Mission of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

The mission of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is to prepare graduates to be leaders in the promotion of the highest quality health care through education, clinically-based scholarship, evidence-based practice, and interdisciplinary collaboration. 

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education provides an educational framework for preparing our graduate students using a competency-based educational approach. The Essentials are located at https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/pdf/Essentials-2021.pdf 

General Duties and Responsibilities of Faculty & All Graduate Students

Faculty who teach in graduate nursing programs are committed to facilitating students' success. Concentration coordinators serve as initial advisors to students in the DNP program. Until the DNP Scholarly Chair is assigned, concentration coordinators will be the point of contact for all DNP programmatic advisement. Doctoral students should look to their concentration coordinators (advisors) for sources of information, such as changes in the program of study, leave of absence, and clinical experiences.

The intensity and depth of doctoral study require a commitment to academic excellence that may exceed that required by prior nursing education. Doctoral students must be able to commit substantial time and effort to their studies and participate in other scholarly activities associated with the program. Part of becoming a clinical expert in the scholarship of practice is the opportunity to socialize into the role. Identifying one's practice scholarship can only happen with participation in colloquia, collaborative groups, conferences, and other learning activities beyond coursework. Attendance is mandatory at all colloquia and courses scheduled during Doctoral Intensives unless the DNP Program Chair or Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs has granted an exception. All excused absences will require supportive evidence (i.e., a healthcare provider note). Outside employment is not deemed an excused absence. Graduate Programs will post the doctoral intensive dates well in advance for students to arrange work schedules with their employers.  

Graduate students in the DNP program are responsible for promptly meeting all coursework and policies in the College of Nursing student and graduate handbook and Graduate School. Students must be vigilant in reviewing the university academic calendar and the Graduate School homepage for critical deadlines regarding graduation and submission of forms for the DNP Scholarly Project. Periodically key DNP program announcements are sent through the DNP community Canvas site; the sole accountability lies with the student to meet all deadlines. Adhering to all policies of the Graduate School and the College of Nursing to stay on track for a timely graduation and DNP Scholarly Project requirements is the student's responsibility.

A doctoral student's prevailing commitment is to cultivate rigorous practice scholarship. Previous nursing education often focuses on mastering the didactic course content, taking exams, and performing skill proficiencies. Doctoral education creates discomfort. It is sometimes difficult to put one's personal beliefs and experiences in the background and take a new look at the world, human beings, and nursing from the perspective of a clinical scholar. Faculty understand this difficulty and stand ready to mentor students through this transition.

Special Policies

1. A maximum of 6 graduate hours taken before acceptance into the doctoral program may be applied toward the degree.

2. Courses taken at other universities may be substituted for core DNP coursework after submission of syllabi to the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs for approval if they have not been used to count toward the conferral of another degree. Only 6 hours may be used for course substitution. Students with approved course fulfillment must still obtain the minimum number of hours of course work at UTK to receive their degree.

3. Change of Concentration*: The student must submit a Petition for Change of Concentration form. The petition must be approved by the present Concentration Coordinator, the proposed Concentration Coordinator, and the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs. The Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs will notify the student of the decision. A copy of the completed form is given to the student and a copy is placed in the student’s file. *[If the involved coordinators cannot agree, the petition is forwarded to the DNP Admission Committee for review]. Once the concentration change has been approved at the College level, the student must submit a new Graduate Application by following the directions here:  https://gradschool.utk.edu/forms-central/change-of-program/. The Graduate School awards the degree by DNP Concentration, and this must be correct on student transcripts when applying for national certification.

4. The College of Nursing expects doctoral students to fulfill the standard for formal writing specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). Faculty expect students to refer to the manual for all writing assignments. If a faculty member suspects evidence of plagiarism on an assignment, they will enforce the academic integrity policy covered in the student handbook, Hilltopics, (https://studentconduct.utk.edu/academic-dishonesty-2/) and will follow the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards process for academic misconduct. The College of Nursing Graduate Programs has zero tolerance for cheating in any form, including plagiarism. Academic dishonesty, including intended or unintended plagiarism, will result in a zero for the assignment.

5. According to Graduate School policies, students are urged to carefully consider work and family responsibilities before registering for each semester’s coursework. The maximum load for a graduate student is 15 credit hours during fall and spring semesters. While 9 credit hours are considered full time, the typical full academic load varies by discipline. For the summer semester, graduate students may register for a maximum of 12 credit hours in an entire summer semester or for a maximum of 6 credit hours in a five-week summer session. Students may enroll in only one course during a mini-term session