DNP Fall 2025 Start Application Opens October 2024!
Eligibility & Application Instructions
Applicants to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program will apply for admissions through the UCI Graduate Division website.
A complete UCI application includes and adheres to the following:
*Please use the two essay prompts below and follow the guidelines to write your essays. Please don’t use the personal history statement and statement of purpose prompts that appear in the online application:
- *A personal history statement (guidelines)
- *A statement of purpose (guidelines)
- One letter of recommendation submitted on your behalf (guidelines & submission directions)
- A current resumé/CV
- A signed Statistics Admissions Requirement Acknowledgement form (guidelines)
- Unofficial transcripts from all universities/institutions (guidelines)
- If you received your degree outside of the United States, you must upload a professional evaluation/translation in addition to copies of unofficial transcripts.
- If you received your degree outside of the United States, you must upload a professional evaluation/translation in addition to copies of unofficial transcripts.
- TOEFL or IELTS English test scores (if needed)
Application Notes
- An interview may be required for final selection of candidates
- Additional information is available from UCI Graduate Division
- We strongly encourage applicants to carefully review the DNP Guide to Applying which is a comprehensive guide to the application and admission requirements.
- State requirements for out-of-state universities offering online graduate degree programs vary. Check our current status in each state here: UCI State Authorization for Online Programs
UC Irvine Graduate Application Fee
Please note that if you are planning to apply for an Application Fee Waiver, you must submit your waiver request to UC Irvine’s Graduate Division 5 days prior to your individual graduate program’s deadline or by March 4 (whichever comes first) of the same calendar year. 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
- A BS or MS degree in nursing from an accredited college or university
- A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher
- An active, unrestricted California RN license
- One year of full-time US-based employment (or a minimum of 1800 hours) as a registered nurse by the start of the program
- An undergraduate or graduate statistics course that will cover or did cover descriptive and inferential statistics.
- This statistics course must have been completed within 5 years of starting the program with a grade of B or higher. Courses must be taken for a letter grade – credit/no credit and pass/not pass courses will not be considered.
- If it has been longer than 5 years, this course can be taken online or in-person at a community college, a university/college, or university extension.
- If you are on the cusp of the 5 year deadline, we strongly encourage you to retake statistics during the summer before starting the program.
- Applicants are required to upload a signed copy of the DNP Statistics Acknowledgement form in the UC Irvine Graduate Application.
For current Tuition and Fees, please visit the Registrar’s Office website: https://www.reg.uci.edu/fees/
* Due to the structure of the program, we are unable to accept the UC Employee tuition discount through Human Resources. However, we offer an internal UC Nurse $10K Annual Scholarship.
Funding Opportunities
To be eligible for financial assistance, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 2. Please note that international students are not eligible for need-based financial aid and should not complete the FAFSA.
Due to the structure of the program, we are unable to accept the UC Employee tuition discount through Human Resources. However, UC employees may be eligible for the UC Nurse Scholarship, an annual $10,000 available to career-track nurses employed with the University of California. Eligibility is contingent upon quarterly verification of part-time or full-time career status within the University of California. Per diem or limited status does not qualify.
Additional Financial Aid & Scholarship Resources
In addition to offsetting the cost of tuition, outside nursing-specific scholarships introduce you to organizations that can broaden your idea of what a nurse can accomplish and how nurses are needed in today’s society. The following organizations and programs provide financial aid for nursing students:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Offers loans and scholarships for nurses and other health professionals - Federal Student Aid
Direct unsubsidized loan or direct PLUS loans
Foundation Scholarships
- Nurses Educational Funds (NEF) Scholarships
Awards more than a dozen scholarships and grants for nurses who already possess a bachelor’s degree but are looking for funding to complete graduate studies. - March of Dimes Graduate Scholarships
Awarded to members of AWHONN or NANN, with focus on maternal-child nursing. - Johnson & Johnson/AACN
Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars, awarded to minority students who agree to teach nursing after graduation. - NAPNAP Foundation Richardson DNP Scholarship
Awarded to NAPNAP members pursuing DNP education.
Information Session Videos
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.
Upcoming Fall 2024 Virtual Q&A Panels
After watching the DNP Information Session videos posted above, potential applicants are encouraged to attend one of our virtual Q&A panels. This provides an opportunity to directly connect with the faculty and staff of the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing DNP Program.
Please click on the panel you are interested in to be directed to the registration site:
FALL 2024
DNP Fall Virtual Q&A Panel #1: Friday, October 18th, 2024 2-3pm
DNP Fall Virtual Q&A Panel #2: Friday, November 22nd 2024 11am-12pm
Have questions?
Check our DNP – FNP FAQ!
Still have questions?
Ask an Academic Counselor!
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With a DNP degree from UCI, you’ll be able to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) at the highest level of the nursing profession.
After passing the national Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) board certification examination, you’ll be well-qualified to practice as a FNP at a variety of ambulatory practice sites serving patients of all ages, such as:
- Community health clinics
- Ambulatory practice sites within large healthcare systems
- HMOs
- Student health centers
- Private office practices
FNPs provide primary healthcare, preventative care, urgent and episodic care, and chronic disease management. In addition, with a DNP degree you’ll not only become a practitioner, but also have the skills and knowledge to lead quality improvement and practice initiatives, as well as contribute to our profession as a nurse educator.
Many of UCI’s nurse practitioner professors in our DNP program are also part of our UCI Nursing Faculty Practice Team providing healthcare for patients in ambulatory care settings. The DNP degree allows you the flexibility to pursue your professional nursing career goals, whatever path you choose.
We have a dedicated clinical placement team, including a clinical operations analyst and a faculty clinical coordinator to assist DNP-FNP students with all facets of the clinical placement process throughout the program.
Experienced nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physicians provide expert clinical education for our students in the local community, across a variety of practice venues, in primary care and specialty care.
For students who live out of commuting distance to the university, our clinical placement team works with the students to identify potential clinical sites and preceptors for their clinical rotations; we communicate with all potential preceptors to determine if they are suitable to serve as preceptors and manage the required university affiliations
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