Program Overview
Expand Your Nursing Expertise With an Online Doctor of Nursing Practice Program – General
Prepare to lead innovative improvements in the healthcare system at the micro and macro levels when you earn your online Doctor of Nursing Practice – General from A-State. This affordable, flexible and practical doctoral program empowers you to both strengthen your patient-centered nursing practice and positively impact healthcare policy when you gain access to leadership positions.



Master nuanced elements of nursing with a dynamic curriculum composed of foundation and concentration courses, demonstrative evidence-based projects, and hands-on internships. Supported by the same distinguished A-State faculty you would work with on-campus, you will examine contemporary topics including healthcare informatics, alternate population health, ethical healthcare and the rapidly evolving study of diseases. Then, practice applying these newly acquired competencies through clinical opportunities where you will work with experts in nursing and other relevant disciplines.
This ACEN-accredited Doctor of Nursing Practice – General program is built especially for working nurses. Choose to be a full-time or part-time student, complete the 100% online coursework on your schedule and personalize your doctorate to your professional goals when you select your areas of interest to study. Additionally, complete your clinical requirements—and correlating assignments—in the context of your workplace to ensure your degree is relevant to your professional goals.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice – General program in the College of Nursing & Health Professions at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Contact ACEN by mail at 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326, by phone at 404-975-5000, or visit acenursing.org.
In this online Doctor of Nursing Practice – General program, you will learn how to:
- Implement and evaluate the impact of quality improvement projects in a healthcare organization
- Learn to translate research findings into programs that improve patient and healthcare outcomes
- Develop expertise in a specialty area that is of interest to you
- Identify system or organizational gaps in patient care or organizational effectiveness and develop/implement solutions to solve for those gaps
Prepare for a variety of healthcare leadership roles, including:
- Clinical Director
- Nursing Director
Doctoral Program Support
From the first course to graduation, students have A-State’s full support. Our experienced faculty will teach, mentor and collaborate with you as you progress throughout the doctoral program.
Tuition
Achieve Your Degree with A-State’s Affordable Tuition
Our online Doctor of Nursing Practice – General program offers the same affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition to all U.S. residents. All administrative fees are included.


Per Credit Hour | Per 3 HR. Course | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Resident Tuition | Required Fees | Total | U.S. Resident Tuition | Required Fees | Total |
$400.00 | $40.00 | $440.00 | $1,200.00 | $120.00 | $1,320.00 |
Calendar
Save These Important Dates and Deadlines
Ideal for working nurses, Arkansas State University online programs are delivered in an accelerated format with multiple start dates each year.
Next Start & Application Due Dates:


