5 Best DNP Programs in Washington – 2025

Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

There’s no time like the present to enroll in one of the DNP programs in Washington State. The job market for DNP-educated RNs in the Evergreen State is hot now and expected to grow even hotter, with job opportunities increasing by 45 percent in the coming decade. DNPs in Washington State make excellent wages, too, that average $156,630 annually. With a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, you’ll succeed in whatever nursing specialty you pursue, whether that’s advanced practice clinical nursing or executive nurse management. There are many compelling reasons to seize the moment, and you can learn about them by perusing this guide to the 5 best DNP programs in Washington State.

WHAT ARE THE BEST DNP PROGRAMS IN WASHINGTON (ONLINE & CAMPUS) FOR 2025?

Based on our Ranking Methodology, listed below are the 5 Best Doctor of Nursing Practice programs in Washington (Online & Campus) for 2025.

1. University of Washington - Seattle

Programs Offered: BSN-to-DNP

DNP Specialties Offered: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner — Acute Care, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner — Primary Care, Population Health & Systems Leadership, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and Women’s Health Clinical Nurse Specialist

BSN-to-DNP Program Details: The University of Washington's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)-to-Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is a national leader when it comes to preparing nurses to improve health outcomes. UW offers nine clinical nursing doctorate specialties: a BSN-to-DNP/Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) track, a BSN-to-DNP/Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) track, a BSN-to-DNP/Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track, a BSN-to-DNP/Nurse-Midwifery track, a BSN-to-DNP/Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PACNP) track, a BSN-to-DNP/Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (PPCNP) track, a BSN-to-DNP/Population Health & Systems Leadership track, a BSN-to-DNP/Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) track, and a BSN-to-DNP/Women's Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (WHCNS) track. The two pediatric NP tracks entail 93 to 95 quarter credits, while the other seven concentrations require 93 quarter credits.

The University of Washington's BSN-to-DNP program only offers full-time enrollment. New students start the program in the fall quarter and graduate in nine quarters (27 months).

During your first year, you'll take classes at the university's campus in Seattle once a week, though approximately half your coursework will be distance learning. During your second and third years, most of your courses will continue to have face-to-face components, though you'll still be able to access many of your educational materials online. You'll begin clinical experiences in the spring quarter of your second year. Like all DNP programs in Washington, UW's requires a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours. The School of Nursing will arrange these for you at some of the most prestigious healthcare facilities in the Seattle/ Puget Sound region, including the university's own UW Medical Center - Montlake/Northwest, as well as Harborview Medical Center, Swedish Hospital, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Seattle Children's Hospital.

Students in all nine tracks take the same DNP core in their first year, with classes like "Perspectives on Implementing Research in Advanced Nursing Practice," Nursing Inquiry to Support Evidence-Based Practice," and Appraisal & Translation of Evidence for Practice." During your final year, you'll partner with a local clinical agency or community organization to complete a scholarly DNP project.

BSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: Admission into this program is highly competitive. At a minimum, applicants must have a BSN with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. All accepted students must have a Washington State RN license by the time they begin the program.

Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students

• The University of Washington’s DNP program is ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Its DNP/Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and DNP/Nurse-Midwifery tracks both landed the #5 spot in their respective specialties.
• In 2024-2025, the University of Washington funded 180 scholarships for its DNP students for a total of $2.1 million.
• The University of Washington also accepts MSN-educated applicants into its BSN-to-DNP program.

2. Gonzaga University - Spokane

Programs Offered: MSN-to-DNP

MSN-to-DNP Program Details: Except for practicums, Gonzaga University's MSN-to-DNP track is a completely online program that requires no campus visits, though you will participate in two synchronous online immersions—an orientation when you first begin your didactic classwork and a DNP project readiness course as you are beginning practicums. This DNP program in Washington requires 28 to 34 credits and 340 practicum hours. (You'll be able to transfer clinical hours over from your MSN studies to make up the remainder of the 1,000-hour DNP clinical requirement.) You can complete your practicums at a medical facility close to where you live and work.

