Rivier University's DNP: tracks, hours and the external expert

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Rivier Preceptor placement team

Rivier University's Doctor of Nursing Practice is taught online and built around a scholarly project you complete in NURS 895 with a faculty guide and an external expert you help identify. The track you enter decides your credits, how many supervised hours you still need and whether NURS 715 is part of your plan.

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1,000supervised hours by the end of the DNP

39credits in the Professional Practice track

12credits of NURS 895 at minimum, over four semesters

Three entry points, one doctorate

Rivier's 2026 DNP program sheet describes three ways in. Your license and your earlier degree decide which one applies, and each carries a different credit load and timeline.

Rivier DNP tracks on the 2026 program sheet
Track	Who it is for	Credits	Length
Professional Practice	Certified APRNs	39	2.5 years full time (5 semesters) or 4.5 part time (9)
Systems Leadership	MSN nurses who are not APRNs	39 to 47	2.5 years full time or 4.5 part time
Systems Leadership Bridge	BSN nurses with a master's outside nursing	61 to 69	5 years full time (15 semesters) or 6.5 part time (19)

Admission is rolling, with starts in September, January and May, and courses run 14 weeks. The sheet also asks for a graduate statistics course and a graduate GPA of 3.2. Questions about which track fits you go to the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education.

How your hours reach 1,000

A Rivier DNP graduate finishes with 1,000 supervised practice hours, counting what they bring from their master's. Your track sets the route.

Professional Practice: you bring 500 supervised hours from your master's and add 500 in the DNP.
Systems Leadership: your master's hours and DNP hours together reach 1,000. If you come in under 500 supervised master's hours, NURS 715 Leadership Capstone Practicum fills the gap, carrying 2 to 4 credits per term and capped at 8 credits, or ending sooner once your total reaches 500.
Systems Leadership Bridge: you earn the full 1,000 inside the program, through NURS 571P, NURS 715 and NURS 895.

At admission, the program sheet wants evidence of 500 or more supervised master's hours, yet the catalog offers NURS 715 to Systems Leadership students who have fewer. If your records fall short, check with the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education on how your hours will be credited before you apply. In NURS 715, offered fall, spring and summer, the catalog has you agree goals with the Program Director and then complete the hours under a nurse leader's supervision.

`NURS 895` and your Scholarly Project Team

NURS 895 is the core of the doctorate. Plan on four or more semesters of it at 3 credits apiece (12 credits minimum), then 1 to 3 credits per term for as long as the project still needs. The two documents title it differently: Doctoral Practicum/Seminar on the sheet, Scholarly Project Practicum in the catalog.

Each student forms a Scholarly Project Team of three: the student, a faculty guide and an external expert. Under the Handbook, you and your faculty guide choose the external expert together, and the committee signs off on the choice. Faculty then brief the mentor on what the role involves. The external expert guide covers how the team works.

Because the course runs for at least four semesters, the expert you choose needs to stay with your project that long, and longer if it runs on. Look for someone whose own work connects directly to your project topic and whose schedule can absorb regular meetings over more than a year.

Online, with two points to confirm

Rivier's DNP page gives the format as online. The 2025-26 catalog, however, calls for an on-campus seminar every semester you are enrolled in NURS 895. Unless the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education rules it out, plan for the possibility of a trip to Nashua in each project semester, and ask how the seminar dates are set, since the 2026-27 academic calendar lists only the FNP intensives.

The catalog also places NURS 800 in the Professional Practice core, while the 2026 program sheet leaves it out. Your Program of Studies is the document to follow. If the two sources differ for your entry term, ask for your plan to be confirmed in writing so a missing course does not surface in your final semester.

Licenses and states for DNP practicums

Admission asks for an unencumbered, active license valid where your practicums take place: an APRN license for Professional Practice and an RN license for Systems Leadership. The Handbook keeps that rule running while you are enrolled. You need an unencumbered RN license for the state hosting the scholarly project, plus an active APRN license on the Professional Practice track, and any lapse moves you onto leave of absence. The license page covers the RN side in depth.

Rivier's State Guide treats the DNP differently from the MSN tracks. The table below gives its DNP column. Several states that are red for the master's tracks are only yellow for the doctorate, which means a call to the Program Director rather than a closed door. The State Guide page shows each state's status.

