Ask A Nurse: MSN Nurse Practitioner Programs Are Changing To DNP Programs By 2025. What Does This Mean For Me?

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) have proposed that every new nurse practitioner hold a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) by 2025. In practice, that timeline is slipping.

This is not the first push. In 2004, the AACN first called for a DNP requirement for all NP candidates by 2018. DNP programs multiplied in response, from fewer than 50 nationally at the announcement to 426 by 2022, with 70 more in planning. The NONPF formally recommended DNP entry-level education for all NPs by 2025 in a 2018 position statement and reaffirmed it in 2023. Even so, every state nursing board is an independent body and decides for itself what entry-level education a practicing NP needs.

How the Move Affects MSN Students and Graduates

A doctoral degree is not required to become an NP today. Nursing organizations can advocate, but state boards have to act, and so far none has announced any licensure change tied to NP education. MSN programs that prepare NPs are still running.

A change this sweeping needs state boards, schools, and state regulators moving together, and that takes time. Current MSN students and graduates do not need to worry about an imminent shift. The direction is probably toward DNP-prepared NPs eventually, but how each state gets there will vary. A state might set a hard deadline, or it might give NPs 10 years from the start of practice, the way New York structured its "BSN in 10" law.

There is precedent. In 1965, the American Nurses Association recommended a BSN as entry-level education for nursing by 1985. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) recommended that 80% of practicing nurses hold a BSN by 2020. More than 50 years later, the argument over the minimum preparation for professional practice is still going.

The impact depends on your situation. Because each state board sets its own entry-level requirement, the rules can shape where you choose to practice. If your home state accepts an MSN as entry-level for an NP license, that may still limit certain roles and responsibilities and complicate scope-of-practice decisions.

If you already hold an MSN, an MSN-to-DNP program is the bridge. Many are built around working students. These typically run 12 to 24 months and 500 clinical hours when you enter with 500 MSN NP clinical practice hours already logged. Given the current nursing shortage, states are very unlikely to force practicing NPs into a DNP on a short clock.

The Case For the Move

If you are not yet an NP, a DNP program is worth weighing. Several finish in 3 to 4 years and qualify you to become a board-certified, licensed NP. An MSN gets you there too.

The AACN points to the rising complexity of healthcare as its core reason for wanting the highest level of preparation. Its other arguments include the rapid expansion of practice knowledge, increasingly complex patient care, national concerns about quality and patient safety, shortages of nurses that demand stronger leadership in care design and assessment, shortages of doctorally prepared faculty, and rising educational expectations across the rest of the healthcare team.

Not everyone agrees. Before its 2018 statement, the NONPF convened a December 2017 summit where nearly 20 national nursing organizations debated the 2025 target, and the room was split. The National Association of Neonatal Nurses, in an October 2018 statement, backed the DNP as the highest nursing degree but rejected it as the entry point for NP practice. Its argument: there is little evidence that DNP entry improves clinical outcomes, and the added time and cost would shrink the applicant pool and deepen the shortage of advanced practice nurses.

Where You Practice and Where You Study

Two factors matter most as you weigh a DNP for licensure. First is the state where you want to be licensed and certified. Judging by how states have handled the BSN push for staff nurses, MSN-prepared NPs will likely get a long runway to transition, letting you practice while you finish the degree. Second is accreditation, not location. As long as the program is properly accredited, you can become licensed and certified in the state where you intend to practice.

States that have not adopted full practice authority may be more open to expanding what NPs can legally do. To date, 11 states restrict and 12 reduce NP practice authority.

Some organizations are pushing hard for DNP-prepared NPs; others are not convinced it serves the profession or patients. Either way, the call belongs to state licensing boards, and a shift may be inevitable over the long term even if 2025 was always ambitious. New and recent MSN grads entering the NP field can take the reassurance: no sudden change is coming, and whenever it does, expect a reasonable adjustment period.