Gonzaga's online Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Gonzaga Preceptor placement team

Gonzaga's Post-Master's DNP is an online doctorate for master's-prepared nurses working in advanced practice or leadership. Its practicum is project work, counted as indirect care hours instead of patient care, and you complete it with an agency liaison in a practice setting you propose. Hours from your MSN count toward the 1,000-hour total, and the immersions are virtual.

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1,000post-baccalaureate practicum hours, MSN hours included

340practicum hours at minimum inside the DNP

2virtual immersions in the first semester

Gonzaga's online Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice. 1,000: post-baccalaureate practicum hours, MSN hours included; 340: practicum hours at minimum inside the DNP; 2: virtual immersions in the first semester. — 1,000: post-baccalaureate practicum hours, MSN hours included; 340: practicum hours at minimum inside the DNP; 2: virtual immersions in the first semester.

Who the Post-Master's DNP is for

Gonzaga opens this doctorate to nurses holding a master's in nursing who work as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist or nurse-midwife, or in nursing leadership and administration. A master's in nursing education alone does not meet the eligibility bar. Nurses without a master's no longer have a direct doctoral route: Gonzaga closed its BSN-to-DNP program to new students and asks them to finish the MSN first.

Admission points from Gonzaga's DNP eligibility page
Requirement	Detail
Licenses	RN license, plus an APRN license and national certification where they apply
Master's GPA	3.3
Evidence-based practice	An EBP course, or one taken before or in the first semester
Statistics	Graduate inferential statistics or biostatistics within five years, finished before NURS 701 and 761; otherwise NURS 708
Recommendations	Gonzaga MSN-NP graduates from the last two years may send one faculty endorsement instead of three
Transfer credit	Up to 6 credits
Next posted start	Summer 2027, application deadline Feb 1, 2027

No residency restriction appears on the DNP pages, unlike the ten-state rule for the NP tracks. Gonzaga's licensure disclosures list Kansas and Tennessee as open to the Post-Master's DNP and Nursing Leadership MSN only; the state authorization guide explains that table.

Credits, length and format

The DNP is fully online, with courses in fall, spring and summer, although the project courses skip summer. Gonzaga's own documents disagree on its size, so confirm your plan with the program before you budget time.

Post-Master's DNP credits and length by Gonzaga source
Source	Credits	Length
2026-27 catalog, department page	Minimum of 30, possibly more	Not stated
Catalog program page	28-31, minimum of 28	Not stated
Gonzaga web page	28-34	7-8 semesters on average; the course page says about 2 years

Whichever figure applies, you have five years from acceptance to finish. Practicum progression asks more than the general graduate rule: you need a B in both NURS 708 and NURS 760 to enter Practicum I, then a B in the first practicum and its seminar, NURS 761, to move on to Practicum II. The grades and progression guide covers what happens below that line.

How the 1,000 practicum hours add up

Gonzaga sets one total: 1,000 post-baccalaureate practicum hours, and the hours you earned in your MSN count toward it. The DNP FAQ adds that no fewer than 340 of them must be earned within the DNP. Your personal figure is individualized, and a verification form documenting your master's hours is required at admission.

These are indirect care hours, completed as part of your DNP project, not direct patient care. The work follows your project, from identifying a practice gap to carrying a change into a real organization, rather than shifts seeing patients. Gonzaga publishes no per-course hour counts for the DNP; if you finish the core practicums short of your total, NURS 704 DNP Practicum Extension adds time and can be repeated. The clinical hours page shows how the DNP total sits beside the MSN tracks.

The practicum and project sequence

Alongside the project runs coursework in leadership and entrepreneurial innovation (NURS 709), health informatics (NURS 710), population health outcomes (NURS 713) and health policy, ethics and advocacy (NURS 715). Each practicum course asks for an individualized proposal and objectives. The DNP practicum courses page goes through each one in detail.

Post-Master's DNP curriculum, 2026-27 catalog
Term	Practicum	Seminar	What happens
First semester	NURS 700 DNP Practicum Readiness	NURS 760 Project Readiness	Virtual immersions; identify a practice gap and establish a practicum site
Next	NURS 701 DNP Practicum I	NURS 761 Project Seminar I	Work with mentors and agency liaisons
Next	NURS 702 DNP Practicum II	NURS 762 Project Seminar II	Project implementation in a practice setting
Next	NURS 703 DNP Practicum III	NURS 763 Project Seminar III	Final defense, in person or by video
As needed	NURS 704 Practicum Extension	None	Extra time to reach 1,000 hours

Your practice setting and agency liaison

The DNP has no preceptor in the NP sense. Instead, an agency liaison inside the organization where your project runs supports and evaluates you. On Gonzaga's online checklist, the liaison attests to having no family tie, friendship or reporting line with you. They also accept a minimum of three contacts each term and fill out an end-of-course evaluation, which moved into CORE for NURS 701, NURS 702 and NURS 760 starting Spring 2026.

Your own employer can host the project, with limits. Hours cannot come from the department you work in or from time you are paid for, and a direct supervisor cannot serve as liaison. The first semester is when you establish the site, so the search starts before or right at admission. The agency liaison guide covers the role and the checklist.

A liaison who supervises you, or a project run on your paid shift in your own department, will not satisfy Gonzaga's rules.

