GW's DNP project courses and the practice hours they carry
GW's DNP project runs through a short sequence of 3-credit courses: NURS 8489 Scholarly Inquiry, NURS 8490 Planning, NURS 8491 Implementation, and NURS 8492 Evaluation and Dissemination. They sit inside the practice hours GW counts within the program: the indirect hours for post-BSN students and the in-program 500 for post-MSN students.
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The four project courses
The Bulletin lists four DNP project courses, each worth 3 credits. Their titles trace the arc of the work: frame the question, plan the project, carry it out, then evaluate it and share the results.
| Course | Title | Credits | Post-BSN NP DNP tracks | Post-MSN Nursing Practice DNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NURS 8489 | DNP Project Scholarly Inquiry | 3 | Listed | Not in the 2026-27 program table |
NURS 8490 | DNP Project Planning | 3 | Listed | Listed |
NURS 8491 | DNP Project Implementation | 3 | Listed | Listed |
NURS 8492 | DNP Project Evaluation and Dissemination | 3 | Listed | Listed |
GW does not publish how many practice hours each course carries. What it does publish is the total these courses sit inside, and that total depends on your route into the DNP.
How the courses carry practice hours
For post-BSN students in the four NP tracks, the 2026-27 Bulletin sets 600 direct clinical hours with preceptors plus 500 indirect DNP practice hours. The direct hours come from the NP clinical courses. The indirect hours belong to the doctoral coursework, the project courses among them, though GW does not break the 500 down course by course.
For post-MSN students, the Bulletin expects 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours in total. Most advanced practice nurses bring 500 from their MSN, and the other 500 are part of the DNP curriculum, which is where the project courses sit. GW's program page describes the same split as 500 pre-DNP hours plus coursework for the remainder.
GW's hour figures shift between sources, especially for the post-BSN route, where the website, the 2025-26 Bulletin and the 2026-27 Bulletin each say something different. The DNP practice hours page lays out every version.
Post-BSN and post-MSN routes
Post-BSN DNP students in the Family, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care and Psychiatric Mental Health tracks take 72 to 74 credits over 11 part-time semesters in GW's posted plans. Their precepted NP clinical courses begin in year three, and each plan of study shows where the project courses fall around them. The post-BSN DNP FNP page walks through one track in full.
The post-MSN Nursing Practice DNP is 36 credits, 30 required plus 6 elective, finished in five semesters full-time or eight part-time in GW's November 2024 plans. Applicants hold a BSN and a master's in nursing or a related field such as an MBA, MPA or MPH, plus graduate inferential statistics within five years. The Executive Leadership and Health Policy DNPs share the project sequence but are not admitting; Health Policy also added a 75-hour practicum with a policy expert.
One discrepancy to check: the Bulletin's Nursing Practice table lists NURS 8490 through NURS 8492, while GW's full course list starts the project sequence at NURS 8489. Your plan of study shows whether NURS 8489 is on yours.
The NURS 8351 and NURS 8402 change
If your plan of study and the current Bulletin disagree on one course, this is the likely reason. The 2026-27 Bulletin lists NURS 8351 Healthcare Informatics in the four post-BSN NP DNP tracks and the Nursing Practice DNP. The 2025-26 Bulletin and GW's November 2024 plans put NURS 8402 Knowledge Management in Nursing in that slot.
The Executive Leadership and Health Policy DNPs still list NURS 8402. The swap leaves the project courses untouched, but it can change what you take in the semesters around them. Your academic advisor in GW Nursing's Office of Student Services, where advisors are assigned by track, can confirm which list governs your plan.
Project settings and mentors: what GW publishes
GW publishes the project courses and the hour totals. Its public pages do not say who arranges a DNP project setting, whether a site contact or mentor is required, what credentials that person needs, or whether a project setting needs its own affiliation agreement. For post-MSN practice hours in general, who arranges the setting is not public either.
The course titles still tell you what to expect. A project that moves from planning to implementation to evaluation has to happen somewhere real, with an organization willing to let you carry out a change and gather results. That makes the setting, and the person there who backs your work, a practical need whatever GW's pages call them.
GW's rule that every clinical site needs a completed contract with GW Nursing is written for clinical rotations, and GW does not say whether it reaches project settings. The Nursing Practice page names the Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Programs as its contact, and your project course faculty are the other people to ask. If you hope to use your employer, see your workplace as a clinical site, since GW's current rule there is not public.
Questions to settle before NURS 8490
Ask your project faculty or the Associate Dean
- Who approves the project setting, and at what point in the sequence?
- Does the setting need an affiliation agreement with GW Nursing?
- Is a named site contact or mentor required, and with what credentials?
- How and where are project or practice hours recorded?
- Can the project run at your own workplace?
- Is
NURS 8489part of your plan, or does your sequence start atNURS 8490?
Get the answers in writing before you approach an organization, so what you ask of the setting matches what GW will accept.
Why DNP students choose us
For post-BSN DNP students, the 600 direct hours with preceptors are the core of what we do: matching each NP clinical course with a preceptor and site, then packaging the credentials, CV and agreement signer that GW's review asks for.
When your faculty confirm that your project needs an outside setting, we search for an organization that fits your project topic and collect the site and signatory details a GW review may ask for. GW's faculty approve the setting; we make sure what reaches them is complete. See how it works, the Nursing Practice DNP page, or send your route and project topic through the contact form.
Questions GW students ask
Does the GW DNP project have to happen at a clinical site?
GW's public pages do not say where a project must take place. The sequence of planning, implementation and evaluation implies a real organization where a change can be carried out and measured. Your project course faculty and the Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Programs can tell you which settings GW accepts.
Do post-MSN DNP students need a preceptor at GW?
GW's post-MSN DNP pages carry no preceptor-finding wording, and who arranges practice settings for that route is not public. The 500 in-program hours are built into the curriculum, including the project courses. Ask the Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Programs what your practice hours require before you line up a setting.
What if my MSN included fewer than 500 clinical hours?
GW's program page says it requires 500 pre-DNP hours, and the Bulletin assumes most advanced practice nurses bring them from the MSN. GW does not publish how a shortfall is handled, so raise it with admissions or the Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Programs before you enroll rather than partway through the project.
How long does GW give me to finish the DNP?
The Bulletin's time limits are 13 semesters for the post-MSN DNP and 16 for the post-BSN DNP. GW's posted plans finish the Nursing Practice DNP in five semesters full-time or eight part-time, and the post-BSN NP tracks in 11 part-time semesters. A project setting that stalls eats into that margin, so settle yours early.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against GW's Bulletin and GW Nursing's own program and clinical pages. Your course, CORE and GW's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
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