Key takeaway: The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is the terminal practice degree in nursing, designed for nurses who want to lead at the highest level of clinical care, health systems, or advanced practice rather than in research. Online DNP programs deliver the coursework remotely and let you complete supervised practice hours and a scholarly DNP project in your own region, with tracks for nurses entering from a BSN or from an MSN. The roles it prepares you for pay well: nurse practitioners earn a national median annual wage of $132,300, nurse anesthetists $236,590, and medical and health services managers $123,860, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2025).
For most of nursing’s history, the master’s degree was the ceiling for clinical practice and the doctorate meant a research PhD. The DNP changed that. It is a practice doctorate: a degree that takes the clinical foundation of the MSN and adds doctoral-level preparation in evidence translation, quality and safety, systems leadership, health policy, informatics, and population health, and then asks you to prove it through a substantial practice-improvement project. It is now the degree that many nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse executives pursue, and online delivery has made it reachable for working nurses who cannot relocate or stop practicing.
This guide explains what the DNP is and how it differs from the PhD, the BSN-to-DNP and MSN-to-DNP entry tracks, the specialties and leadership tracks you can pursue, how clinical hours and the DNP project work, how the online format is structured, what to verify about accreditation, what to expect on cost, and what the resulting roles pay. For the full ladder of nursing credentials, start with the Online Nursing Programs Guide; if you have not yet completed a master’s, the master’s in nursing page covers that level in detail.
Quick Answers
What is a DNP degree?
A Doctor of Nursing Practice is a terminal practice-focused doctorate in nursing. It prepares nurses for the highest level of clinical practice and for leadership of care delivery systems, as distinct from the PhD in nursing, which prepares researchers and scientists. DNP graduates work as advanced practice registered nurses (nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists) and as nurse executives, quality and safety leaders, informatics leaders, and faculty in clinical education.
Can you earn a DNP online?
Yes, with the same caveat as every clinical nursing degree: the coursework can be completed online, but the supervised practice hours and, for APRN tracks, the clinical rotations must be completed in person at approved sites. Most online DNP programs are designed for practicing nurses, deliver didactic content asynchronously, and let you complete practice hours in your own region under a preceptor the program approves. Some require short on-campus intensives for orientation, skills validation, or project defense.
What is the difference between a DNP and a PhD in nursing?
The DNP is a practice doctorate; the PhD is a research doctorate. DNP programs culminate in a DNP project that applies existing evidence to improve care in a real practice setting, and they require substantial supervised practice hours. PhD programs culminate in a dissertation that generates new knowledge, and they train you in research design, statistics, and theory. Choose the DNP if you want to lead clinical practice or health systems; choose the PhD if you want to conduct original research or hold a research-intensive faculty position.
BSN-to-DNP or MSN-to-DNP: which should you choose?
It depends on what you already hold. If you have a BSN and want to become an APRN, the BSN-to-DNP combines the master’s-level specialty preparation and the doctoral coursework into one continuous program, so you finish with the DNP and eligibility for national certification in your specialty. If you already have an MSN and APRN certification, the MSN-to-DNP (post-master’s DNP) adds only the doctoral-level content and the DNP project, and is the shorter route. Both are widely available online.
Is the DNP required to become a nurse practitioner?
No. As of 2026, an MSN from an accredited program remains an accepted route to NP certification and state licensure in every state. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has held the position since 2004 that the DNP should be the entry-level degree for advanced practice nursing, and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties has called for NP programs to move to the DNP. These are professional positions, not legal requirements. One important exception is nurse anesthesia: the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs now requires students entering accredited nurse anesthesia programs to be enrolled in a doctoral program, so new CRNAs graduate with a DNP or an equivalent practice doctorate.
How much do DNP graduates earn?
Pay depends on the role, not the degree label, because the DNP prepares you for several distinct occupations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2025), nurse practitioners earn a national median annual wage of $132,300, nurse midwives $134,040, and nurse anesthetists $236,590. DNP-prepared executives fall under medical and health services managers, with a national median of $123,860, and DNP-prepared faculty under postsecondary nursing instructors, with a median of $80,250. See the nursing salary guide for the full breakdown.
