- The written portion of the exam (= student’s DNP Final Project proposal document) can be started at any time during the student’s academic program.
- The student must apply to the Graduate School to take the DNP Professional Examination a minimum of 2 weeks in advance of the proposed date/time of the exam. This is a firm timetable requirement of the Graduate School. The Graduate School must approve the examination application in advance in order for the examination to occur on the requested date/time.
- Graduate School policy places the final decision-making with the student’s academic advisor and the DNP Professional Examination faculty committee for determining the specific timing of the DNP Professional Examination based on their evaluation of the readiness of the student to do the exam. The DNP Professional Examination session is scheduled in consultation with the student for a date/time for which the student’s DNP academic advisor and Professional Examination Committee have provided their advance approval for the student to take the exam.
- The DNP Professional Examination is generally scheduled in Summer of the year prior to the final year coursework for most students. However, based on the specific guidance of the student’s advisor and committee, the Professional Exam can also be scheduled in either late Spring of the year prior to the final year coursework or in early Autumn semester of the final year of coursework. The DNP Professional Examination may not be taken prior to Spring before the final year coursework and is encouraged to be scheduled no sooner than mid-semester in Spring of the year prior to the final year coursework.
- The DNP Professional Examination must be taken at least one semester prior to the expected semester of graduation; i.e., the DNP Professional Examination may not be taken in the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
- Successful completion of the DNP Professional Examination is a pre-requisite requirement for students to take NRSPRCT 8898.02 (Clinical Immersion II) and NRSPRCT 8998.02 (DNP Final Project II).
- The written portion of the examination consists of sections one, two, three, and five of a student’s DNP Final Project document (refer to May 2020 guidelines at https://u.osu.edu/dnpnursinghandbook2020/final-project/) and serves as the proposal for the DNP Final Project.
- Tables, figures, and appendices should be included as needed to support successful completion of the written portion of the examination. All examination components including references, must be consistent with the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) unless the student’s DNP Professional Examination committee approves an alternate format. Graduate School policy places the final decision-making with the student’s academic advisor and the DNP Professional Examination faculty committee for determining the specific format for the written examination materials.
- The student will submit an electronic copy of the document to the other committee members once the final draft of the written portion of the examination has been approved by the advisor. Graduate School policy places final decision-making with the advisor and DNP Professional Examination committee for establishing the timetable with the student for receipt of written DNP Professional Examination materials. However, student submission of written materials to the DNP Professional Examination committee is recommended to occur at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled oral portion of the examination, unless another timetable has been discussed and approved in advance by the student’s advisor and Professional Examination committee members. If the approved timetable for receipt of the written document is not met, the student’s advisor and committee will determine, in consultation with the student, if the examination will need to be rescheduled.
- While not required, students are strongly encouraged to hold a pre-exam meeting 1-2 months prior to the projected date for the DNP Professional Exam date, with a draft document sent to committee members in advance. The pre-meeting is for the purpose of confirming the support of all committee members for the project proposal itself, as well as for identifying any major concerns or suggestions about the draft proposal document that may need to be worked through in advance of the student taking the DNP Professional Examination.
- Reminder, upon successful completion of the professional exam, the Human Subject Research Determination (HSRD) form should be completed by the student and advisor at the end of the meeting.