The Maryville DNP project, from NURS 701 to Clinical Inquiry III

Where the project sits in the degree

The post-master's DNP is for APRNs who already hold an MSN, and Maryville describes the pathway as “the DNP degree only,” with no NP concentration. The 2026-27 catalog sets it at 33 credits in 11 courses over five semesters; the program page says it can take as few as 20 months.

A 2023 Maryville webinar said the DNP “is focused around a scholarly project,” one you work on throughout the program. This page follows the four courses whose descriptions center on that project. The other seven are NURS 700 Principles of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, NURS 702 Integrating and Synthesizing Research, NURS 704 Quality and Patient Safety in Advanced Nursing Practice, NURS 708 Organizational and Systems Leadership, NURS 709 Advanced Health Policy, NURS 711 Nursing Informatics and NURS 712 Evidence-Based Practice/Research Utilization.

NURS 701: designing the project and getting it approved

Foundations of Clinical Scholarship is where the project takes shape on paper. The catalog says students develop the project protocol and submit it “for department approval”; Maryville's DNP page describes the same step as submitting it “to the DNP council for project approval.” The catalog pairs 701 with NURS 704 as a corequisite, unless you have already taken 704.

A protocol is hard to write without a setting in mind. The population, the process you want to change and the data you can reach all depend on where the project will run. That makes 701 the practical point by which you want at least a likely site and a person there willing to support you, even though Maryville's public pages set no formal date for it.

NURS 702 Integrating and Synthesizing Research comes next. The catalog lists NURS 700 and NURS 701 as its prerequisites, and 702 is in turn a prerequisite for Clinical Inquiry I.

Clinical Inquiry I to III: method, data, dissemination

The three Clinical Inquiry courses carry the approved project through to its finish. Each has a distinct job.

1. NURS 705 Clinical Inquiry IThe catalog has students “develop and write the methodology components” of the project. Maryville's DNP page adds that you apply the protection of human subjects and complete the Maryville IRB. Catalog prerequisites: NURS 700, NURS 701, NURS 702 and NURS 703.
2. NURS 706 Clinical Inquiry IICovers the project's data and analysis. The catalog entry states: “Complete project data is needed prior to the start of this course.”
3. NURS 707 Clinical Inquiry IIIThe final course, in which the project's findings are disseminated.

NURS 703 Ethics for Advanced Nursing Practice is an active catalog course but is not in the 33-credit program list. Because the catalog names it as a 705 prerequisite, ask your advisor early how that applies to you.

The project site and mentor

No Maryville page says in so many words who arranges a DNP project site or mentor. The 2023 statement that finding preceptors is “ultimately your responsibility” was made about clinical placements in general, not the DNP project. Still, the program is built for practicing APRNs, and Maryville's DNP page tells students to “Complete clinicals locally in your preferred setting.”

There is one sign that a clinician at the site can shape the project. Maryville's February 2026 blog on finding a preceptor quotes a DNP graduate whose preceptor “helped me actually create my DNP project.” Whatever title that person has, choose someone with standing at the site, because they can open doors to data, staff and leadership sign-off.

Two questions to settle with your faculty in NURS 701: whether the site needs a contract with Maryville, such as the MOU or affiliation agreement used for clinical sites, and whether the site runs its own review alongside the Maryville IRB. Ask the site the second question too, since its process may follow a different calendar from your courses.

Practice hours: what is and isn't published

Maryville does not state a practice-hour total for the post-master's DNP on its DNP pages or in the catalog, and the catalog program lists no practicum course. Don't plan around a number until your faculty give you one in writing.

Two figures circulate. Maryville's own blog on DNP length says DNP programs “usually” require at least 500 clinical practice hours, but that describes DNP programs in general, not a Maryville rule. Third-party sites mention around 1,000 hours for Maryville's BSN-to-DNP, a figure no Maryville source backs up, so treat it as unverified.

Other gaps to ask about

• NURS 705L. Maryville's DNP page lists the prerequisite for NURS 706 as “NURS 705 and NUS 705L.” No 705L appears in the catalog, and its purpose is not published.
• NURS 725 Scholarly Project. An active, zero-credit catalog course with no description, not listed in the 33-credit program.
• Credit split. The DNP page labels foundation and capstone credits as both 15 and 18 and as 18 and 15. The total is 33 either way.

DNP-NP and BSN-to-DNP students

The same 700-level courses, including NURS 701 and NURS 705 to NURS 707, sit inside the DNP with an NP concentration and the BSN-to-DNP. Those students also complete an NP concentration with three practicums and, since Spring 2024, 750 clinical hours, so they run two searches: a project site and mentor, and NP preceptors.

The 2023 webinar said DNP-NP students take the DNP courses first and finish with their clinicals. That order means the project may need its site before the NP preceptor search begins in earnest. If one organization could host both, ask your faculty early whether that works for your track and your project.

Why DNP students use us to find a project site

You, your faculty and the host organization carry the project from protocol to dissemination, and the host is where we come in. A well-chosen site makes NURS 701 easier to write and lets NURS 706 start on time, since its data has to be complete before the course opens.

We shortlist organizations beyond your own workplace that could host your project, find a clinician there willing to act as a mentor, and gather the site details and contacts Maryville may ask for, well before your protocol is due. Maryville approves the project and any site, and the host you put forward comes with its contacts and commitment already in hand. If that fits, use the form below. The post-master's DNP overview covers the rest of the program.