Program Admission
Admit Terms and Deadlines
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Winter. See Application Deadlines.
With pre-approval from the School of Nursing, a student may apply to begin coursework during the Summer semester.
The university takes an average of 2-3 weeks to make admission decisions. Therefore, the response time from the School of Nursing may be longer depending upon the submission date and application deadlines.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.
Program Requirements
Applicants must also meet the following program requirements. Requirements may be more stringent than the minimum graduate school requirements.
- Earned a Master of Science in Nursing in an advanced nursing practice specialty from a nationally accredited CCNE or NLNAC program OR a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, in a health-related profession, Nurse Practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), or Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). (Applicants eligible for their MSN before starting the program may apply for conditional admission).
- Current National Certification as a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), or Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). (Applicants eligible for National Certification may apply for conditional admission).
- A current unrestricted license to practice as an advanced practice nurse in the state where practice will occur (Applicants who are eligible for Advanced Practice Licensure may apply for conditional admission).
- A current unrestricted license to practice as a professional registered nurse in the U.S. or eligibility to obtain a Michigan license. (Applicants who are eligible for licensure may apply for conditional admission).
- Have at least a cumulative 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) college GPA. (Applicants may seek conditional admission with a GPA of 2.75).
- Have completed an approved basic statistics course that includes descriptive and inferential statistics within the last ten years.
- A telephone or in-person interview may be a part of the admission process.
Additionally, the following documents are required and must be submitted with the application.
- Current National Certification as a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), or Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM).
- Current license as an advanced practice nurse in the state where practice will occur.
- Current license as a registered nurse in the state where practice will occur.
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- A two to three-page (500 words maximum) personal statement describing your goals as a Doctor of Nursing Practice prepared Advance Practice Nurse and how participation in the DNP program will enhance these goals.
Use one or more of the DNP Essentials to help articulate your goals (DNP Essentials). Identify and briefly discuss a practice-based problem that interests you. This topic might serve as a topic for your final DNP scholarly project. The personal statement is evaluated based on your understanding of the DNP-prepared Advanced Practice Nurse’s role, your fit with our program, and your ability to express yourself clearly and professionally
Application
Your application will be submitted using NursingCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.
Domestic Applicants Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript from all previously attended institutions.
International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.
For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.
Degree Requirements: 38 hours
Students admitted without National Certifications, or Advance Practice Licensure will be required to supply evidence of sitting for their certification exam by the end of Term 9 (or part-time equivalent).
Students may also claim up to 500 direct patient care clinical practicum hours from their MSN program toward the 1000 practicum hours necessary to be awarded a DNP. Non-clinical and teaching practicum hours obtained during the student’s MSN program may not be used towards the 1000 practicum hours required for the DNP.
Critical Graduation Information
Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.
Students have seven (7) years to complete the requirements for the doctoral degree from the date of first enrollment in the doctoral program at EMU.
In the event a student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.
The following are minimum requirements for all doctoral degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.
- Minimum Credit Hour Requirements
- A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree must require a minimum of 90 credit hours post-bachelor’s degree.
- A Ph.D. degree in a program that requires a master’s degree for admission must require a minimum of 60 credit hours post-master’s.
- A Ph.D. degree in a program that allows a specialist’s degree for admission must require a minimum of 36 credit hours post-specialist.
- Doctoral degrees in clinical or practitioner programs must require a minimum of 75 hours if admitting students post-bachelor’s degree. If admitting students post-master’s degree, a minimum of 41 new hours are required.
- Doctoral programs must require a minimum of 15 total credit hours of research and research support coursework.
- No more than six credits of independent study courses, and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined, may be applied to a graduate degree.
- Residency Requirement - See Academic Policies and Processes—Graduate School for residency requirements.
- Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
- The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
- Some doctoral programs require a dissertation. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.
