Graceland University's BSN-to-DNP: an NP track plus the DNP project
Graceland University's BSN-to-DNP takes nurses from the BSN to a Doctor of Nursing Practice in the FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP track. The 2026 Graduate Student Handbook requires 750 practicum hours and 500 DNP practice hours. You must live in an approved state and do your practicums there, and the program has no option to stop out with an MSN.
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Tell us your Graceland program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
A newer route straight from the BSN
The BSN-to-DNP first appeared in Graceland's 2025-26 graduate catalog, alongside a DNP program the School of Nursing has run since its first class in August 2011. You choose one nurse practitioner track, FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP, and complete its courses and practicums along with the DNP core and a practice improvement project. Coursework is online, and you attend your track's focus session.
Admission follows completion of the BSN, with a BSN GPA of at least 3.00. The catalog gives new graduates a short runway on licensure: the NCLEX has to be passed, and the RN license in hand, before your first trimester ends. You can begin while the license is pending, but not carry on without it.
Two conditions set this route apart from the MSN. Your home has to be in a state Graceland has approved, with your practicums planned for that same state, and the catalog rules out stopping partway with a Master of Science in Nursing. Commit to the doctorate from the start, since you cannot leave with a master's.
Credits: 62 to 65 stated, fewer listed
The catalog and program page describe the BSN-to-DNP as 62 to 65 credit hours with a core of 13 courses plus one of three tracks. The courses actually listed do not reach that total.
| Part | Courses listed | s.h. |
|---|---|---|
| Core (11 courses listed) | NURS5100, NURS5143, NURS5440, NURS8120, NURS8140, NURS8170, NURS8210, NURS8260, NURS9710, NURS9711, NURS9712 | 33 |
| FNP track | NURS5193, NURS5194, NURS5200, NURS6200, NURS6740, NURS6760, NURS6800, NURS6830 | 25 |
| AGACNP track | NURS5192, NURS5195, NURS5270, NURS5280, NURS5290, NURS5450, NURS5460, NURS5470 | 25 |
| PMHNP track | NURS5196, NURS5430, NURS5662, NURS5663, NURS5664, NURS5665, NURS6841, NURS6842, NURS6843 | 28 |
Added up, the lists give 58 credits for FNP, 58 for AGACNP and 61 for PMHNP, and the core shows 11 courses rather than 13. Graceland does not say which courses close the gap. The PMHNP list also still carries the older credit values, NURS5430 at 3 and NURS6843 at 4. Program Advising (programadvising@graceland.edu) holds your actual completion plan, so ask for it early and in writing.
1,250 hours of two different kinds
The handbook's requirement is 750 hours of practicum plus 500 hours of DNP practice. The practicum hours come from your NP track, 225, 225 and 300 across its three practicums. The 500 match the project sequence exactly: NURS9710 supplies 200, NURS9711 another 100 and NURS9712 the last 200.
The two kinds of hours are counted differently. NP practicum hours count only direct patient contact with an approved preceptor. In the DNP project courses, time on the project away from the practice setting counts alongside time at the site, and your faculty advisor approves the logs.
Two details are left open. NURS8210 Project Management brings 100 more supervised hours, and NURS8120 and NURS8140 add a few field hours; whether any of these fold into the 500 is left unsaid. Separately, NURS9710 cannot start until you have documented 500 post-BSN supervised practice hours and completed NURS8210. For someone entering with a BSN, those 500 hours most plausibly come from the NP practicums, so expect the project work late in the plan. The DNP practice hours page goes course by course.
Your NP practicums follow the MSN track's rules
Graceland applies the MSN track's practicum rules and focus sessions to BSN-to-DNP students in that track. The rules that shape your preceptor search depend on the track you choose.
- FNP:
NURS6740andNURS6760in primary care only;NURS6830last, at least half in primary care, with up to 150 specialty hours; telehealth only with instructor approval; patient count equal to hours - AGACNP: hospitals, specialist offices or both; no minute clinics, urgent care or primary care offices; no patients under 13; no telehealth; one on-campus focus session in Independence
- PMHNP: psychiatrists or certified PMHNPs only; practicums in a locked order; a lifespan caseload of roughly 300 encounters split into equal thirds by age; telehealth allowed for up to 450 hours or two terms
- Every track: nurse practitioner preceptors hold an MSN or higher plus a year or more in practice, physicians must be board-certified or board-eligible, physician assistants never qualify, and no single preceptor can take all three practicums
One paperwork calendar serves every track, with the forms and Castle Branch uploads due on the 15th of June, October or February to match the term. The clinical hours page compares the tracks side by side.
