DNP Application Process

Application Details

• Applications for the DNP program will be accepted each year from November 15 until February 15. 
• For admission to the dual-degree AGACNP and CRNA program, view the CRNA application process. CRNA applications will be accepted each year from February 1 until April 1. 
• No application fee.

Entry Options

Summer Semester (May)

Program Eligibility

The online DNP program is designed for the advanced practice nurse (nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or nurse midwife) who wishes to obtain a DNP degree.

Admission to the DNP program is limited to qualified students who:

• Have earned a 3.3 GPA in master’s-level work.
• Have graduated from an accredited Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) program. An APN program is defined as nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or certified nurse midwife program.
• Have a NYS license as a registered nurse.
• Have a NYS certificate as an advanced practice nurse OR eligibility and national professional certification in an APN specialty, if eligible.
• Currently practicing as an APN.

Fisher also offers a dual-degree AGACNP and CRNA program for baccalaureate-prepared nurses.

Application Materials Needed

• Completed online application.
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, including any college or university you may have received college credit from while in high school.
  • For the quickest transcript processing, please contact each institution attended and request an official transcript with electronic delivery to St. John Fisher University.
  • To receive an admissions decision, SJF cannot accept transcripts that are sent or uploaded by the student.
• Master’s degree conferred.
• Two recommendations. These should be from a doctorally-prepared or master’s-prepared health care provider, a current supervisor in an employment setting, and a practicing APRN familiar with your intellectual ability, academic achievement, clinical expertise, and professional commitment. (You will be prompted to assign your recommenders within the online application.)
• Current résumé.
• Writing sample.
• Professional Education Statement that includes:
  
  • Your reasons for applying to the DNP program.
  • Your long- and short-term educational and professional goals and how the DNP program will help you reach these goals.
  • How the degree will enhance your experience.
  • How you plan to accommodate the program’s rigorous curriculum with all of your competing activities and doctoral study.
  • The population that you would like to focus on for your DNP project and describe one clinical problem related to the population that your project will help address.
  • How, as a doctorally-prepared advanced practice nurse, you will contribute (e.g., through education, research, and practice) to enhance the health and quality of life for people of all cultures, economic levels, and geographic locations.

Note: You will be prompted to upload your documents during the submission of your application.

Interview Process

Applicants who meet the admission requirements will be required to participate in a formal interview.

International Student Eligibility

If you are an applicant from outside the United States or are seeking St. John Fisher University to sponsor your student visa, please refer to graduate admissions for international students. 

Admissions Contact