What a DNP is
The Doctor of Nursing Practice was created to give nursing a practice-focused terminal degree parallel to the practice doctorates in other health professions (the MD, DDS, PharmD, DPT, and AuD). The AACN’s 2004 position statement proposed that advanced practice nursing education move from the master’s to the doctoral level, and the DNP is the degree that grew out of that proposal. Its content is defined by the AACN Essentials, which set out competencies in scientific underpinnings for practice, organizational and systems leadership, clinical scholarship and evidence translation, information systems and technology, health policy, interprofessional collaboration, population health, and advanced practice.
In practical terms, a DNP does two things. First, for nurses entering from a BSN, it delivers the full advanced practice preparation of an MSN, including the “three P’s” (advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment) and the specialty clinical sequence, so you graduate eligible to sit for national APRN certification. Second, for everyone, it adds the doctoral layer: the ability to evaluate evidence critically, lead change across a system, measure outcomes, and improve care at scale rather than one patient at a time.
The DNP does not by itself confer a new license. Advanced practice authority comes from national certification in a specialty (FNP, PMHNP, CRNA, CNM, and so on) plus state APRN licensure. The DNP is the degree that prepares you for that certification, or, for post-master’s students, deepens a practice you already hold.
DNP vs PhD in nursing
Both are doctorates and both take a comparable investment of time, but they train you for different work. Getting this decision right matters more than choosing a school.
| Factor |
DNP (practice doctorate) |
PhD in nursing (research doctorate) |
| Purpose |
Highest level of clinical practice and systems leadership |
Generation of new nursing knowledge through research |
| Culminating work |
DNP project: an evidence-based practice-improvement initiative in a real setting |
Dissertation: original research contributing new knowledge |
| Practice hours |
Substantial supervised practice hours are required |
Not a core component |
| Core coursework |
Evidence translation, quality improvement, systems leadership, policy, informatics, population health, advanced practice |
Philosophy of science, theory development, research design, advanced statistics |
| Typical graduates |
APRNs, nurse executives, quality and safety leaders, clinical faculty |
Nurse scientists, research faculty, policy researchers |
| Online availability |
Widely available, since practice hours are completed locally |
Available, though often with residency requirements |
Some universities offer DNP-PhD dual programs for nurses who want both practice and research credentials, but for most nurses the choice is clear from what they want to do after graduation. If you want to be a clinician-leader, the DNP is the degree built for it.
Entry tracks: BSN-to-DNP and MSN-to-DNP
Online DNP programs admit nurses at two points on the ladder, and the track you enter determines length, content, and whether you graduate with a new specialty credential.
BSN-to-DNP
The BSN-to-DNP is designed for registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree who want to become APRNs and earn the doctorate in a single program, without stopping to complete a separate MSN. It combines the master’s-level specialty sequence with the doctoral coursework and the DNP project. You choose a population focus or role (for example, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, or nurse anesthesia) at admission, complete the full specialty clinical rotations for that role, and graduate eligible for its national certification exam. Many programs award the MSN along the way, so you can sit for certification and begin practicing as an APRN before the DNP portion is finished.
Because it contains the entire specialty preparation, the BSN-to-DNP is the longer of the two tracks, often structured as three to four years of full-time study or longer part time. Typical admission requirements are a BSN from an accredited program, an active RN license, a minimum GPA (often 3.0), a statistics course, and for some specialties a period of RN experience; nurse anesthesia tracks typically require at least a year of critical-care experience.
MSN-to-DNP (post-master’s DNP)
The MSN-to-DNP is for nurses who already hold a master’s degree, usually with APRN certification or a leadership or education focus. It adds the doctoral-level content and the DNP project on top of the practice you already have. Because the specialty preparation is complete, the post-master’s DNP is shorter, often structured as one to two years full time or two to three part time, and it is the most common fully online DNP format.
Post-master’s programs typically require an MSN from a CCNE- or ACEN-accredited program, an active RN license, current APRN certification (for clinical tracks), and documentation of the supervised practice hours you completed in your master’s program, which count toward the doctoral practice-hour total. If your master’s focus was not clinical, some programs let you add a post-master’s APRN specialty during the DNP; others admit you to a leadership or executive DNP track that does not require one.
