Marian to Launch Nursing Doctoral Program

The center will house research

Marian University has announced plans to launch a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in May. The program, being offered through the Leighton School of Nursing, will include family nurse practitioner and certified registered nurse anesthetist tracks.

Students in the DNP program will take part in both on-campus and web-based courses, including systems leadership, evidence-based practice and informatics. Marian says the CRNA program is among the first of its kind in Indiana.

The university says the program will help meet increasing demand, both throughout the state and country, for advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the job outlook in the field is expected to grow by 31 percent through 2024.

"The need for more APRNs results, in part, from an aging nursing workforce. As its members retire, there is a national shortage of well-qualified professionals to train the next generation of nurses," said Dorothy Gomez, interim dean of Marian University’s Leighton School of Nursing. "More opportunities exist because health care executives recognize that nurses are essential members of work teams tasked with providing effective, efficient primary patient care."

The DNP program is part of Marian President Daniel Eslener’s strategic enrollment plan, which aims to bring 14 new graduate programs with a total enrollment of 1,200 students by 2025. You can learn more about the DNP program by clicking here.