BSN to DNP Admissions

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the BSN to DNP program you must have the following:

Completed Bachelor of Science or Master of Science in Nursing

You must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or a Master of Science in Nursing. Nursing degrees must be from an institution with a nursing education program accredited through the CCNE, ACEN, or CNEA. You may apply before receiving degree requirements but must receive the required degree by August 1 prior to beginning enrollment in the BSN to DNP program.

Active RN license

You must have an active, unencumbered license as a registered nurse in the state where you practice. You may apply before receiving your RN license, but must be in possession of a current, unencumbered RN license by August 1.

Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale in the last degree earned that is relevant to the program of study

GPAs are reviewed by Ohio State's Graduate and Professional Admissions Office. Applicants whose GPAs fall below 3.0 may still apply and be considered for admission.

Completion of prerequisite course with a B- or higher

Applicants must complete a prerequisite statistics course. Please see the Prerequisites section below for further details.

For CRNA specialty applicants: A minimum of 1-year full-time, recent (within 2 years) work experience, or its part-time equivalent, as a registered nurse in a critical care setting.

• Through this experience, you must have developed as an independent decision maker capable of using and interpreting advanced monitoring techniques based on knowledge of physiological and pharmacological principles.
• Critical care experience must be obtained in a critical care area within the United States, its territories, or a US military hospital outside of the United States. During this experience, the registered professional nurse has developed critical decision making and psychomotor skills, competency in patient assessment, and the ability to use and interpret advanced monitoring techniques. A critical care area is defined as one where, on a routine basis, the registered professional nurse manages one or more of the following: invasive hemodynamic monitors (e.g. pulmonary artery, central venous pressure, and arterial catheters), cardiac assist devices, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive infusions. Examples of critical units may include but are not limited to: surgical intensive care, cardiothoracic intensive care, coronary intensive care, medical intensive care, pediatric intensive care, and neonatal intensive care. Those who have experiences in other areas may be considered provided they can demonstrate competence with managing unstable patients, invasive monitoring, ventilators, and critical care pharmacology (COA, 2021, p. 36).

Visit this page to learn more about requirements related to vaccines, licenses and other requirements upon admission.

Who We Are Looking For

Your application will be reviewed using a holistic approach, meaning all aspects of who you are as an applicant will be considered. This assessment will include academic preparedness and formative experiences in your professional background, education and life. We are also looking for candidates that demonstrate a preferred set of attributes, experiences and strengths described in the following list. This list is not all encompassing, but is meant to help guide you in what you may wish to highlight in your written application materials and in your recorded online video interview:

• Clear understanding of the role of a DNP, your goals for the future and an alignment between the two
• Clear understanding of the specialty track to which you are applying
• Experience with evidence-based practice (EBP), quality improvement, innovation and publication
• Any experience with the relevant populations of your chosen specialty
• Demonstration of leadership, interprofessional collaboration and teamwork
• Evidence of resiliency, the ability to overcome obstacles, to think critically and evidence of growth
• Community engagement, local and global, and a diversity of thought, perspective and experience
• Written and oral communication skills, organization of ideas, emotional intelligence
• Personal attributes such as humility, professionalism, compassion, etc.
• Overall commitment to nursing

Prerequisites

Applicants must complete a college-level statistics prerequisite course prior to the posted application deadline. Applicants who have not done so, even if prerequisite course is in-progress at the time of the deadline, will not be considered for admission. A grade of B- or better is required in the prerequisite course. The course must be completed within the last five years. Credit by examination (such as AP test scores) is not accepted towards the prerequisite requirement.

The prerequisite statistics course should include:

• A review of basic statistical concepts
• A review of univariate statistical analysis
• A review of bivariate statistical analysis
• An overview of commonly used statistical tests

Prerequisite course taken at Ohio State

Prerequisite coursework may be completed at Ohio State during a bachelor’s program or as a non-degree student. To take undergraduate courses outside of a degree program, you must first apply as an Extended Education student. Applications can be completed through the Office of Distance Education and eLearning (ODEE). Please contact ODEE to learn more about enrollment as a continuing education student at 614-292-8860 or e-mail odee-extendeded@osu.edu.

