Skip to Main Content

Welcome to the Doctoral Center

grad capWelcome to the Doctoral Center! The Doctoral Center is a one-stop shop for locating resources to help with the dissertation and applied doctoral project. This site contains resources to help with all of the elements of the dissertation or applied doctoral project. In addition, the Doctoral Center houses all guides, templates, slide decks, and rubrics for the five-chapter dissertation and three-section applied doctoral project.

Please take a few minutes to look around. Navigate to the guides and within the guides using the table of contents on the left. Resources are frequently marked to differentiate the degree programs using the Dissertation Student Experience (DSE) vs. the Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE). All guides, templates, and slide decks are organized under "Program Specific Resources" by School or College.

For questions about these resources or for assistance in finding a resource, please email DissertationCenter@nu.edu


School of Health Professions (SOHP) DNP/DHA Guides & Templates

The documents and information below are for students in the School of Health Professions - Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) and Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership (DNP) with an applied doctoral project. These resources are for students in the DHA and DNP programs.

Applied Doctoral Project Policies
Applied Doctoral Project Proposal/Manuscript Template
Professional Presentation Defense Slide Decks
Other Documents

Developing the PICOT Question for the DNP Project

PICOT is a systematic, approved format to develop an applied study and evidence-based doctoral project. It is focused on a clinical or operational problem within the institution. It is an acronym derived from the following elements – 

  • population, patient, or problem
  • intervention or action to be considered (non-patient care related)
  • comparison of interventions
  • outcomes or objectives
  • timeframe

The informational webinar below, provided by SOHP, outlines how to develop the PICOT question.