College of NursingHow to Apply to the DNP Program

How to Apply to the DNP Program

Return to DNP Program Tracks:

Application Steps

Admission to the DNP program is once per year for a Fall-semester start. To apply:

  1. Review the Application Requirements to ensure you meet the requirements for the specialty track you want: FNP, PMHNP, or PMG. Consult with our graduate academic advisor if you have questions, or if you wish to explore an appeal option due to not meeting minimum GPA requirements.
  2. Complete NursingCAS Application. Review the application support documentation below. Watch our tutorial videos if you get stuck.
  3. Review the post-submission process.

What is NursingCAS?

NursingCAS is the Centralized Application Service for Nursing that provides accredited nursing colleges an admissions platform to manage application reviews efficiently.

Need Help?

If you are in the process of applying and are not sure where to get help, please reach out to our team at nursing.admissions@wsu.edu for triage.


Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1.
Review Application Requirements

Make sure you meet all of the application requirements for the DNP program. There are slight timeline differences among the specialty track options. Review our website for updated information on the FNP, PMHNP, or PMG options. For planning purposes, note that we typically will respond in 6-8 weeks after the close of the application period.

Step 2.
Begin NursingCAS Application

  • Review the application support documentation below. Additionally, we have tutorial videos that were made for our prelicensure BSN program. There are some exceptions to the DNP process but it may prove helpful to see how CAS works.
  • Navigate to Nursing CAS website. Select the term that you are applying for. Click apply to set up your account.
    • Check your junk mail and spam folder for the initial account confirmation to ensure that NursingCAS emails are safely going to your inbox. Whatever email you use for your application is the email that we use to communicate if there are issues, so check it regularly.
    • NursingCAS priority and final deadlines will vary depending the specialty track you apply for, so review in advance what your timeline will be.
  • You have two ways that you can find WSU applications that are currently available:
    • Once you have either created or signed in to a NursingCAS account you can use this link to view available programs.
    • Alternatively, Select “Add a Program.” Search for “Washington State University.” Select the appropriate specialty track you are applying for. Depending on when you apply, there might be additional applications open for WSU, so it’s important you select the correct one so your application goes to the right place.

Apply to the correct DNP program

There are multiple DNP application options so be sure to review the names of each to ensure you’re selecting the correct one. For example, you will see two FNP options – one is for post-baccalaureate and one is for post-masters. Make sure you have the correct one.

  • Once you’ve found the program(s) you’re looking for, click the blue ‘+’ to add them to your application.
    • If you wish to remove a program, you’ll do so from this list. Click the green checkmark next to the program and it will ask if you’d like to delete that program from your application.
  • Note: In NursingCAS, all WSU campuses are combined as Spokane/Tri-Cities/Vancouver/Yakima, WA. After you begin the application, you will be able to select the campus you want to apply for. The campus selection is a required question so you will have to answer it. Depending on the specialty track you apply for, you may be asked if you would like to select a secondary campus choice. If there is not a space for you in your first campus choice, we will reach out to you if your secondary campus choice has space available. Once you submit your application, your campus decision(s) cannot be changed. To help determine which campus to pick, please check out our campus overview
  • The application fee is $80 and non-refundable. Limited fee support may be available. For more information, visit the NursingCAS Application Fees and Fee Waivers page in the NursingCAS Applicant Help Center.
  • Select the “My Application” tab to begin filling out your application  

Personal Information

  • Fill out all 7 sections. Make sure you click “save and continue” at the bottom of each section.
  • Ensure that your contact info is accurate – your email is what we use to contact you for issues and info.
  • This section is run by NursingCAS – anything that is optional you are welcome to skip without it affecting your application.

Academic History

Fill out all 4 sections:
  • The High School Attended section is required by CAS, but this information is not reviewed by the College of Nursing.
  • For Colleges Attended, click “add a college” and input every college you have ever attended. Complete the questions asked for each college you added.
    • You must input every institution of higher education in which you have been enrolled AND provide a transcript for each. That does include if you are a WSU student. Note that this includes coursework taken as part of a study abroad program (i.e. if you studied abroad from WSU to Canada, it would be WSU coursework and you need to include that)
    • The only exception is if you have international coursework – we will require an evaluation (such as through WES or ECE) in lieu of that transcript. You will need to provide your original international transcript to WSU if you are admitted, but we recommend waiting until you know you are admitted before you take on that expense.
    • NursingCAS will reject your application if coursework from an unreported institution shows on a submitted transcript, or if a transcript for an attended institution is not submitted.
  • You will need to order official transcripts for every college/university you have attended. These transcripts must go to Nursing CAS, and not to WSU or the College of Nursing. We recommend ordering an electronic transcript if possible. If your school does not offer electronic transcripts through one of the 3 companies that NursingCAS uses, please follow the instructions for “Option 2: Order a Mailed Paper Transcript.”
  • Transcript Entry is not required for WSU DNP applicants.
  • Standardized Tests are not required for WSU DNP applicants.