The following Ohio State courses fulfill the prerequisite course requirement:

• PSYCH 2220 Data Analysis in Psychology
• PSYCH 3321 Quantitative and Statistical Methods
• PUBHIBO 6210 Applied Biostatistics I
• STATISTICS 1350 Elementary Statistics
• STATISTICS 1450 Introduction to the Practice of Statistics
• STATISTICS 2450 Introduction to Statistical Analysis

Prerequisites taken at another institution

For prerequisite coursework taken at another institution, please visit the Transferology website to see if the courses that you have taken or plan to take at another institution qualify. If you are unable to find results through these tools, then an evaluation of the courses will need to be done by the Office of Graduate & Professional Admissions.

As a prospective student, to submit courses for evaluation please prepare the following information on each course taken outside of Ohio State:

• Course number
• Course title
• Institution
• Semester of completion
• Number of credit hours earned
• Course description from institution’s course catalog

This information can be submitted directly to ESUE-gpevaluation@osu.edu; be sure to clarify that you are submitting the courses in reference to the DNP program. Results for course evaluations can take up four weeks and the Office of Graduate & Professional Admissions may request further information on a course, such as a syllabus, and may refer you to contact an Ohio State transfer credit coordinator in the academic area for further review.

How to Apply

To apply for the BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice program you must complete the following:

1. Apply online

You can complete an application online for the next available Autumn cohort at The Ohio State University Graduate and Professional Admissions office’s website. A $60 fee is required at the time of submission of the application.

In the online application you will be required to select your specialization for the program, as well as whether you will attend full-time or part-time and whether you will attend on-campus or fully through distance learning, if that option is available for your chosen specialization. You can find a list of the available specializations here.

2. Submit all college transcripts

Applicants must submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities that you have previously attended at both either the undergraduate or graduate levels. This includes transcripts for any post-secondary courses taken during high school or of coursework that appears as transfer credit on another transcript. Transcripts from The Ohio State University do not need to be submitted.

Transcripts should be submitted directly by the sending institution by mail or electronic transfer to be considered official. Please request your transcripts be sent early so they arrive before the deadline. Transcripts can be sent to:

The Ohio State University
Graduate Admissions Office
P.O. Box 182004
Columbus, OH 43218-2004

or

gpadocs@osu.edu

Applicants may upload a copy of an official transcript at the time of application or after by way of the Admissions Uploader. However, documents submitted in this manner are considered unofficial, but will suffice for the purposes of application. Web based documents, online grade reports, and related materials are not acceptable. If an applicant is admitted, they will be required to supply official transcripts sent direct from your previous institutions.

For details regarding these methods of submitting transcripts, please visit The Ohio State University Graduate and Professional Admissions office’s website. Please direct all transcript related questions to the Graduate and Professional Admissions office at 614-292-9444 or to gpadmissions@osu.edu.

3. Current resume/curriculum vitae

Your resume or curriculum vitae (CV) should be in a similar format to what you would use for a job application. You should include your previous education, professional experiences and any community service, volunteer activities, publications, research and leadership experiences on your resume or CV. You may submit this document at the time of application or after by way of the Admissions Uploader.

4. Purpose and goals statement

Please upload a purpose and goals statement, including a narrative of your professional experience, career goals and match to the goals of DNP education. In this statement, applicants should address the following:

• What advanced practice specialty are you selecting and why? Please include rationale for selecting the specialty and how becoming advanced practice certified in the chosen specialty will assist you in achieving your professional and educational goals.
• What specifically are your academic and career goals for which the DNP program will prepare you best?
• How have your life experiences prepared you for being a doctoral-prepared nurse?
• Why are you seeking education in the DNP program at this time in your career?

