Admission

NURSING@SIMMONS

The Nursing@Simmons online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program prepares Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)-educated nurses to advance their clinical practice through the implementation of evidence-based research and become leaders in the health care field.

Start Dates

The program has start dates in May and September, and admission is conducted on a rolling basis.

May

September

Application Deadlines

September 2024

Round 1 Deadline
April 1, 2024

Round 2 Deadline
July 1, 2024

Round 3 Deadline
July 22, 2024

Classes Begin: 
September 2024

Complete your online application today.

All applicants must be U.S citizens or permanent residents and meet the requirements for education, licensure, and experience listed below, depending on whether they have pursued a clinical or leadership-focused professional path. Note that applicants may have a mixture of clinical and leadership education and experience (e.g., an applicant may have earned a clinical MSN degree but pursued a leadership career and licensure or vice versa) as long as they meet the requirements for one of these focuses in each requirement category.

Education

Applicants must have earned a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from a regionally accredited U.S. postsecondary institution with a preferred GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Applicants must have successfully completed (with a grade of B or better) a three-credit course in statistics. If you do not meet this requirement, please contact an admission counselor to discuss other fulfillment options.

Clinical Hours

Applicants must have completed at least 500 clinical hours in their master’s program in order to be admissible to the DNP program. Verification of these hours is required if the MSN was not earned at Simmons University.

Licensure

All applicants must have a current unencumbered and unrestricted U.S. registered nurse (RN) license.

Experience

All applicants must have a minimum of two years of professional experience as a licensed registered nurse (RN). It is preferred that they also have either:

  • Clinically focused experience: clinical excellence in their area of nursing expertise
  • Leadership-focused experience: progressive professional leadership experience

Simmons alumni will be considered for the DNP program with less than two years of RN experience.

Application Fee

A $50 nonrefundable application fee is required to apply to Nursing@Simmons. Those who apply before the Round 1 application deadline will receive an application fee waiver and those who apply before the Round 2 application deadline will receive a reduced application fee of $30.

Application fee waivers are available for applicants affiliated with non-profit organizations such as: City Year, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and Teach for America, and military personnel, veterans, and their spouses. Please contact your admission counselor to request instructions for obtaining the fee waiver.

Alumni Applicant Benefits

Those who have graduated from Simmons’ Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program are eligible for certain benefits as DNP applicants and students. Simmons MSN alumni:

  • May complete a streamlined application with fewer requirements
  • Will have the $50 application fee waived
  • May have up to 5 credits waived from the standard 30 program credits once accepted 1

To receive these benefits, alumni applicants must first connect with our admission team by requesting information in the form below.

1 For credits to be waived, equivalent courses must have been completed within the last five years with grades of ‘B’ or better.

Virtual Tours

Nursing@Simmons offers virtual tours of the online classroom experience. To schedule one or to learn more about other virtual engagement opportunities, please contact the Admission team at admissions@onlinenursing.simmons.edu or 855-461-7466.