DNP Frequently Asked Questions

• If you graduated from an MSN Program and were required to take a clinical or practicum course related to Nursing Education or Nurse Executive courses, please obtain a formal letter from the Institution stating how many hours were received. This letter should specify the number of clinical or practicum hours completed.
• Then send this document to the Graduate Program Coordinator via email.

Traditionally, our courses are only offered once a year.

Yes, a student can change their status, but it may impact their overall graduation date due to our courses only being offered once a semester.

• Project planning will begin when the student enters NURS 8315 (Spring). This is the first course in which the student will be required to submit paperwork and assignments related to their project.
• Students will be required to identify a mentor for their project and a content expert.
• The DNP Project Proposal course (Summer) will be when the student’s project ideas begin to become more solidified and undergo a broader approval process by faculty.

No, a DNP Chair will be assigned to you. It is our goal to keep that same Chair throughout your enrollment but may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Your advisor will be assigned to you after you begin your program. It is our goal to keep that same advisor throughout your enrollment but may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Yes, the courses are all offered through an asynchronous platform, but many courses will also offer a synchronous Zoom Sessions periodically throughout the course. While these sessions are not required, they are highly encouraged. These sessions will be listed when you register for the courses. Other classes may randomly post Zoom sessions as needed.

Graduation dates are subject to change and students can find that information on the UNG website. These dates are typically not posted until mid-January/early February. The Nursing Department is not responsible for selecting graduation dates.

UNG will designate if there is a limit to the number of invitations/tickets a student receives for graduation. The Nursing Department is not responsible for selecting graduation dates.

Students can host any event they like with their fellow graduates. There is a discussion board in the DNP Student D2L site for you to discuss dates, times, and events. Students are not required to invite faculty but may do so if desired.

• Student representatives are often asked to join UNG or Department Committees. We encourage all to submit their name if they are interested and available.
• Student representatives are needed to serve as a liaison between nursing faculty and each student cohort. This requires the student to remain in constant communication with their cohort, attend Graduate Faculty Meetings, and report any issues/concerns to the department and/or Program Coordinator.

• We strongly encourage students to reach out to their advisors if they are struggling in the program or have questions regarding status, dropping a course, making a significant change to their curriculum plan, or if they have unforeseen circumstances impacting their success.
• If a student is struggling in a course or has questions about a course, the proper chain of command is as follows:
  1. Faculty
  2. Course Coordinator
  3. Advisor
  4. Program Coordinator
  5. Department Chair
  6. Dean of Colleges of Health Science and Professions