Graceland University's post-master's DNP
Graceland University's online post-master's DNP, listed in the catalog as the Nursing Practice Concentration, builds at least 636 practice hours into its courses and requires 1,000 documented post-BSN supervised practice hours by graduation. You complete them close to home, guided by a practice mentor at a practice site. Graceland does not say who finds either, so raise it with the DNP track coordinator early, well ahead of the proposal course.
Plan your DNP practice site
Tell us your project area and where you live.
The program at a glance
The post-master's DNP is fully online and runs on Graceland's 16-week trimesters. Graceland admitted its first DNP class in August 2011, and the 2024-25 catalog renamed the degree's focus the Nursing Practice Concentration. You have four years to finish, plus one 1-year extension.
Graceland's sources disagree on the size of the degree. The 2026-27 catalog lists 29 semester hours with at least 22 taken at Graceland; the Graduate Student Handbook says 31 with at least 25 at Graceland. Earlier catalogs printed 31 through 2023-24 and 28 in 2024-25. Your catalog year sets your requirement, so confirm the figure with Program Advising when your completion plan is built.
To apply, you need a master's in nursing (MN or MSN) from a program accredited by NLNAC or CCNE, with a GPA of 3.00 or better. The DNP web page also mentions a master's in nursing or a related field, an RN license, and a satisfactory background check after acceptance.
Courses and the practice hours inside them
| Course | Title | Credits | Practice hours |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS8010 | Introduction to Doctoral Study in Nursing | 1 | None listed |
NURS8100 | Professionalism, Ethics and Issues | 3 | 12 field |
NURS8120 | Health Systems Policy and Regulation | 3 | 8 field |
NURS8140 | Epidemiology | 3 | 16 field |
NURS8180 | Evaluation of Research and Biostatistics | 3 | None listed |
NURS8210 | Project Management | 3 | 100 supervised |
NURS8220 | Healthcare Informatics | 3 | Field experiences, hours not given |
NURS8260 | Organizational Leadership & Collaboration | 3 | None listed |
NURS9700 | DNP Practice Improvement Project (continuous enrollment) | 1 | None listed |
NURS9710 | DNP Practice Improvement Project Proposal | 3 | 200 supervised |
NURS9711 | DNP Practice Improvement Project Implementation | 1 | 100 supervised |
NURS9712 | DNP Practice Improvement Project Analysis & Dissemination | 3 | 200 supervised |
NURS8950 | Advanced Practice in Organizational Leadership | 1-4 | 80-100 per credit, only if you are short of hours |
Add the listed figures (12, 8, 16, 100, 200, 100 and 200) and you reach 636, the minimum the catalog states. The required courses other than NURS8950 and NURS9700 add up to 29 credits, matching the catalog rather than the handbook. The DNP practice hours page tracks the hours course by course.
How the 1,000-hour rule works
To graduate you document at least 1,000 post-BSN supervised practice hours. The handbook counts four kinds toward that total: verified hours carried over from your master's program, fieldwork built into certain DNP courses, advanced practice experiences tailored to you and completed locally, and the Practice Improvement Project, which faculty supervise and peers review.
The arithmetic explains a puzzle in Graceland's pages. The 636 program hours leave 364 to come from your master's work, and 364 is the threshold printed in the NURS8950 description. The catalog introduction and the handbook instead require NURS8950 for students admitted with fewer than 400 verified post-BSN hours, and the course description adds that it is not a requirement for the degree. Ask the DNP track coordinator which figure applies to you.
NURS8950 runs from 1 to 4 credits at 80 to 100 practice hours per credit, so it can add a sizable block of supervised hours if your master's records come up short.
Get your master's practicum hours verified at the start. NURS9710 stays closed until at least 500 supervised post-BSN hours are on record and NURS8210 is behind you.
The Practice Improvement Project, course by course
The project is the spine of the degree. NURS8210 Project Management carries 100 supervised hours and sets up the work, then three project courses carry 500 hours between them, with NURS9700 keeping you continuously enrolled while the project runs.