The master’s in nursing page describes the MSN itself, and the how to become a nurse practitioner guide maps the route from RN through graduate study, certification, and licensure for either track.
Specialties and leadership tracks
The DNP is a degree, not a specialty. What you can do with it depends on the track you choose.
Advanced practice (APRN) tracks
- Nurse practitioner (NP). The largest DNP population by far. Population foci include family nurse practitioner, adult-gerontology (primary or acute care), pediatrics, women’s health, neonatal, and psychiatric-mental health. NPs assess, diagnose, order and interpret tests, and prescribe within their scope. BLS (OEWS, May 2025) reports a national median of $132,300, with employment of 323,040 and 2024-34 projected growth of 40.1 percent, among the fastest of any occupation, with about 29,500 openings per year.
- Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). CRNAs administer anesthesia and manage patients through surgical, obstetric, and procedural care. Nurse anesthesia is the one APRN specialty where doctoral entry is now the accreditation standard rather than a professional aspiration. It is also the highest-paid nursing role BLS tracks, with a national median of $236,590, 8.6 percent projected growth, and about 2,700 openings per year. Online nurse anesthesia DNPs are rare and heavily hybrid, because the clinical component is extensive.
- Certified nurse midwife (CNM). CNMs provide prenatal, birth, postpartum, gynecologic, and primary care to women. BLS reports a national median of $134,040, 11.1 percent projected growth, and about 500 openings per year.
- Clinical nurse specialist (CNS). CNSs are expert clinicians in a population or specialty area who lead practice improvement, staff development, and evidence-based protocols at the unit or system level. BLS groups CNSs with registered nurses rather than tracking them separately.
Leadership, executive, and systems tracks
Non-clinical DNP tracks prepare nurses to run organizations rather than deliver advanced practice care. They do not lead to APRN certification and do not require the specialty clinical rotations, though they still require doctoral practice hours and a DNP project.
- Executive leadership / nurse executive. Prepares chief nursing officers, directors of nursing, and system-level leaders. Builds on the nursing leadership and administration concentration. These roles fall under BLS’s medical and health services managers category, with a national median of $123,860 and 23.2 percent projected growth for 2024-34. Nurses weighing an MHA or MBA instead should compare the healthcare administration guide.
- Health systems, quality, and safety. Focuses on outcomes measurement, patient safety science, and leading improvement initiatives across a system.
- Nursing informatics. Prepares leaders who design and govern clinical information systems and use data to improve care; see the nursing informatics concentration.
- Health policy. Prepares nurses to shape policy in government, associations, and health systems.
- Nurse educator. Some DNPs offer an education focus or a post-graduate teaching certificate alongside a clinical track, since DNP-prepared faculty teach in clinical and practice-focused programs. See the nurse educator concentration. BLS reports a national median of $80,250 for postsecondary nursing instructors, 16.8 percent projected growth, and about 8,600 openings per year.
The nursing concentrations hub compares all of the focus areas in one place.
Clinical hours and the DNP project
Two requirements define the DNP experience and separate it from coursework-only graduate degrees.
Practice hours
The AACN Essentials call for DNP graduates to complete a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate supervised practice hours. For BSN-to-DNP students, those hours include the specialty clinical rotations required for certification (the hours needed for NP certification are set by the certifying body and the accreditation standards for the specialty) plus doctoral-level practice immersion tied to the DNP project. For MSN-to-DNP students, the supervised hours completed in the master’s program are documented and credited, and the program requires enough additional hours to reach the doctoral total, typically completed in the practice setting where the DNP project takes place.
Practice hours must be supervised by an approved preceptor, documented, and verified. Online programs handle placement in one of two ways: some have clinical placement teams that secure sites and preceptors in your region, while others require you to identify your own. Ask specifically how placement works before you enroll, because self-placement in a saturated market is one of the most common reasons DNP students stall.