The statement should address each of the above questions and will act as a demonstration of your writing skills to the program faculty. The response is not to exceed three single-spaced pages. Consideration will be given to both the quality of your writing and the congruence between the stated goals and those of the program. You may submit this document at the time of application or after by way of the Admissions Uploader.

5. Recorded online video interview

You are required to complete a recorded online video interview through an online portal called HireVue, during which you will be recorded answering a brief selection of questions regarding your interests and goals in nursing and the DNP program. This interview can be completed at any time during the application window. However, we ask that you do so only after you have completed and submitted your application. Note: You must complete the recorded online video interview before the application deadline. For further details, instructions, and links to the online portal go to the interview.

6. Three letters of recommendation

During the application you will be asked to provide the names and email addresses of three (3) recommenders. Once the application is submitted, an email will be automatically generated and sent to your recommenders with a link and further instruction on how to submit their letters of recommendation. We encourage you to submit your application far in advance of the deadline so that your recommenders have ample time to upload their letters.

Letters of recommendation should be submitted from individuals who are familiar with your academic ability, professional experience and potential to succeed in the highest level of nursing practice. We suggest providing your recommenders with information on the degree and specialty to which you are applying and with a copy of your purpose and goals statement. Ask that they address your potential for success in a rigorous graduate program and what attributes and experiences they feel will allow you to excel as an advanced practice nurse in your chosen specialty. Finally, make them aware of the submission process and the application deadline by which they must submit their letters.

7. Test of English proficiency - International applicants only

Details regarding what English Proficiency tests are acceptable, the scores required, and how to submit scores may be found on The Ohio State University Graduate and Professional Admissions office’s website here.

8. Supplemental application for current or former Ohio State graduate students

If you are currently or have been previously enrolled in a degree granting graduate program at The Ohio State University for any length of time, you would be considered a Graduate Intra-University Transfer Student. Be sure to choose the appropriate application for "current or former" Ohio State students after following the Apply link found here. In addition to that online application, you must complete a Supplemental Application. This separate application must be submitted to the College of Nursing directly at CON-gradrecords@osu.edu. Choose any of the following options to access this application:

• MS Word Document: Supplemental DNP Application (To download, select "Save")
• PDF: Supplemental DNP Application

Failure to complete all required steps of this application process by 11:59 pm ET on the day of the posted deadline will result in your application not being considered for admission, with no exceptions.

Verification of Hours Form explanation

An item referred to as the verification of hours form will appear on an applicant’s checklist when reviewing their application status. Applicants to the BSN to DNP program are not required to submit this form. The requirement for this item will, therefore, be waived. No action is needed by the applicant.

Most applicants may review the status of their application anytime at appstatus.osu.edu. If you are currently or have been previously enrolled in a degree granting graduate program at Ohio State for any length of time, you are considered a Graduate Intra-University Transfer and can. contact nursing@osu.edu to review your application status.

For applicants to the Post-Master’s DNP program wishing to pursue a specialty certification

If you plan to pursue the Post-Master’s DNP program along with a certification in an advanced nursing specialty, you must complete the application process as detailed here.

You must complete this application process by the deadline posted above, not the deadline of the Post-Master’s DNP application process.

Admission Timeline and Deferrals

All required materials listed above must be submitted by the posted application deadline to be considered for admission. Please allow up to five business days for the status of materials to be updated on your application status webpage.

If you applied for Autumn 2025, please review the admissions timeline here. If you applied for the round two window, admission decisions are projected to be released by the end of April. This admissions timeline covers what you can expect throughout the application process, including an anticipated timeline for when admissions decisions will be released and next steps if you are offered admission.

You are not able to defer admittance. If you are unable to begin your studies in the term to which you applied, you will be required to reapply in the future.

For in-person assistance or for more information on how to strengthen your application, you may RSVP to attend one of our Overview Sessions here at the College of Nursing.