Doctor of Nursing Practice – Post-Master’s Track

Please Note – UC Irvine Graduate Application contains sample prompt language for the Statement of Purpose essay, but when applying to the DNP programs at UCI School of Nursing, applicants should only use the guidelines and prompt below.

In the UCI Graduate Application “Statement of Purpose” section, please address the following prompt in 1200 words or less:

Why have you chosen the DNP as a terminal degree? Describe/discuss your nursing background and career goals that align with the DNP.

When answering this prompt, make sure to address the following:

• Specify outcomes you wish to gain from a DNP education.
• How will the DNP program at UCI help you reach your goals?
• How will these goals contribute to advancements in healthcare?

Please Note – UC Irvine Graduate Application contains sample prompt language for the Personal History essay, but when applying to the DNP programs at UCI School of Nursing, applicants should only use the guidelines and prompt below.

In the UCI Graduate Application “Personal History” section, please respond to the following prompt in 1200 words or less:

Reflect on your personal and professional journey in nursing. How have your experiences shaped your identity and values as a nurse? Discuss any significant obstacles or achievements that have influenced your career path.

Applicants must include one letter of recommendation in their application.  Any additional letters received will not be reviewed or considered in your application.  

Your letter of recommendation must be received by the application deadline. We are unable to accept incomplete applications with any late letters of recommendation.  We strongly recommend that applicants contact their recommender as soon as possible and plan to submit their letter as early as possible to avoid any late submissions. 

The letter of recommendation is intended to help application reviewers better understand your professional and academic readiness for the DNP program.  The letter must be from a professional or academic recommender that can speak to your professionalism, leadership, and scholarly activities. The reviewer can be from your current workplace or prior academic institution. 

Requirements for your letter of recommendation:

• You must have 1 letter of recommendation from a doctorally prepared professor or healthcare professional (DNP, MD, DO, PhD) who can speak to your readiness for doctoral studies.
• Recommendations should be current (written within 3 years of application)
• Family members or friends are not eligible to write letters of recommendation

Letters of Recommendation are collected through the Online Application.  Applicants will provide email contact information for their recommenders in the application.  For more information about the Letter of Recommendation process in the Online Application, please refer here: https://grad.uci.edu/admissions/applying-to-uci/letters-of-recommendation.php

If students have any questions about letters of recommendation in their application, they should contact the Graduate Admission team at gradapplicant@uci.edu. The School of Nursing Student Affairs Office cannot assist with technical issues related to the letter of recommendation system in the Online Application.

We strongly encourage interested applicants to review our annual DNP Guide to Applying to better understand the application process and required components. The 2024-25 DNP Guide to Applying is now available for your review.

The guide provides detailed information regarding required components of the application and application-specific guidance for applicants to the DNP Post-Master’s program. Items included in the guide are detailed below:

• Statement of Purpose (with specific prompts and guidelines from the School of Nursing)
• Personal History Statement (with specific prompts and guidelines from the School of Nursing)
• Letter of Recommendation requirements
• Resumé/CV formatting suggestions
• Statistics Admissions Requirement Acknowledgement form
• Transcript submission guidelines
• English proficiency test requirements (TOEFL or IELTS, if applicable)
• Application Submission and Fee Waiver processes

We recommend thoroughly reviewing the guide and preparing all required materials in advance of submitting your application. This will ensure a smoother application process and help you present the strongest possible application.

Please note that the DNP Guide to Applying is updated annually to reflect current deadlines and requirements. If you are planning to apply in future application cycles, we advise you to check this website periodically for the most up-to-date information relevant to your application year.

Applicants to the DNP Post-Master’s program must complete an undergraduate or graduate-level statistics course that covers descriptive and inferential statistics within 5 years of starting the program.  Students must complete this course for a letter grade of “B” or better. 

Applicants are required to complete the Statistics Admissions Requirement Acknowledgement Form and attach it to their UC Irvine Graduate Application. Please review the “DNP Guide to Applying” linked above for more detailed information.

Applicants must upload unofficial copies of transcripts from all college and universities attended in their application.  Applicants do not need to submit official transcripts to UC Irvine when they submit their application.  Admitted students who accept their offers of admission will be prompted to submit their official transcripts at a later date.

Please note: All graduate programs at the School of Nursing require international degrees and transcripts undergo professional transcript evaluations by an independent educational evaluating service from any member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. Students should upload a copy of evaluations and translations in their application.

Applicants should note that foreign transcript evaluation services may take several weeks to process and should plan accordingly.  The report uploaded to the application must include a degree-equivalent evaluation and course-by-course equivalent evaluation for any prerequisites.

The School of Nursing and the University of California do not endorse or have a formal partnership with any specific transcript evaluation agencies. However, some applicants have used the following services:

World Education Services, Inc.

P.O. Box  5087
Bowling Green Station
New York, NY 10274-5087
Phone: 212-966-6311
http://www.wes.org/

International Education Research Foundation

P.O. Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231-3665
Phone: 310-258-9451
http://www.ierf.org/

International students applying to the DNP program should consult the UCI Graduate Admissions page on English Language proficiency requirements before applying to determine if a TOEFL or IELTS test score is required for admission: https://grad.uci.edu/admissions/applying-to-uci/

The School of Nursing does not waive TOEFL or IELTS English test scores for applicants.

Applicants must pay an application fee in order to successfully submit their application.

Please note that applicants planning to apply for an Application Fee Waiver must submit a fee waiver request to UC Irvine’s Graduate Division at least 5 days in advance of the application deadline.  The School of Nursing does not manage the application fee nor does it manage the application fee waiver process.  Please refer to the UC Irvine Graduate Division website for more information: https://grad.uci.edu/admissions/applying-to-uci/fee-waivers.php

Pre-recorded Information Sessions

We invite all prospective applicants to enhance their understanding of the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing DNP Program by watching our Information Session videos. These videos provide valuable insights into our curriculum, faculty, and unique opportunities. We recommend viewing these sessions prior to signing up for one of our virtual Q&A panels, where you can directly connect with our faculty and staff to ask any additional questions you may have.

• Application Information Session
• Program Information Session

Virtual Q & A Panels

We’re excited to virtually meet you! Please join us for one of our virtual information sessions this Winter. Guests will be required to register for the event to receive Zoom login information.

Please click on the information session you are interested in to be directed to the registration site:

WINTER 2025

DNP Winter Virtual Q&A Panel #1: Friday, February 4th, 2025 1-2pm