The DNP project
The DNP project (sometimes called the scholarly project or capstone) is the doctoral equivalent of the dissertation, but its purpose is application rather than discovery. You identify a problem in a real practice setting, review and synthesize the evidence, design and implement an intervention, measure outcomes, and disseminate the results. Common projects include implementing a screening protocol in a primary care clinic, reducing readmissions for a specific population, redesigning a handoff process, building a clinical decision-support tool, or evaluating a policy change across a system.
The project runs across multiple terms under a faculty advisor and often a practice mentor at the site. It concludes with a written report and a defense or presentation, and many programs encourage submission for publication or conference presentation. Because the project is done where you practice, online students routinely complete it through their own employer, which is one reason the DNP fits working nurses well.
Online DNP programs are built for nurses who are already practicing, and the format reflects that.
- Asynchronous coursework. Lectures, readings, discussions, and most assignments are available on demand, with weekly deadlines. Some courses add scheduled live sessions for seminars or project reviews.
- Cohort structure. Many programs move a cohort through the sequence together, which supports peer learning but can limit how flexibly you can pause or accelerate.
- On-campus intensives. A number of programs require short residencies, usually a few days, for orientation, advanced assessment skills validation (for APRN tracks), comprehensive exams, or the DNP project defense. Confirm how many, where, and when.
- Local practice and clinical placement. All supervised hours happen in person in your region. For APRN tracks, expect multiple rotations across settings and populations; for leadership tracks, expect immersion in an organization where the DNP project takes place.
- Pacing. Post-master’s DNPs are commonly offered part time for nurses working full time as APRNs. BSN-to-DNP tracks often require full-time or near-full-time enrollment during clinical rotations.
- Proctored assessment. Advanced practice courses frequently require proctored exams, remotely or at testing centers.
For a general orientation to distance nursing study, see the online nursing format page and the online vs on-campus nursing comparison. If you must keep full-time hours, the part-time nursing programs page compares pacing options.
Accreditation: CCNE and ACEN
At the doctoral level, accreditation determines whether your degree qualifies you for certification, licensure, faculty appointment, and employer recognition. Verify three layers.
- Institutional accreditation. The university should hold recognized institutional accreditation, verifiable in the U.S. Department of Education’s database.
- Programmatic nursing accreditation. The DNP program should be accredited by one of the two recognized nursing accreditors:
- CCNE – the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, which accredits bachelor’s, master’s, DNP, and post-graduate APRN certificate programs. CCNE is the most common accreditor for DNP programs.
- ACEN – the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, which accredits nursing programs at all levels, including clinical doctorates.
- Specialty accreditation, where applicable. Nurse anesthesia programs must be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), and nurse midwifery programs by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), in addition to institutional accreditation. Certification bodies for these specialties require graduation from a program with the relevant specialty accreditation.
For APRN tracks, also confirm that the program’s curriculum meets the certification eligibility requirements of the body you will test with (for example, the AANP Certification Board or ANCC for NPs, the NBCRNA for CRNAs, and the AMCB for CNMs), and that the program is authorized to enroll students and place clinicals in your state. State boards of nursing regulate APRN licensure and may restrict out-of-state online enrollment or clinical placements. The nursing accreditation guide explains how to verify each layer.
Cost overview
DNP cost varies more than at any other nursing level, because programs differ so much in length, credit count, and institution type. The structural drivers to compare:
- Entry track. A BSN-to-DNP involves substantially more credits than an MSN-to-DNP, since it includes the full specialty sequence. Total tuition scales with credits.
- Institution type and residency. Public universities typically charge in-state students less, and some charge online graduate students a single flat per-credit rate regardless of residency. Private universities usually charge one rate for all.
- Transfer and prior-credit policy. Post-master’s programs vary in how many graduate credits they accept toward the doctorate and how they credit prior practice hours; more credit means fewer paid credits.
- Program and clinical fees. Clinical placement fees, practice-hour tracking systems, simulation and intensive fees, travel for on-campus residencies, proctoring, and certification review resources sit outside the per-credit rate.
- Pacing and opportunity cost. Part-time enrollment keeps you earning as a nurse or APRN throughout, which for most students outweighs the added per-term fees of a longer program.
To compare programs on total cost of completion rather than per-credit price, use the affordable online nursing programs page, and weigh the overall return on the is a nursing degree worth it page.
