Doctor of Nursing Practice

The UCSF School of Nursing offers two pathways for nurses to achieve the profession’s highest clinical degree: the Doctor of Nursing Practice.

• The BSN Entry to DNP — Advanced Nursing Focus pathway enables individuals with a bachelor’s degree in nursing to become experts and leaders in health equity. Applicants will master the skills in one of 10 advanced specialties and complete their studies toward the DNP degree. The school expects to welcome its first cohort in the new pathway in June 2024, pending approval from the California Board of Registered Nursing.
• The Post-Master’s Entry to DNP — Leadership Focus pathway prepares registered nurses who hold a master’s degree with the skills to innovate improvements and lead teams in developing approaches to care that address population needs.

A core component of the degree program is the DNP quality improvement project, in which students identify a health care practice issue and formulate a solution that improves clinical outcomes. In direct consultation with faculty mentors, students will conceive, evaluate and defend their scholarly work. They will also develop strategies to disseminate their scholarly work and to implement practices based on their conclusions.

The UCSF School of Nursing takes pride in its graduate programs, which represent a century of pioneering leadership that has produced many top influencers in the field in the U.S. and abroad. Among schools of nursing nationwide, the UCSF School of Nursing is one of the top recipients of research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Faculty

The UCSF School of Nursing has a dedicated faculty of more than 150 experts who share a passion for educating the next generation of health care leaders and leading innovative research that advances health equity for all. Faculty members at the school are distinguished leaders in their areas of expertise and have led – and continue to lead – innovations and policy improvements locally, nationally and around the globe. 

The Nursing DNP program is offered by the UCSF Graduate Division, administered by the UCSF School of Nursing, and delivered by faculty members in the UCSF School of Nursing.