Term | Length | Course Begin | Course End | Application Deadline | Document Deadline | Registration Deadline | Payment Deadline | Last Day to Withdraw |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall 2022 | 7 wk | 08/23/2022 | 10/07/2022 | 08/08/2022 | 08/12/2022 | 08/18/2022 | 08/19/2022 | 09/24/2022 |
7 wk | 10/17/2022 | 12/09/2022 | 10/03/2022 | 10/07/2022 | 10/13/2022 | 10/14/2022 | 11/26/2022 | |
Spring 2023 | 7 wk | 01/10/2023 | 02/24/2023 | 12/14/2022 | 12/16/2022 | 01/05/2023 | 01/06/2023 | 02/10/2023 |
7 wk | 03/06/2023 | 04/28/2023 | 02/20/2023 | 02/24/2023 | 03/02/2023 | 03/03/2023 | 04/15/2023 | |
Summer 2023 | 7 wk | 05/08/2023 | 06/23/2023 | 04/24/2023 | 04/28/2023 | 05/04/2023 | 05/05/2023 | 06/09/2023 |
7 wk | 06/26/2023 | 08/11/2023 | 06/12/2023 | 06/16/2023 | 06/22/2023 | 06/23/2023 | 07/28/2023 |
Admissions
Review the Admission Requirements for This Online DNP – General Program
We know you’re busy, so we’ve streamlined the A-State admission process to help you get started quickly and easily. Students who are interested in the online DNP – General program must have a Master of Science in Nursing degree from a CCNE, COA, ACEN or CNEA accredited program and a current unencumbered license.
- Complete online application and submit application fee
- Master of Nursing (MSN) from a CCNE, COA, ACEN or CNEA accredited program of nursing from a regionally accredited college or university
- Graduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Official transcript(s) submitted by the registrar of any college/university you have attended. Official transcripts are sealed transcripts sent from the granting institution
- Current unencumbered RN license
Graduates of an MSN program with a specialty option that did not include the required certification eligibility requirements from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and/or the American Associated of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) (Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology; Advanced Health Assessment, including diagnostics and disease management; Advanced Pharmacology; and/or a minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours) are also eligible to apply. A request for a curriculum “Gap Analysis” to determine an individual plan of study will be requested from the program coordinator prior to starting the program.
Additional Information
As part of your file, the following information is required to be completed prior to starting the first course (or the applicable course):
- Satisfactory background check completed through Verified Credentials
- Completion of the Verification of Clinical Practice by the institution where you earned your MSN (applies to non A-State MSN graduates)
Note: These documents are not required to render an admissions decision.
Also, the following information is required to be completed by the completion of your first semester:
- Current CPR Records
- Current TB Skin Test
- Hep B Vaccinations
- MMR 1 and 2
- Professional Liability Insurance
Request all official transcripts be sent directly to A-State from all colleges or universities attended. Save time by requesting transcripts be sent electronically or send all required documents to:
Submit all documents to:
A-State OnlineP.O. Box 2520
State University, AR 72467
Fax: 870-972-3548
Email: [email protected]
For Non-US Postal Mail Overnight Delivery Only:
Academic Partnershipsc/o Central Receiving
2713 Pawnee St.
Jonesboro, AR 72401
Courses
Take a Look at the Doctor of Nursing Practice – General Curriculum
To finish the online Doctor of Nursing Practice – General program, you must complete a total of 36 credit hours. There are nine hours of concentration courses.
NURS 8123: Leadership, Policy, and Healthcare Systems
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Analyze leadership and organizational theories, evaluate healthcare delivery systems, and examine the role of the DNP in influencing policy in health care delivery, outcomes and professional nursing.
NURS 8143: Healthcare Finance in Advanced Nursing
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course provides advanced economic, financial and business knowledge required for leadership in financial planning and decision-making in healthcare delivery systems. Evidence-based models of practice, financial frameworks and theory are applied to practice-level, system-wide problems, including inter- and intra-professional teams.
NURS 8153: Healthcare Informatics in Advanced Nursing
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the complexities involved in managing resources in our healthcare system. Students will learn to use management theory ad informatics applications to increase efficiencies in various functional areas of healthcare services.
NURS 8213: Translational Research for Doctor of Nursing Practice I
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course provides the student with the foundation for the DNP evidence-based practice project. The emphasis of this course is on problem identification, information retrieval, critical appraisal, and synthesis of a body of evidence.
NURS 8223: Translational Research for Doctor of Nursing Practice II
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course focuses on translating evidence into practice, identifying practice outcomes, sustaining evidence-based practice changes, and creating an environment to support evidence-based practice. Prerequisite: admission to the post-masters DNP program option or admission to the DNP in Nurse Anesthesia program option. Prerequisites for the post-masters DNP program option: NURS 8213.
NURS 8263: DNP Project
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
A culmination of the two translation research courses where students implement a translation project, including the analysis and dissemination of the results.
NURS 8313: DNP Internship I (180 clinical hours)
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Practice opportunities, including in-depth work with experts from nursing and other disciplines. Emphasis is on the preparation for the DNP project.
NURS 8323: DNP Internship II (180 clinical hours)
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Practice opportunities, including in-depth work with experts from nursing and other disciplines. Emphasis is on the preparation for the DNP project.
NURS 8333: DNP Internship III (180 clinical hours)
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Practice opportunities, including in-depth work with experts from nursing and other disciplines. Emphasis is on the preparation for the DNP project.
NURS 881V: DNP Internship IV
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 0-3
Internship is the application of the DNP competencies through clinical practice activities. Required for students needing additional clinical hours to meet the AACN 1,000-hour requirement based on the number of MSN clinical hours completed. Each credit hour requires 60 clinical practice hours. (Only required for students who need additional clinical practice hours based on the number of clinical hours completed in the MSN. The clinical hours are variable.)
NURS 8123: Leadership, Policy, and Healthcare Systems
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Analyze leadership and organizational theories, evaluate healthcare delivery systems, and examine the role of the DNP in influencing policy in health care delivery, outcomes and professional nursing.
NURS 8133: Epidemiology for the DNP
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Examine evolution and history of methods of epidemiology. Quantization of morbidity and mortality within populations. Overview of study design, data analysis, and inferences. Specific areas of acute and chronic disease epidemiology illustrate epidemiologic methods such as risk factor analysis, surveillance systems, and etiology of disease.
NURS 8163: Principles of Healthcare Ethics & Genetics
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
This course focuses on theories of ethics and implications for practice, including principles of genetics for individuals, families and populations at risk for genetic disorders. Topics in ethics and genetics are presented.