NURS9710Proposal: 200 hoursYou write a formal proposal that needs sign-off from four directions: your faculty advisor, your mentor, the site, and any institutional review board involved.NURS9711Implementation: 100 hoursYou carry the project out in the practice setting under supervision.NURS9712Analysis & Dissemination: 200 hoursYou analyze results and share them, finishing the project hours.
Project time counts whether you spend it at the practice site or work on the project somewhere else, and Graceland leaves the shape of those hours to an agreement among you, your faculty advisor and the cooperating agencies. Your faculty advisor signs off on the hour logs and each project product, which are then kept in the course's online site.
Practice mentor and practice site: what Graceland leaves open
Graceland's DNP pages refer to a practice mentor and a practice site, and they locate the practice experiences where you live. They do not say who identifies the mentor or site, what credentials the mentor must hold, or whether the site needs the same kind of affiliation agreement NP practicum sites use. The wording suggests you bring them, but no official page says so.
Because the mentor and site must both sign off on your NURS9710 proposal, and an IRB must approve it too, choose an organization early and one that can realistically review a project. Settle these questions in writing before the proposal term:
- Who identifies the practice mentor and site, and who approves them
- What license, degree or role the mentor needs
- Whether the site needs an agreement with Graceland, and whether soncontracts@graceland.edu handles it
- Which of your hours count as supervised, and how logs are verified
- Which IRB reviews the project if your organization has none
The handbook's license rule applies to practice hours as well: you must hold an unencumbered RN license where you live and in whichever approved state your practice hours take place. Graceland's DNP licensure chart says the degree does not lead to any type of licensure, the normal answer for a post-licensure program; the licensure disclosures page explains the charts.
Certificates, routes and timing
Two nine-credit certificates can be stacked into the DNP: Leadership (NURS8140, NURS8220, NURS8260) and Rural Health (NURS5151, NURS5161, NURS8140). Leadership draws entirely on DNP courses, and both share NURS8140 with its 16 field hours. Nurse Educator certificate courses can also be added to a DNP plan.
If you do not yet hold an NP credential, Graceland's other doctoral route is the BSN-to-DNP, which combines 750 NP practicum hours with 500 DNP practice hours. Post-master's students skip the NP practicums and focus on the project.
Washington's nursing commission names the DNP on its list of Graceland programs cleared for practice experiences in that state. Whatever your state, ask the School of Nursing to confirm it before you commit a practice site.
Why DNP students choose us
A strong practice site makes the whole project easier. We help post-master's DNP students find an organization and a practice mentor that fit the project they want to run, close to home, and we collect the details Graceland and the site will ask for so approvals move quickly.
Your placement advisor maps the timeline backward from your NURS9710 term, leaving room for mentor sign-off and IRB review, and stays available if a mentor changes roles mid-project. Share your project area through the form below.
Questions Graceland students ask
How many clinical hours is Graceland's DNP?
The post-master's DNP builds at least 636 practice hours into its courses, and you must document 1,000 post-BSN supervised practice hours to graduate. Verified hours from your master's program count toward the 1,000, along with DNP field experiences, home-community practice experiences and the Practice Improvement Project.
Is Graceland's post-master's DNP 29 or 31 credits?
Both figures are in print. The 2026-27 catalog lists 29 semester hours with at least 22 at Graceland, while the Graduate Student Handbook lists 31 with at least 25 at Graceland. The catalog's course list adds up to 29. Program Advising confirms the total for your catalog year.
Who finds my DNP practice mentor and site?
Graceland's pages leave it open. They mention a mentor and a site near home, and both must approve your NURS9710 proposal, but no official page says whose job the search is. Ask the DNP track coordinator early, and have a candidate organization in mind before the proposal term.
Do indirect hours count in Graceland's DNP?
Within the project courses, yes. Graceland counts time you give the project at the practice site and time you give it away from the site, and you, your faculty advisor and the cooperating agencies agree on what those hours will look like.
Does the DNP need NP practicums like the MSN?
No. The post-master's DNP has practice hours and a project, not the three NP practicums. Students who still need an NP credential take the BSN-to-DNP, which includes the 750 practicum hours of the FNP, AGACNP or PMHNP track plus 500 DNP practice hours.
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
Start your placement plan
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