DNP column of Rivier's State Guide
Status	States
Red: unable to accept	California, Iowa, Washington
Yellow: call the Program Director	Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming
Green: OK to accept	Every other state the guide lists

Progression rules for doctoral students

The DNP section of the Handbook has its own rules, stricter in places than the MSN rules. Keep these in view as you plan your project semesters:

Every grade at B or higher, with the cumulative GPA held at 3.0 or above.
A BC or C triggers one probationary semester, and the didactic course has to be retaken and passed at 84% or higher.
Dismissal follows any F, and any practicum finished under 84%.
Withdrawing from the same course a second time is cause for dismissal (for MSN students it is the third).
The doctorate must be finished within seven years; going past that takes an application with a completion timeframe.

The Handbook's DNP section is silent on a second grade below B, but the catalog's DNP section treats it as grounds for dismissal. Ask your faculty guide which rule governs your cohort. A dismissed student may reapply through the Doctoral Nursing Admissions Committee, which meets each semester. See grades and progression for how the master's rules compare.

Why Rivier DNP students choose us

The external expert is the one member of your team Rivier does not supply, and the right one takes time to find. We search for clinicians and leaders whose work fits your project topic, confirm they can stay with you across every semester NURS 895 runs, and gather their CV and credentials so your faculty guide and the committee have what they need to review them.

For Systems Leadership students who owe NURS 715 hours, we find nurse leaders who can supervise the hours still needed. We keep a second candidate ready in case your first choice moves on. Rivier's faculty and committee approve every expert and site, and we make sure the details in front of them are complete and fit Rivier's rules. Send us your project topic through the form below; the how it works page shows what happens next.

Questions Rivier students ask

Who is responsible for finding a Rivier DNP external expert?

The search is shared. You and your faculty guide identify a candidate together, and the committee makes the approval. If a name from your own professional network fits, bring it to your guide. If not, finding someone with the right expertise who can commit for at least four semesters of NURS 895 is where a dedicated search pays off.

How many clinical hours does Rivier's DNP require?

Rivier counts 1,000 supervised hours across the master's and the doctorate. Professional Practice students bring 500 and add 500. Systems Leadership students may need NURS 715 if they arrive with fewer than 500 master's hours. Bridge students earn the whole 1,000 inside the program. Confirm your own count with the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education.

Do Rivier DNP students have to visit the campus?

The program page says the format is online, but the catalog calls for a campus seminar during every NURS 895 semester. Rivier's two documents differ here, so ask the Director of Doctoral Nursing Education what applies to your start term and budget time for Nashua visits until you hear back.

Can I carry out my DNP project outside New Hampshire?

Yes, if you hold an unencumbered RN license (and, on the Professional Practice track, an active APRN license) for the project's state, and that state is not red for the DNP on Rivier's State Guide. For yellow states such as New York or Colorado, call the Program Director before you commit.

What happens if my license lapses during the DNP?

Under the Handbook, a lapsed license moves a DNP student onto leave of absence. Because leave pauses progress through NURS 895, renew well before any expiry date and keep your external expert informed if a gap looks possible. Returning also depends on the time limit: doctoral students have seven years to finish.

DNPDNP practicums and the external expertHow Rivier University's DNP practicums work: NURS 895 with a Scholarly Project Team and external expert, NURS 715 for leaders, 1,000 hours and campus seminars.LicensureRN license for your practicumRivier requires an RN license in the state where your practicum happens. New Hampshire or multistate licenses, the older FNP campus note, and DNP rules.State GuideRivier's State GuideRivier's State Guide colors each state green, yellow or red for every nursing program: the red and yellow states, the unlisted ones, and what each color means.ProgressionGrades and progressionRivier University graduate nursing progression: the B minimum, Written Notices, probation, repeats, the 84% practicum bar and where catalog and Handbook differ.APRNMSN APRN Degree CompletionRivier University's online MSN APRN Degree Completion: 20 credits for certified APRNs, no practicum, and where a preceptor search fits later, at the DNP stage.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.

Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.

Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP for NURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist for NURS 638P
Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts

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