Outcomes: salary and career
Because the DNP prepares nurses for several distinct occupations, outcomes are best read by role. The table below renders current national median annual wages and job-growth projections directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the occupations a nursing education leads to.
-
Median hourly
$46.90
Mean annual
$101,420
Employment (US)
3,379,720
Pay range (25-75%)
$80,330 - $112,350
-
Median hourly
$30.96
Mean annual
$67,050
Employment (US)
648,410
Pay range (25-75%)
$59,000 - $76,030
-
Median hourly
$113.75
Mean annual
$248,320
Employment (US)
51,840
Pay range (25-75%)
$206,730 - $294,350
-
Median hourly
$64.44
Mean annual
$136,980
Employment (US)
7,920
Pay range (25-75%)
$116,510 - $157,400
-
Median hourly
$63.61
Mean annual
$137,300
Employment (US)
323,040
Pay range (25-75%)
$117,990 - $156,700
-
Median hourly
$20.32
Mean annual
$42,700
Employment (US)
1,448,910
Pay range (25-75%)
$37,260 - $47,220
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National median annual wages from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS); growth projections from BLS Employment Projections.
The key figures for DNP-track roles, from BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024-34):
- Nurse practitioners: national median $132,300; 10th percentile $101,340, 25th percentile $117,990, 75th percentile $156,700, 90th percentile $174,420; employment 323,040; projected growth 40.1 percent; about 29,500 openings per year.
- Nurse anesthetists: national median $236,590; projected growth 8.6 percent; about 2,700 openings per year.
- Nurse midwives: national median $134,040; projected growth 11.1 percent; about 500 openings per year.
- Medical and health services managers (executive and systems tracks): national median $123,860; projected growth 23.2 percent.
- Nursing instructors, postsecondary (education tracks): national median $80,250; projected growth 16.8 percent; about 8,600 openings per year.
- Registered nurses (the baseline every DNP student starts from): national median $97,550; projected growth 4.9 percent; about 189,100 openings per year.
Two things stand out. First, the jump from the RN median of $97,550 to the NP median of $132,300 is the core financial return of APRN preparation, whether you get there through an MSN or a BSN-to-DNP. Second, the DNP’s distinctive return is in role access rather than a separate wage line: BLS does not report pay by degree, and DNP-prepared and MSN-prepared NPs are counted in the same occupation. What the DNP adds is eligibility for CRNA practice, for executive and system-level leadership positions that increasingly list a doctorate as preferred or required, and for faculty appointments in practice-focused programs. Geography, setting, specialty, and hours all shape actual pay, so treat national medians as baselines. The nursing salary guide and nursing careers guide go deeper on each role.
Compare accredited online programs
These schools offer accredited online nursing programs and report nursing completions, ordered by our independent BOC Score:
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$143,238
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$109,601
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
94%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$120,163
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$101,028
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
100%
Graduation rate
88%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$74,220
TuitionIn‑state$13,760
Out‑of‑state$13,760
Source:Accreditor: Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$87,130
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$86,331
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$88,420
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Next Steps
You now have a complete picture of what the DNP is, how the entry tracks and specialties differ, what the practice hours and project involve, and what the roles pay. To act on it:
- Confirm your entry point. If you hold a BSN, compare the master’s in nursing page against the BSN-to-DNP track described here. If you hold an ADN, the RN to BSN guide is your next step, and if you are an LPN, start with online LPN to RN programs.
- Choose a specialty at the nursing concentrations hub, starting with family nurse practitioner, psychiatric-mental health, nursing leadership, or nurse educator.
- Map the APRN route end to end with how to become a nurse practitioner.
- Compare pay by role on the nursing salary guide and the Online Nursing Programs Guide. If your goal is running a health organization rather than advanced practice, compare the healthcare administration guide; if you are earlier in a healthcare career, the medical assistant programs guide covers an entry point that leads toward nursing.
- Browse accredited schools on the online colleges hub, or find programs near you on the nursing programs by state index.
Wage figures on this page are rendered live from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024-34) at build time.
Data verified: August 25, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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