Immersions: virtual, with one older source to reconcile

In the 2026-27 catalog, both immersions are virtual and required, and both sit inside NURS 700 during your first term: an orientation, then a session on project and practicum planning. Gonzaga's web page lists two online immersions, and the DNP FAQ answers plainly that there are no required campus visits.

One older text disagrees. A catalog program page written for the previous curriculum still pairs two campus immersions with NURS 705 and NURS 760. Treat the virtual format as current and confirm with your advisor if your plan was built under the older course list. Because the immersions share a term with establishing your practicum site, arrive with a setting in mind. Your final defense may be given by video or in person, so a doctorate from Spokane need not involve a trip to Spokane.

System Management concentration from Fall 2027

Gonzaga is adding a DNP with a System Management concentration, listed in the catalog as coming Fall 2027 at 33 credits and already named on WABON's in-state program list. It blends graduate business courses with the DNP project spine, and as the name suggests, it leans toward system-level leadership.

For your practicum, little changes. The concentration keeps the NURS 700 to NURS 703 practicums and the NURS 760 to NURS 763 seminars, so you still establish a practice setting in the first semester and work with an agency liaison who meets the checklist. Because the catalog lists it as upcoming, ask the program when applications for it open before you plan around it.

System Management concentration, 33 credits (2026-27 catalog)
Component	Courses
Business courses	MBUS 520, 612, 625, 627 and 699
Practicum and project	NURS 700-703 with NURS 760-763
Statistics	NURS 708
Nursing electives	Two of NURS 709, 710, 713 and 715

Why DNP students choose us

A strong DNP project needs the right organization and a liaison who meets every line of Gonzaga's checklist, and both have to be ready in your first semester. Our placement advisors search your area for practice settings that match your project focus, whether that is quality improvement in a clinic network or a policy initiative in a public health department, and find liaisons outside your reporting line.

We gather what your proposal and the site approval need, including the organization contact and the liaison's role, so faculty review goes smoothly. If a liaison changes jobs mid-project, we find a replacement fast. Gonzaga's faculty approve each setting, and your proposal reaches them complete. Tell us about your project in the form below.

Questions Gonzaga students ask

Does Gonzaga's Post-Master's DNP require direct patient care hours?

No. Gonzaga's DNP FAQ describes the practicum hours as indirect care hours completed as part of your DNP project. You work with an agency liaison in a practice setting on a project you propose, rather than seeing patients under a preceptor. Hours from your MSN count toward the 1,000-hour total, and at least 340 happen inside the DNP.

Is Gonzaga's DNP limited to residents of the ten western states?

The ten-state residency rule on Gonzaga's pages applies to the MSN nurse practitioner tracks and the Second MSN. The DNP pages show no residency restriction, and the licensure disclosures list Kansas and Tennessee as open to the Post-Master's DNP. If a move is coming, talk to the program first, since state rules can still shape a practicum.

Do I have to travel to Spokane for the Gonzaga DNP?

Gonzaga's DNP FAQ says there are no required campus visits, and the 2026-27 catalog describes the first-semester immersions as virtual. The final project defense can take place in person or by video. An older catalog program page still mentions on-campus immersions from the previous course list, so confirm the format with your advisor if your plan predates the 2026-27 catalog.

How many practicum hours will I complete in the DNP?

It depends on your MSN. Gonzaga requires 1,000 post-baccalaureate practicum hours in total and counts the hours from your master's program toward them, verified with a form at admission. The DNP FAQ sets a floor of 340 hours inside the DNP. NURS 704 exists for students who need more time to reach their total.

Can my DNP project take place where I work?

Yes, within limits. The project may run inside your employer's organization, but in a different department from your own job and outside the hours you are paid for. Your agency liaison must attest that they do not supervise you and have no reporting line to you, and that they are neither family nor a personal friend.

DNPDNP practicum coursesGonzaga's Post-Master's DNP practicums, NURS 700 to 704 with the NURS 760 to 763 seminars: establishing a practicum site, the proposal and 1,000 hours.DNPDNP agency liaisonWhat Gonzaga's DNP agency liaison does: the online checklist, who can and cannot serve, three contacts a semester, and the end-of-course evaluation.HoursClinical hours by programGonzaga's MSN FNP and PMHNP count 660 clinical hours on current pages and 600 in the catalog. See each figure's source, the course ranges and DNP hours.TimingYour first clinical courseWhen your first Gonzaga clinical course falls: NURS 601 in year 2 of the MSN, NURS 661M in year 3 for PMHNP, NURS 700 for the DNP, and when to start looking.GradesGrades and progressionGonzaga graduate nursing grades: B expected but C coded in prerequisites, the 3.00 GPA and probation, the DNP B rule, Incompletes and the five-year limit.WorkplacePracticum where you workGonzaga allows practicum hours at your employer with faculty approval: no direct supervisor, hours apart from paid work, another unit. PMHNP and DNP rules too.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Gonzaga's catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and Department of Nursing pages. Your course, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.

Gonzaga asks you to find local preceptors first. Let us run that search.

Tell us your Gonzaga program, your practicum course and where you live and can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, certification and site details your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, early in the semester before.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care across the lifespan for NURS 661P to NURS 664P, psychiatric care for NURS 661M to NURS 663M, an agency liaison for the DNP
Credentials, license, board certification and site contact ready for your site request
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