Approved-state residence and licensure
Residence is an admission condition here, not just a planning concern. Graceland publishes no roster of approved states; the School of Nursing enrolls NP students only where it can offer practicums, and applicants confirm their own state by contacting it. Ask before you apply, and ask again before you move.
Graceland's licensure disclosure charts are dated June 2020, five years before the BSN-to-DNP appeared in the catalog, and none is labeled for this program. The MSN chart covers NP licensure state by state; the DNP chart calls the DNP post-licensure everywhere, meaning it does not lead to licensure on its own. How the two combine for a BSN-to-DNP student is a question for the School of Nursing. The licensure disclosures page explains the charts.
Licensure follows you into both halves of the program: an RN license without encumbrance in the state you live in, plus one in each approved state that hosts your practicum or DNP practice hours, each confirmed by the issuing board. Moving mid-program can affect whether you continue; see relocating during the program.
The DNP project and your practice mentor
After the practicums, the project courses move you into a practice site with a practice mentor. Four parties sign off on the NURS9710 proposal (your faculty advisor, the mentor, the site and any IRB involved), and what your practice hours consist of is worked out jointly with the advisor and the cooperating organizations. Graceland places this work in your home community, and your faculty advisor approves the practice hour logs and project deliverables filed in the online course site.
Who locates that mentor and site, and what qualifies someone to mentor, are both absent from Graceland's published materials. Raise the question with the DNP track coordinator well before your last practicum, and check with soncontracts@graceland.edu on whether a signed agreement is needed for the site.
Why BSN-to-DNP students choose us
A BSN-to-DNP student needs three NP preceptors and then a practice mentor, all in an approved state and all on a schedule with no MSN exit to fall back on. Our placement desk handles both halves. For the practicums, we search preceptors who match your track's rules close to home, verify credentials and licenses before Graceland sees them, and line up the different preceptor your later practicums will need.
For the project, we look for organizations and mentors near you whose priorities suit a practice improvement project, timed so they are confirmed before NURS9710. Every site we propose comes packaged with its contract contact and the preceptor's credentials, timed to Graceland's deadline. Start with your track and city in the form below; our process explains each step.
Questions Graceland students ask
Can I stop out of Graceland's BSN-to-DNP with an MSN?
No. The catalog states that BSN-to-DNP students will not be able to stop out for a Master of Science in Nursing degree. If an MSN exit matters to you, compare the MSN tracks, which lead to the same NP practicums, and ask Graceland about the differences in credits and hours before you enroll.
Do I need an RN license before I start?
Not on day one. The catalog allows until the end of your first trimester to pass the NCLEX and be licensed. Before any practicum starts, though, you need an unencumbered RN license where you live and in each approved state where you will see patients, and Graceland accepts only board verification, not a photocopy.
How many clinical hours does the BSN-to-DNP require?
The 2026 Graduate Student Handbook requires 750 practicum hours and 500 DNP practice hours, 1,250 in total. The 750 come from your track's three NP practicums; the 500 match the three practice improvement project courses. Whether the 100 supervised hours in NURS8210 count toward the 500 is not stated, so confirm with the DNP track coordinator.
Which states can BSN-to-DNP students live in?
Only states Graceland has approved, and the list is not published. Residence in an approved state, with practicums there too, is a catalog condition of this program. Prospective students confirm their state by contacting the School of Nursing. Graceland's licensure charts, dated June 2020, were drawn up before the BSN-to-DNP existed.
Who finds the practice mentor for the DNP project?
Graceland's published materials leave that open. The DNP pages place the mentor and site in your home community and make both sign off on your proposal without saying who does the searching. Put the question to the DNP track coordinator early, and begin scouting organizations before your final NP practicum wraps up.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Graceland's own catalog, program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your handbook, your track coordinator and the contract coordinators have the final word.
Graceland's practicums are arranged by you, with Graceland's help. We do the searching.
Tell us your Graceland track, your city and your next practicum. We find preceptors who fit the course, line up what Appendix A and Appendix B ask for, and aim everything at Graceland's paperwork deadline for your term.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, hospital and ICU clinicians for AGACNP, psychiatrists and PMHNPs for PMHNP
- Site address, contract contact and preceptor details ready before the June 15, October 15 or February 15 deadline
- Close to home in your approved state, with a second preceptor planned for Graceland's two-preceptor rule
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