Program Overview

School of Nursing 2025–2026

The Yale School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) programs are built upon a rich history and tradition of encouraging innovative and progressive thought as a guide for adventurous action and practice. The programs focus on vision and innovation, with two main areas of focus:

• Healthcare Leadership, Systems, and Policy
• Clinical practice innovation

Aims and Assumptions

The D.N.P. programs at Yale School of Nursing aim to prepare transformational executive, policy, and clinical leaders and innovators with the knowledge and skills to improve health care delivery and policies. The curriculum is designed to insure patient-centered and culturally responsive clinical care, and safe, high-quality outcomes for diverse populations within and across health care systems and organizations.

Program Details

The Yale School of Nursing offers two D.N.P. programs:

• The three-year part-time Leadership D.N.P. program, tailored for mid-career nurses in systems leadership trajectories
• The three-year part-time Clinical D.N.P. program, geared toward clinically practicing advanced practice nurses Both programs combine online course work with intensive on-campus experiences.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the YSN Leadership D.N.P. program, graduates will demonstrate success in the areas of:

• Health systems, including large scale system change
• Business
• Leadership Upon completion of the Clinical D.N.P. program, graduates will demonstrate success in the areas of:
• Clinical innovation
• Practice change Both programs focus on the advanced-level competencies outlined in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s D.N.P. Essentials.

Program Philosophy

The Yale School of Nursing’s D.N.P. programs embody the philosophy that nursing has an ethical and social significance. The programs are designed to provide interventions that influence practice and health care outcomes for individuals and populations, administration of nursing and health care organizations, and the development and implementation of health policy.