New students start this program in the summer semester and graduate in approximately two years. The core DNP curriculum includes courses like "Evidence-Based Practice for Quality & Safety," "Translational Research in Advanced Practice," and "Inferential Statistics," which will lay the groundwork for the three-semester DNP project you'll undertake in your second year. All courses taught in the spring and fall semesters are 16 weeks long; summer semester classes are taught over an interval of 12 weeks.

MSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: This program is only open to APRNs who maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or higher while they were earning their MSN. You must hold an RN license and APRN certification in the state where you'll be doing practicums.

Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students

• Gonzaga University is a Catholic Jesuit school. Though people of all faiths are counted among its students, the university's DNP curriculum explicitly references Jesuit values and principles.
• Gonzaga University will permit you to pursue practicum experiences at the same healthcare facility where you're employed, so long as your direct supervisor is not your preceptor, and you're not earning academic credits in the same unit where you're employed.

3. Washington State University - Spokane

Programs Offered: BSN-to-DNP and MSN-to-DNP

BSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

MSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

BSN-to-DNP Program Details: Washington State University's BSN-to-DNP/FNP and BSN-to-DNP/PMHNP tracks are designed to help address the significant shortage of primary care providers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Both tracks entail 74 credits and 1,080 clinical hours (600 supervised hours of direct patient care and 480 hours for implementing and evaluating your DNP project). WSU's Clinical Placement Coordinator will arrange your clinical rotations, and all of them must take place at healthcare facilities within Washington State, Oregon, or Idaho.

You'll build a solid platform for developing your DNP project by taking foundational DNP courses such as "Analytical Foundations for Practice Inquiry," "Introduction to Mixed Methods and Evaluation," and "Epidemiology and Biostatistics for Health Professions." This DNP program in Washington balances distance learning with face-to-face learning. You'll complete much of the curriculum in synchronous sessions that deploy interactive videoconference technology, but you'll make visits to the university's campuses a few times each year for interactive labs and other learning experiences.

You can choose to enroll either full-time and graduate in eight semesters (32 months) or part-time and graduate in 11 semesters (44 months). Once you start your degree progression, you'll be able to change from full-time to part-time if you're feeling overwhelmed, but you won't be able to change from part-time to full-time if you want to speed things up. The two tracks accept new cohorts into the program in the fall semester.

BSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: All post-baccalaureate DNP applicants to Washington State University's program must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited program with a GPA of 3.0 or above. Candidates must also possess a valid RN license in their campus's catchment area. Preference is given to applicants with at least one year of professional nursing experience.

MSN-to-DNP Program Details: Are you an APRN interested in moving up to the next level of nursing professionalism and expanding your scope of practice at the same time? Washington State University offers MSN-to-DNP/FNP and MSN-to-DNP/PMHNP tracks that each require the completion of 69 credits and can be completed in eight semesters (32 months) by full-time students. Alternatively, if what you're really interested in is earning your clinical nursing doctorate, the university also offers an MSN-to-DNP track that's focused solely on evidence-based practice, leadership, research, and other core DNP concepts.

WSU's MSN-to-DNP track features the same core DNP curriculum that's the centerpiece of its BSN-to-DNP program. Students enrolled in the nurse practitioner tracks must complete 1,080 clinical hours. Students enrolled in the streamlined MSN-to-DNP track need only complete 480 practicum hours; they can transfer clinical hours from their MSN studies toward the 1,000 clinical-hour DNP requirement. The program uses a hybrid format, combining online with in-person learning. New students can enter this program in the fall semester.

MSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: For acceptance into this program, you must have a BSN and an MSN from an accredited nursing program, plus an RN license and APRN certification in Washington State and Idaho if your home campus is Spokane or Washington State and Oregon if your home campus is Vancouver.

Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students

• Washington State University has campuses throughout Washington State and accepts students from Washington State, Idaho, and Oregon into its DNP programs. Idaho students are based at the Spokane campus, while Oregon students are based at the Vancouver campus.
• Washington State University's FNP and PMHNP grads have a first-time pass rate of 100 percent on their national nurse practitioner certification exams.

4. Seattle University - Seattle

Programs Offered: BSN-to-DNP, MSN-to-DNP, and APNI-to-DNP

BSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse-Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, and Nurse-Midwifery

MSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Health Systems Leader

APNI-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse-Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwifery, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner

BSN-to-DNP Program Details: In terms of sheer flexibility, Seattle University's clinical nursing doctorate is one of the best DNP programs in Washington because it offers entry points into its five nursing practitioner specialties to individuals hoping to launch a second career as an RN, as well as to RNs with BSN degrees. The university's BSN-to-DNP program features five concentrations: a 110-quarter-credit AGACNP track, a 106-quarter-credit Family Nurse-Adult Gerontology PCNP track, a 97-quarter-credit PMHNP track, a 114-quarter-credit WHNP track, and a 114-quarter-credit Nurse-Midwifery track. You'll attend classes at the university's campus close to downtown Seattle, but your coursework will be supported by online components.

Foundational courses like "Quality Improvement Process and Methodologies," "Epidemiologic Analysis of Populations at Risk," and "Health Informatics" lay the groundwork for a three-semester DNP project during which you'll synthesize, integrate, and translate your newly acquired knowledge and skills into a nursing initiative that aims to improve healthcare delivery.

This BSN-to-DNP project requires a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours, split between supervised patient care in your NP specialty and practicum hours working on your NP project. Your clinical experiences will take place at some of Seattle's top healthcare centers, including Kaiser Permanente, Swedish Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and Seattle Children's Hospital. You'll begin your coursework in the summer semester and graduate in three years. Seattle University's BSN-to-DNP program only admits full-time students.

BSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: All applicants must hold RN licensure in the state of Washington and a BSN with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Preference is given to applicants with at least two years of professional nursing experience. Preference is given to applicants to the AGACNP track who have at least one year of acute care nursing experience.

MSN-to-DNP Program Details: Are you an MSN-educated nurse interested in qualifying for more prominent roles within healthcare leadership? Seattle University's 48- to 52-quarter credit MSN-to-DNP/Health Systems Leader track was designed for you. This program offers working nurses the flexibility they need to integrate their educational aspirations with their existing personal and professional commitments. You can start the program in either the summer or fall semester, depending upon which is more convenient for you, and you can enroll either part-time or full-time. Though many of your educational materials will be available online, most of your classes will take place on Seattle University's main campus.

You'll complete the same basic DNP curriculum that BSN-to-DNP students complete, including the three-semester DNP project. You'll be able to transfer up to 500 clinical hours from your MSN studies to augment the practicum hours you'll undertake completing this degree, so that you'll meet the 1,000-clinical-hour DNP requirement. Full-time students typically complete this program in three years.

MSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants with an MSN who've maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and hold a current Washington State RN license.

APNI-to-DNP Program Details: Have you been dreaming of making a mid-course career correction that involves becoming a nurse practitioner even though you aren't an RN? Seattle University's Advanced Practice Nursing Immersion (APNI) program can help you fulfill your ambition in just four years.

During your first five quarters, you'll take 67 quarter credits of pre-licensure coursework. At the end of this time, you'll be awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and sit for your NCLEX-RN exam. Once you pass this exam, you'll choose a nurse practitioner specialty in one of five specialty areas: adult-gerontology acute care, primary care (FNP plus AGPCNP), psychiatric mental health, midwifery, or women's health. Thereafter, your academic journey will follow the same path as traditional BSN-to-DNP students, including foundational DNP courses and a DNP project. This program accepts new cohorts in the summer semester and can only be enrolled in full-time.

