of the Graduate School. In such instances, the Dean will sign only as a member of the synthesis project committee.
12. A synthesis project abstract, not to exceed 350 words, must accompany the required copy of the synthesis project. Two additional copies of the abstract must be furnished to the Graduate School office when the synthesis project is presented.
13. Each candidate must pay a binding charge of $15.00 per copy for the required copy of the synthesis project presented to the Graduate School office. In cases where special binding expenses are incurred, the student may be required to pay additional charges. The Graduate School office makes the arrangements for binding. The final copy of the synthesis project will be provided to the Dupre Library. Additional copies are to be prepared as specified by the candidate’s department, or as desired by the candidate for personal use, at a binding charge of $15.00 per copy. Additional copies of the synthesis project are not required to be printed on archival quality paper, as specified in the Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses, Dissertations, and DNP Synthesis Projects, but are required to include original certificates of approval with committee members’ signatures.
14. In addition, students must submit a PDF of the final version of the synthesis project to Proquest/UMI ETD Administrator. All submissions must be published under the “Open Access” option through ProQuest/UMI Dissertations Publishing, and students must pay the $95.00 publishing fee. If the “Traditional Publishing” option is selected, then the student will be required to resubmit his or her synthesis project under the “Open Access” option. If the “Embargo” option is selected, the student must have already obtained permission for an embargo from the Graduate School. Students who select the embargo option without securing permission will be required to resubmit their synthesis project with the “Embargo” option deselected. Students that request, for any reason, an embargo on the release of their work must still submit to ProQuest/UMI Dissertations Publishing. If the embargo request is approved by the Graduate School, then their synthesis project will be stored within the ProQuest/UMI database until the schedule lift date of the embargo.
15. The student is encouraged but not required to have the synthesis project registered with the Library of Congress. Proquest/UMI Dissertations Publishing provides a copyright filing service for an additional fee.

Synthesis Project Committee

1. The synthesis project committee is responsible for assisting in the selection of a suitable subject for the synthesis project and supervising that project.
2. The synthesis project committee must be comprised of a chairperson who is a member of the DNP program faculty, at least two additional program faculty members, and an approved mentor from the agency in which the student expects to implement the project. Each committee must include at least two members of the UL Graduate Faculty and, in all cases, must be chaired by a faculty member who possesses Level 2 membership on the UL Graduate Faculty. The UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty members shall always constitute a simple majority of the committee membership regardless of the number of total committee members. All members of a synthesis project committee at UL Lafayette shall be voting members of said committee with the privilege of signing the approval page of the synthesis project.
3. Committee members from outside the UL Lafayette faculty may serve as outside members of the synthesis project committee with the privilege of voting to approve the synthesis project and signing the approval page. These members shall be chosen based upon their qualifications and approved by the synthesis project committee and the DNP program coordinator.
4. A minimum of two synthesis project committee members in addition to the chair must participate in the presentation of the synthesis project. The Dean of the Graduate School may appoint an outside observer to represent the Graduate Faculty, according to the Outside Observers  policies.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Check-List

1. Prepared curriculum plan with program coordinator.
2. Formed a synthesis project committee and secured approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.
3. Admitted to candidacy immediately after satisfactory completion of NURS 803.
4. Submitted IRB application and gained necessary IRB approvals for completion of synthesis project.
5. Completed all courses as required in the program curriculum.
6. Attained a minimum of 1,000 hours of post-baccalaureate supervised academic program practice hours.
7. Completed and returned Graduation Check-List to the Graduate School by the end of the first week of last semester of doctoral work.
8. Submitted Application for Degree and paid diploma fee by the end of the first week of the last semester of study.
9. Presented synthesis project as required by program.
10. Maintained a 3.0 average overall.
11. Turned in, or made arrangements for turning in, to the Graduate School office the approved one copy of the synthesis project in perfect, finished form, each with an approval sheet with original signatures in black ink and a synthesis project abstract, and two extra copies of the abstract, and paid dissertation binding charge of $15.00 per copy. Paid appropriate fees for the services provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. See the Graduate School Office for current fee amounts.
12. Attended graduation exercises, unless excused in advance in writing by the Dean of the Graduate School.