Supporting Information

  • For the DNP program we do not consider this as part of the review, so we recommend that you opt out of all 3 sections to save yourself time. However, if you are also applying to another school that needs these sections, it does not hurt you to have information in there. We will just not review it either way. To opt out, click the “I am NOT adding any achievements, experiences, or licensure/certification” button at the bottom of each respective section.
  • We do consider your experiences, but in the format of an uploaded resume/CV that you provide later in the application.

Program Materials

  • Review the home tab first, then fill out the remaining 3 tabs (Questions, Documents, References).
  • For Questions, thoroughly read through each and answer appropriately – if you answer yes to a question, and later it turns out you should have answered no, you risk ineligibility.
  • For Documents, upload your CV/Resume. Also, the Other section has information for documents that may be relevant to you:
    • If you are an international student please upload a copy of your passport.
    • If you are an enrolled member of a Native American tribe, please provide a copy of your tribal enrollment card.
    • If you have attended a previous nursing school or another health-related profession school, but did not complete/graduate from there, you must upload a letter from that school. It should be from their Dean, Registrar, or student affairs designee and include a statement regarding your standing at that uncompleted school.
  • For References, add the contact information for 3 references. More information about the reference requirements are on the original program pages on our website.

Submitting Your Application

  • Navigate to “Submit Application” on the top of the page and pay application fee.
    Note that the deadline time is 11:59pm EST/EDT of that date.
  • Please continue to monitor your email as we will also reach out to address issues or questions on your application throughout the review.
  • Remember – Email us early on if you anticipate any issues. We know it is a lot of steps and are happy to help!

Tips for submitting your application

  • Note that the GPA calculated when you apply is your cumulative GPA of all the courses you’ve ever taken. We recognize that not everyone may have a strong start to their academic career but may have ended strong in their BSN program. Other applicants may have repeated coursework that was stricken from their transcript. Accordingly, if you have a repeated course that was stricken from your transcript, or want to put forward an appeal to explain a lower cumulative GPA, please let us know after you submit your application. Notify us at nursing.admissions@wsu.edu.
  • Select one campus (Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, or Yakima) you would like to attend. The campus you indicate on your application is where you will be expected to attend in-person classes. If you select one campus and intend to change later, you may lose your place in the program as we cannot ensure space for you at another campus location.
  • Include an email address you check regularly. Most contact during the admissions process will be done via email. Failure to respond may jeopardize your chances for admission.
  • Make sure your official transcripts are received by NursingCAS by the deadline. Please note that a copy of a transcript from every college and/or university you have attended will be required.

Ready to begin the process?

Begin NursingCAS Application

Step 3.
Review the post-submission process

  • DO NOT apply to WSU at this time. Your NursingCAS application suffices as an application to both Nursing and WSU itself. You do not need to submit a secondary WSU application if you are admitted.
  • Wait to hear from us. We typically send information about interview offers within 6-8 weeks.
  • DO NOT apply to WSU. 
    All applications go through NursingCAS and a separate application to WSU is no longer necessary.
  • Consider applying for financial aid. The deadline to apply to larger WSU scholarships is January 31 for the following academic year. WSU’s FAFSA code is 003800.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Application & Admissions Questions

  1. How many students are admitted each year?
    1. Admission numbers are coordinated by specialty and by campus to ensure there are appropriate ratios between students and faculty. Typically, the FNP program admits approximately 50 students per year across all campuses, PMHNP 15 students per year across all campuses, and PMG 10 students per year across all campuses.
  2. Is the GRE required?
    1. No, the GRE is not required.
  3. Is an RN license required?
    1. Yes. Students must hold a current, unencumbered RN license in each state or United States territory where practice or clinical experiences occur. They also must have 936 nursing experience hours by the time of application submission. Please refer to the program pages for additional details on practice and professional requirements.
  4. Are references required?
    1. Yes. When you apply online, you will be required to provide contact information for three references. Each reference will discuss your leadership, academic standards, and skills as they pertain to your primary interest area. You will need to provide names and emails of your references on your application. We recommend (but do not require) your references include a current or past faculty member in a nursing program you attended and two professionals from a work setting (head nurse, provider, NP/PA etc.).

      Your references will be contacted directly by CAS via email after you have saved their information to your application. Each reference will receive instructions for submitting their recommendation online. CAS requires you to add a Due Date for the reference, please make this due date within one week of adding them your application.

