UT Announces Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

The University of Tampa has announced it will begin offering a doctoral degree in nursing practice (DNP), starting Fall 2019. The DNP is UT’s first doctoral program.

The program prepares DNP students to design, implement and evaluate evidence-based disease management care and to coordinate acute and chronic illness care for individuals and populations. It is targeted at advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) living in Florida.

Doctorate-prepared nurses are increasingly in demand. UT’s DNP graduates gain:

Advanced health policy and management skills;
Expert clinical practice skills;
Improved leadership capacity;
New tools in evidence-based disease management;
Preparation for academic careers.

The program’s online format, with only three required visits to campus, allows students to continue their full-time careers in their clinical practice. The program consists of 30 credit hours spread over six semesters.

The coursework includes:

Clinical epidemiology;
Healthy policy and advocacy;
Health care leadership and management;
Genomics;
Health care informatics and information systems; and
Research translation.

The coursework will be taught by UT nursing faculty, who are respected researchers and practitioners, and are committed to students’ educational mastery and career advancement.

Carol Botwinski, director of the nursing program, said the DNP program was designed with the student experience as the priority. “We understand the busy schedule that actively practicing clinicians have,” Botwinski said. “Every detail of the DNP student experience has been designed so that the student can focus on completing the degree, not being frustrated by the technology or unnecessary requirements.”

The program is pending approval by The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC). Applications are being accepted now for Fall 2019.

For more information about the program, including admission requirements, visit the DNP program.

The DNP program will be housed in the new 91,000-square-foot Graduate and Health Studies Building at UT, which is currently under construction. It will include simulation labs, a digital anatomy lab and all the latest health technology and equipment.

UT has a long history of health care training, as its nursing program has long been renowned as one of the best in Florida. Typically, 100 percent of nursing graduates pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) on the first try. UT has offered the Master of Science in Nursing degree and four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs for many years. Additional health science programs include physician assistant medicine, allied health, athletic training, and graduate exercise and nutrition science.