APNI-to-DNP Admission Requirements: Only a limited number of applicants can be admitted to this program. You must have a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. You'll also need to have some familiarity with professional healthcare, either through volunteer work or by non-RN employment in a related field, to demonstrate that you are making an informed choice by applying to this program.

Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students

• Seattle University is a Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition. Its admission policies are inclusive—its students represent many different religious backgrounds—and its nursing curriculum does not overtly reflect Catholic doctrine.
• Seattle University also offers an RN-to-DNP for nurses with an associate degree or a hospital diploma that requires 46 quarter credits of bridge coursework before you enter the traditional BSN-to-DNP program.
• 95 percent of Seattle University's FNP grads pass their nurse practitioner national certification boards the very first time they take them.

5. Pacific Lutheran University - Tacoma

Programs Offered: BSN-to-DNP, MSN-to-DNP, and MSN-APRN-to-DNP

BSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

MSN-to-DNP Specialties Offered: Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

BSN-to-DNP Program Details: The BSN-to-DNP program at Pacific Lutheran University offers two nurse practitioner specialties that are highly in demand: a 77- to 79-credit (1,140 clinical hours) FNP track and an 82-credit (1,380 clinical hours) PMHNP track. This DNP program in Washington is an excellent choice for nurses who plan to continue working while they are earning their DNP degree because it offers full-time and part-time enrollment options. You'll attend classes at the university's campus in Tacoma one or two days a week, but most of your classes will also have synchronous and asynchronous online components. The School of Nursing will set up your clinical rotations and practicums at hospitals, clinics, and community agencies throughout the Puget Sound Region, including Providence Medical Center and Evergreen Health.

You'll prepare for your multi-semester DNP project by taking foundational DNP courses like "Theoretical Foundations & Evidence-based Practice," "Biostats, Analytical Methods, & Epidemiology," and Quality Improvement & Research Methods." Pacific Lutheran University accepts new students into its BSN-to-DNP program in the summer semester. Full-time students will graduate in three years and part-time students in four.

BSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: All applicants to this program must have a Washington State RN license, professional experience as an RN, and a BSN from an accredited nursing program with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

MSN-to-DNP Program Details: When you enroll in Pacific Lutheran University's MSN-to-DNP/FNP or MSN-to-DNP/PMHNP tracks, the university will do a gap analysis of your previous academic record and develop a study plan for you that's tailored to your specific learning needs. The DNP core this program offers is identical to the university's BSN-to-DNP core. Students attending full-time can expect to complete the program within two to three years, while those attending part-time usually finish in four years.

MSN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: To enroll in this program, you must have a Master's of Science in Nursing degree and a valid RN license in Washington State.

MSN-APRN-to-DNP Program Details: Are you an APRN seeking to qualify for better-paying jobs in clinical management or executive roles? Pacific Lutheran University offers an MSN-APRN-to-DNP program that focuses solely on core DNP coursework (including a DNP project). The program requires 35 credits, but may be higher or lower depending upon whether you can transfer credits from your MSN program. Students typically pursue this program part-time and graduate in two years.

MSN-APRN-to-DNP Admission Requirements: For acceptance into this program, you must have an MSN degree and an APRN certification.

Must-Know Highlights For Potential Students

• Though students from many different religious backgrounds attend Pacific Lutheran University, the school is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. However, the school's nursing curriculum does not reflect Christian tenets.
• Pacific Lutheran University caps its DNP cohort sizes at 10 to 18 students to facilitate the opportunity for mentorship with instructors and to strengthen bonds with fellow students.


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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ANSWERED

1. Who Accredits DNP Programs In Washington?

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3. What Is The Average DNP Salary In Washington?

4. On Average, How Much Do Entry-Level DNP Graduates Make In Washington?

5. On Average, How Much Do Experienced DNP Graduates Make In Washington?

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7. Average DNP Salary In Washington VS. Average Salaries Of Other Closely Related Occupations In Washington

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