      Please note: the reference is an online form only, there is not a place to submit a letter.
  5. I am currently enrolled in a DNP degree track at WSU College of Nursing but want to change my degree track. Do I have to reapply and pay the application fee again?
    1. No, you do not have to apply online and pay the application fee again, nor resubmit transcripts. Instead, as a current DNP student, please contact a Graduate advisor and/or review the DNP Specialty Track Transfer Policy.
  6. I want to get a master’s degree so I can take the Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) exam sooner. Can I do that?
    1. The College of Nursing only offers the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree for students accepted to the nurse practitioner tracks (FNP or PMHNP)
    2. WSU does not offer a master’s degree exit option for NP students. National organizations such as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing support the completion of the DNP as the degree for entry to Nurse Practitioner practice.

General Application & Admissions Questions

  1. How will I hear about decisions or issues with my application?
    1. All communication happens to the email you have on file with your NursingCAS account. Make sure you create an account with an email you check regularly, and check spam and junk emails regularly as well. Verify your information is accurate in the Personal Information section as well. Both WSU and NursingCAS can/will contact you through the email you provided when applying.
  2. What happens if I get an email about issues I have?
    1. If the issues with your application are minimal and not duplicitous, we will reach out via email and give approximately 2 business days to update your application with fixed information. Again, for that reason, regularly check for emails from NursingCAS itself and in all folders.

      Replying to that email will put you in contact with your reviewer, so if you do not understand what you need to fix, or have fixed what you needed to, please let your reviewer know. This will continue the review process of your application. There is often something called an Academic Update needed, which can take time. Letting us know you’ve seen what you need to do and are working on it is good practice.
  3. I was asked a question on how COVID impacted my life, why was this asked?
    1. That was a question included by NursingCAS itself. We will not use the answer in our admissions process, so you may opt out of answering that if you so wish.
  4. Why am I not able to submit my application?
    1. There could be a few issues. First, double check that everything is filled out (all 4 quadrant circles are green) to show you’ve completed everything. If that is the case and you still are not sure, contact your campus advisor who can look over it with you.
  5. How do I reach out to NursingCAS?
    1. If you look at your name on the application, there will be a “?” icon next to it. If you click that you will be connected with the CAS helpdesk as well as find their contact email.

NursingCAS FAQs – Academic History & Transcripts

  1. What if I took classes in high school, like dual enrollment classes or running start college credit?
    1. Those are technically college credits and will be included in your history as well. Make sure you list that institution and order transcripts from them as well.
  2. What if I did AP credit instead?
    1. You will also need to enter these so we know. It can be tricky as you combine them into one sum of units. For example, if you took AP U.S. History and AP English Literature, and you got 3 units of work for history and 4 units of work for English, you would list it as: “AP Credits” for 7 units total for your first term for the school that granted you the credit. For the grade you may put CR to indicate it is for credit.
  3. Do I really need to order official transcripts from everywhere I’ve been?
    1. Yes. We need CAS to verify your coursework before we can take a look as reviewers, and CAS only verifies once they have everything. We recommend ordering your transcripts as soon as you can to mitigate issues.
  4. How do I order my transcripts then?
    1. For 99% of institutions, you will be able to order them through the application on NursingCAS. If your college is not listed within CAS, please contact us.
  5. Where do my transcripts go to? What if there is a mail delay?
    1. You want to make sure your transcripts go to NursingCAS, and NOT to WSU. We are unable to pass them to CAS if you send them to us. Please make sure that transcripts are ordered at minimum 6 weeks before the start of the term as well.

      Additionally, we understand that life does happen, and tech issues may rarely occur. We recommend that you save ordering receipts for this reason. Further, you are able to submit your completed CAS application with pending transcripts if this does happen.

      Lastly, it can take a few days for CAS to process your transcripts. It is normal to get confirmation they were sent, then have a few days before CAS notes them as received on your account. If it has been more than a week between sending and receiving, please reach out, otherwise the timing is normal.
  6. Do I need high school transcripts too?
    1. Luckily no! CAS will ask you where you attended, but you do not need to provide proof or transcripts for that section.
  7. When I put in my classes, what do I pick for the status?
    1. You can do your best guess here. If you were taking it early on, it’s okay to put first year/freshman there. Same thing if it’s been about a year you can put sophomore. We do not look in detail at this section, so you do not need to worry about mistakes here.
  8. I took a random class, what do I put for the subject area?
    1. Subject is another part that doesn’t matter as much to us. Use your best guess as to what makes sense, and when in doubt you can pick the “Special Topics” option without issue.

If you have any other questions about the application email us!

nursing.admissions@wsu.edu